Abstract

This study examined the process of closing the DRK(West German Red Cross) hospital in Busan with an emphasis on the illegal disposal of foreign currency in 1956 and the discussions about hospital closure from 1958 to 1959. DRK hospital was founded by mutual agreement with the West German government and the US government in support of the postwar restoration of South Korea, and the strategic interests of West Germany and the US were inevitably reflected in the closing process. When medical aid from the Swedish Red Cross Hospital and other countries ended, the United States'' strategic needs for the West German Red Cross Hospital also declined. West Germany felt difficult to maintain a hospital with the growing financial burden of free medical treatment. The hospital had internal accidents continuously. The Rhee Syngman government was unable to express its position during the opening and closing of the DRK Hospital, but it played some role in the worsening financial situation and the closing of the hospital, because they made no effort to improve the situation.

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