The purpose of this study is to explain Uisaeng institutions, a social group of Uisaeng, and their identities. In 1913, the Japanese colonial government enacted a law on medical personnel while overhauling the medical system of Joseon. In the process, ...
The purpose of this study is to explain Uisaeng institutions, a social group of Uisaeng, and their identities. In 1913, the Japanese colonial government enacted a law on medical personnel while overhauling the medical system of Joseon. In the process, medical professionals based on traditional medicine were defined as 'Uisaeng'. However, Uisaengs is not recognized as an equivalent of a western doctor, and was excluded from the modern colonial medical system because it is superstitious and unscientific. On the other hand, he was in charge of private health care and sanitation administration.
As such, Uisaengs have been reduced and concealed in their roles and meanings on the long journey of modernization passed by Korean modern history as well as the modern medical system. After all, the history of Uisaengs is a good example of the "non-visual dependence" phenomenon of tradition, that is, the reason and value of its existence, but it actually plays a certain social role. In fact, "the legacy of the past", such as Uisaengs, still had the power to operate reality beyond simple backgrounds in many areas of colonial society, daily life, and culture. In the future, it is necessary to find another area in colonial history in which the "the legacy of the past" works, such as Uisaeng. This would give us another perspective on the colonial era if we could expand the relationship between modern and colonial experience in Korea.
Uisaengs is also interlinked with important socio-cultural issues in modern and contemporary history, such as traditional medicine and Western medicine, imperial and colonial rule, colonial power and institutions, physical and disease, hygiene and discipline. In previous studies, Uisaengs has been limited in medical history. However, Uisaengs research needs to be approached by extending it across history.
Therefore, under this premise, the study was composed around three topics.
The first focused on the establishment and operation of the Uisaeng system. This is to focus on the way in which the management of the Uisaeng system and the response and survival strategies of Uisaengs. Second, Uisaengs' occupational consciousness and identity were selected as important topics. The third issue is the formation and characteristics of Uisaeng groups. In social group research, revealing this is very important in social history research, as the origins of a social group have a profound impact on the direction of social mobility and their identity.
As such, the main goal of this study is to elucidate the above three mutually integrated topics. Through this, Uisaengs who played an important role in modern medical care and health and sanitation will be newly established in history. Ultimately, another important goal of this study is to demonstrate the complexity and cross-cultural aspects of colonial modern times beyond the myth of rationality and scientificity of modern state governance through Uisaengs.