20세기 초 한의원 개량론

Abstract

Japan’s attempt to transplant modern Western medicine and its refusal to accept basic traditional medicine required a major change for doctors of traditional medicine in Korea. Although their medical care status allowed them to keep their medical qualification as doctors, traditional medical doctors could not avoid a confrontation with modern hospitals in order to remain practicing as doctors. The disadvantage of being given to traditional medicine under medical policy and the yet accumulated wealth of traditional medicine clinics were still hard to avoid losing. Besides the establishment of modern hospitals, the Joseon Corporation Exhibition held in 1915 was a space that boasted of the presidentialism of Western medicine and demonstrated the governor-general’s medical policy. Stimulated by this, the Korean medical community tried to organize medical patients while preparing for the nationwide live events. One of the topics that doctors noticed at this time was the discussion of improving the hygiene in traditional medical clinics. Although it was difficult to argue with Western hospitals on any scale due to the lack of capital, it was suggested that they should improve the structure of traditional medicine clinics and strengthen the cleanliness to be, at least, based on established sanitation practices. When Korea entered modern society, there were attempts to relocate traditional medicine clinics, which was a place to practice pre-modern medical theory, to a modern view. However, due to the limitation of the lack of capital, traditional medicine itself could not be completely reconstructed from a modern point of view. The traditional medicine reform theory that had emerged around 1910 was pushed to the limit and was ultimately not sustainable.