[The introduction of the western psychiatry into Korea: from the mid seventeenth century to 1911, the time of Japanese forced annexation of Korea].

The object of this study is to investigate the routes of the introduction of the western psychiatric knowledges and practices in Korea. The historical documents including newspapers and governmental bulletins as well as articles and books on the history of the Korean medicine were examined and the results are as follows: The western knowledge about the brain anatomy and physiology were introduced from China by the enlightened Confucian and Taoistic scholars of Korea in the mid seventeenth century through the Chinese translations of the western science and medicine. Due to the lack of support for the scholars and even persecution by the ruling power to those who had great interests in the western thoughts including sciences, the western medical knowledges could not be actualized in practice. Thus, the active practices of western medicine were started in the late 19th century in Korea through the two routes; one, via Japanese military physicians and the other one, via the western missionary physicians. The psychiatry was lectured by Japanese psychiatrist in 1910 at the medical school of Tai-Han Unwon, the Korean governmental clinic and 1913 at the Severance medical school of Tai-Han Uiwon, the Korean governmental clinic and in 1913 at the Severance medical school by the Australian psychiatrist, McLaren. As the independent department with the psychiatric ward, the first Dept. of Psychiatry was established in 1913 at the colonial governmental clinic, Chosun Chondokbu-Uiwon, the former Tai-Han Ui-won. Medicine as well as psychiatry was introduced into Korea under the political atmosphere of one sided admiration for the western science. The attempts to combine the western medicine with the traditional Korean medicine could not be tolerated by both missionary physicians and the colonial regime.