Physicians in Revolt: An Ethnography of Conflict within the Korean Medicine Community in South Korea

Abstract

In 2012, a group of physicians practicing Korean medicine rebelled against their professional association, denouncing its "leftist" leadership and triggering three months of violent confrontation. Drawing on detailed ethnography, I examine how practitioners whose identity differed from biomedical doctors sought to defend their interests within a privately dominated health system. I show how Korean medicine doctors' revolutionary sentiments were shaped by professional consciousness, market conditions, and relationships with the state. I highlight the dependency between state and doctors, the complexity of ideological commitments, and the politicization of anger and violence, illuminating broader patterns of societal change beyond healthcare politics.