해방 이후 남북한 보건의료환경의 변화와 월남의사의 정착

Abstract

North Korean doctors who chose to move to the South symbolized certain shifts that had earlier occurred in the respective environments of South and North Korean medical care systems. In case of North Korea, right after the Liberation the authorities nationalized healthcare, and implemented Thought control(Censorship) on doctors. That prompted them to consider breaking free from the regime, while their knowledge of the healthcare condition in the south also factored into their decision to move to South Korea.BR At the time, South Korean healthcare system was deteriorating. It was in dire need of professionally trained medical personnel. South Korean authorities chose not to authorize various (and more traditional) medical practitioners, causing the demand on regular doctors to rise, while the overall increase in medical cost ensured wealthy life for certified doctors. All these factors made the South Korean environment all the more appealing to the “liberalist” North Korean doctors, and in the post-Liberation period their exodus to the South continued. Ever since the end of the Korean War, somewhere between 300 and 400 doctors moved to the South, enriching the pool of authorized medical practitioners in South Korea.BR Yet the fate of North Korean doctors who arrived in the south varied, as even after they safely touched down in South Korea, their expertise had to be verified and their practices needed authorization. Even the ones who got certification as regular doctors experienced some difficulties. They pleaded the government through alumni meetings to resolve the issue of doctor qualification, while also applying for exams and successfully passing them. Other medical practitioners also tried to resolve their issues through group lobbies, but the ones who were never able to have their expertise and practices authorized, were only absorbed into the South Korean society.