이영춘과 한국 농촌의학 연구: 학술지 『농촌위생』을 중심으로

Abstract

The origin of rural medicine in Korea can be traced back to Lee Young Choon. Rather than the term "rural medicine,” Lee used the term “rural hygiene.” It is thought that the reason he did so was to express his efforts to improve the general living conditions of peasants living in rural areas, an endeavor to which he was committed throughout his life. Thus, he could have preferred the term “rural hygiene” because it is more comprehensive than the term “rural medicine.” Although Lee devoted his life to practical work of improving the health and living conditions of the peasantry, he sought to base this work on a solid academic foundation. The primary academic field on which Lee relied was medicine. In fact, although he was a promising young laboratory researcher at the time, he left the lab and entered into the realities of rural life. Despite this, he remained committed to his lab-related work. He actively used the rigorous research methodology he had learned in the lab to achieve his practical goals of improving rural conditions and farmers’ health. From his earliest days at the Kumamoto farm, he dreamed of establishing an institute to improve rural conditions through medicine, and eventually, he realized this goal. He also established a journal to summarize the institute’s practical activities in a scholarly manner. This work attempts to define Lee’s academic efforts to improve rural sanitation as rural medicine. This study focuses on the academic activities of the Institute of Rural Hygiene, which was founded by Lee, and examines the aspects of rural medicine that Lee initiated and their significance.