일제강점기 경북 예천군의 의료체계와 유학자의 질병 대응 — 『소택일기』(1913~1949)를 중심으로

Abstract

In this paper, I examined the medical system of Yecheon-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do, and the responses of Confucian scholars to illnesses through the “Sotaek Diary” (1913-1949), a personal diary from the Park family in Daejeori, Yongmun-myeon, during the Japanese colonial period. The "Sotaek Diary” contains records spanning approximately 115 years from 1834 to 1949, written by four generations: Park Deok-nyung, Park Joo-dae, Park Myeon-jin, and Park Hee-soo. This study focused on the periods of the third generation, Park Myeon-jin, and the fourth generation, Park Hee-soo, from 1913 to 1949. The “Sotaek Diary” includes entries by Park Myeon-jin for 16 years and Park Hee-soo for 20 years, documenting various aspects such as weather, family events, agricultural management, community situations, customs, diseases, treatments, and epidemics. In particular, the diary provides detailed descriptions of symptoms and responses to illnesses, revealing the medical system in rural colonial Korea and the ways in which Confucian scholars dealt with health issues. During the Japanese colonial period, Yecheon-gun was a typical rural area of colonial Korea, where the main medical institutions were traditional Korean medicine clinics and herbal pharmacies. Due to inconvenient transportation and a limited number of Japanese immigrants, modern hospitals were not established in the early colonial period. In the 1920s, a physician trained in modern medicine opened a clinic in Yecheon-eup. With the connection of the Gyeongbuk Line between Yecheon and Gimcheon in 1928, access to hospitals expanded to Andong and Gimcheon. Members of the Park family in Daejeori primarily diagnosed and treated illnesses through local Korean medicine clinics and pharmacies. They also sought advice from acquaintances or knowledgeable individuals in traditional medicine to obtain remedies. Park Myeon-jin and Park Hee-soo had extensive knowledge of traditional medicine, often preparing herbal prescriptions themselves. In the early 1940s, Park Hee-soo’s son, Park Young-woo, passed the exam for pharmacy and opened a herbal medicine shop called “Hoichundang” in Yecheon- eup. While traditional medicine remained the foundation during Park Hee-soo’s time, he also incorporated elements of modern medical systems, such as consulting Japanese doctors and hiring nurses from Daegu Provincial Hospital for treatment.