Lee Young Ah
Bangmok College of General studies in Myongji University, Namgajwa 2-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-728, Korea.
Uisahak. 2011 Dec 31;20(2):291-325.
Je Jung Won was the first modern-style Government hospital built by the Korean King Ko-Jong in April 1885, and it was the medical missionary Horace Newton Allen(18581932) who made one of the greatest contributions to the establishment of the hospital. Allen was an American missionary. He graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University with a degree in theology in 1881, and completed one-yearcourse at Miami Medical College. In Korea and America he worked as a physician, a missionary, an American diplomatic minister to Korea and a Korean minister's secretary to America. While acting as a mediator between Korea and America, he knew and recorded the domestic and foreign situation of Korea during Gaehwagi(the civilized and enlightened age). Thus to study him is to understand Korea's Gaehwagi as well as to research American medical missionaries. During his stay in Korea(18841905), Allen steadily wrote diaries and letters about Korean politics, diplomacy, society, culture, and medicine. Thus his public/private record through diaries and letters(the quantity of these materials amounts to several thousands) supplements the Korean early modern era's historical record. However, until now these materials have received little scholarly attention from researchers except for a few historians of missionary work between Korea and America, or of Korean modern medicine. I intended to use these materials to suggest a new perspective on the study of Korean Gaehwagi. Allen, along with John W. Heron, who came to Seoul on June 21st 1885, treated about 10,460 Korean patients in the first year of the opening of JeJungWon. They made "the first annual report of the Korean Government Hospital". This report explained how Allen and Heron regarded and treated Korean patients. Allen's diaries, letters and other writings offer a realistic view of how the western people actually recognized the Korean people at that time. As a western doctor, Allen had an ambivalent attitude toward Korean medical concepts and systems. On the one hand, he thought that medical idea, some food and drug of Korean is valuable. He said that the native Korea faculty had some good ideas with regards to treatment. And he held Korean rice, ginseng, and so on in high regard. However, he did not rate Korean acupuncture and Korean traditional ointment at all. In addition, he sometimes cured Korean patients dangerously and with imprudence. The amputation of patients' body, no matter how little, must ask the permission of the patients themselves. Especially, the sense of Korean filial duty couldn't accept amputation of body at those times. The artificial change of body meant to hurt parents' body, because at those times Korean people thought that my body was my parent's possession. But Allen did it without enough explanation or persuasion. Moreover he didn't feel guilty for the behavior at all. Besides, he seemed to be proud of it in the above mention. Such careless or unethical behavior cannot be excused. On the other hand, he had made mistakes in treatment according to his record. He pulled out some healthy teeth of patients who had a bad toothache. But he didn't explain nor apologize the mistake. Besides, he refused treatment of patients until the hospital would be opened in order to push Korean government to prepare hospital quickly. Why or how did he do that? The first answer available to the question, he might be so confident of his medical knowledge and skill that he didn't feel the need to ask the patients' thought and will. However, as stated above, his medical study was just one year. And he worried about his inexperience of surgery. Thus the first assumption seems to be false. He wasn't confident of his medical knowledge. The fact that nevertheless Allen treated Korean patients at his will, is still blamable. The second assumption is that he regarded western modern medicine as the only correct and proper approach. He didn't have many experiences, but his west modern medicine made him proud of its achievement. After middle 19th century of modern times, Micheal Foucault said at The Birth of Clinics, western modern medicine believed itself scientific on the ground that west modern medicine could have pathology and surgery. Allen might also trust the scientific ability of western modern medicine. So he might think that he didn't need to explain 'modern and scientific' medicine of West to people in 'premodern and non-scientific' medicine of Korea. The third answer is his 'Orientalism'. He thought that Koreans were dirty, lazy, and barbarous and, therefore, he made a clear distinction between Caucasian and Korean. He set his affection on 'Cho-Seon' and made efforts to cure Korean patients and establish the first western Government hospital in Korea. However he, as a westerner, could not free himself from 'Orientalism' and 'Imperialism'. Thus, he might ride so roughshod Korean patients. In fact the 'Orientalism' was not only Allen's thought. Many western visitors thought Korean as an 'Orient'. The West regarded themselves as civilized and the East as uncivilized or barbarous, therefore the West thought that the East should be modernized with the help of the West. This thought rationalized their imperialism and colonialism toward the East. In addition, he seemed to have some ambition in politics and diplomatics. He wanted to be a high-ranking official, so his goal of his life was political or economical power rather than medical missionary.
济众院是朝鲜高宗国王于1885年4月建立的第一家现代风格的政府医院，而美国传教士霍勒斯·牛顿·艾伦（18581932）对该医院的建立做出了巨大贡献。艾伦毕业于俄亥俄卫斯理大学，1881年获得神学学位，并在迈阿密医学院完成了为期一年的课程。他在朝鲜和美国担任过医生、传教士、美国驻朝鲜外交公使以及朝鲜驻美国公使秘书等职务。在担任美朝之间的调解人期间，他了解并记录了开化期（文明开化时代）朝鲜的国内外情况。因此，研究他不仅有助于了解朝鲜的开化期，也有助于研究美国医学传教士。在他旅居朝鲜期间（18841905），艾伦持续撰写有关朝鲜政治、外交、社会、文化和医学的日记和信件。因此，他通过日记和信件留下的公私记录（这些材料数量达数千份）补充了朝鲜近代早期的历史记录。然而，到目前为止，除了少数研究美朝传教工作或朝鲜现代医学的历史学家外，这些材料很少受到学者的关注。我打算利用这些材料为朝鲜开化期的研究提供一个新的视角。1885年6月21日，艾伦与约翰·W·赫伦一起来到首尔，在济众院开业的第一年里，他们共治疗了约10460名朝鲜患者，并撰写了“朝鲜政府医院的第一份年度报告”。这份报告解释了艾伦和赫伦如何看待和治疗朝鲜患者。艾伦的日记、信件和其他著作展现了当时西方人对朝鲜人的真实认知。作为一名西方医生，艾伦对朝鲜的医学观念和体系持矛盾态度。一方面，他认为朝鲜的一些医学理念、食物和药物是有价值的。他说朝鲜本土的医疗方法有一些不错的想法，并且对朝鲜的大米、人参等评价很高。然而，他对朝鲜的针灸和传统药膏却完全不认可。此外，他有时在治疗朝鲜患者时危险且轻率。对患者身体进行截肢，无论程度多小，都必须征得患者本人的同意。尤其是在当时，朝鲜的孝道观念无法接受身体的截肢。因为当时朝鲜人认为自己的身体是父母的财产，身体的人为改变意味着伤害父母的身体。但艾伦在没有充分解释或劝说的情况下就这么做了，而且他对此行为毫无愧疚之感。此外，他似乎还为此感到骄傲。这种粗心或不道德的行为是不可原谅的。另一方面，根据他的记录，他在治疗中也犯过错误。他拔掉了一些牙痛严重患者的健康牙齿，却没有对此错误进行解释或道歉。此外，为了促使朝鲜政府尽快筹备医院，他拒绝治疗患者直到医院开业。他为什么会这样做呢？对于这个问题，第一个可能的答案是，他可能对自己的医学知识和技能过于自信，以至于觉得没有必要询问患者的想法和意愿。然而，如上所述，他的医学学习仅有一年，而且他还担心自己缺乏手术经验。因此，第一个假设似乎不成立。他对自己的医学知识并不自信。然而，艾伦随意对待朝鲜患者的事实仍然应受指责。第二个假设是，他认为西方现代医学是唯一正确和恰当的方法。他虽然经验不足，但西方现代医学的成就让他感到骄傲。19世纪中叶以后，米歇尔·福柯在《临床医学的诞生》中提到，西方现代医学认为自己是科学的，因为它能够进行病理学和外科手术。艾伦可能也相信西方现代医学的科学性。所以他可能认为没有必要向处于“前现代和非科学”医学的朝鲜人解释西方的“现代和科学”医学。第三个答案是他的“东方主义”。他认为朝鲜人肮脏、懒惰且野蛮，因此他明确区分白种人和朝鲜人。他钟情于“朝鲜”，努力治疗朝鲜患者并在朝鲜建立了第一家西方政府医院。然而，作为一个西方人，他无法摆脱“东方主义”和“帝国主义”的影响。因此，他可能粗暴地对待朝鲜患者。事实上，“东方主义”并非仅艾伦一人的思想。许多西方访客都将朝鲜视为“东方”。西方将自己视为文明的，而将东方视为不文明或野蛮的，因此西方认为东方应该在西方的帮助下实现现代化。这种思想使他们对东方的帝国主义和殖民主义行为合理化。此外，他似乎在政治和外交方面也有野心。他想成为高级官员，所以他人生的目标是政治或经济权力，而非医学传教。
