Soc Sci Med. 1999 Aug; 49(4): 543-50.

Modernization of medical care in Korea (1876-1990).

Son AH.

Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden. annette.son@ekhist.uu.se

This article explores the modernization of traditional Korean medicine in an attempt to answer why Korea has a dual system of professionalized care, and argues that the dual system has been shaped by conflicts between herbal doctors and Western-trained doctors throughout the various stages of historical development. I do not attempt comparisons with other countries, but social scientists have created a large body of work on the interaction between Western and Asian medical traditions in India, China, Japan, and other countries. Korea has been absent from this research. The present essay should draw attention to its sociological relevance.