위생에서 청결로 : 서울의 근대적 분뇨 처리

Abstract

With the acceptance of the etiology called Miasma theory in Korean society after the opening of its ports, human wastes were cited as the cause of “noxious air” that penetrates into the human body and causes infectious diseases. The prevention of epidemics required blocking the release of noxious air. Among the Gaehwapa members, Kim Ok-Gyun and Park Yeong-Hyo advocated the collection of human wastes and their use as a fertilizer, and Yu Gil-Jun argued for the introduction of Western methods for treating human wastes including flush toilets. The systematic treatment of human wastes was realized with the foundation of Hanseong Wisaenghoi (The Sanitary Organization in Seoul) in 1907. The organization collected human wastes from each household and moved them to a storage in the outskirts of Seoul.<BR> The regular collection of human wastes reduced the incidence of infectious diseases. However, parasites still could spread through human wastes. Gyeongseong-bu (or Seoul under Japan’s colonial rule) sought to provide fundamental methods to treat human wastes by commissioning a study to the parasitologist Kobayashi Harujiro (小林淸治郞). Kobayashi proposed the method of mixing feces and urine, decaying the mixture by storing for up to two months, and then using it as a fertilizer. It was traditional to think that human wastes should be decayed before using them as a fertilizer. However, Kobayashi emphasized the fact that his experiment was performed in the conditions that could cause a number of variables.<BR> Though it was confirmed that using decayed human wastes removed parasites, the problem was that parasites still did not disappear. According to a survey conducted in 1948, over nine out of 10 Koreans were infected with parasites. This was because humans wastes which had not been fully decayed were used as fertilizers. The prevention of parasites required changes in the actual environment. In the 1960s, the production and use of chemical fertilizers was expanded. In the 1970s, a sewage treatment method linked with flush toilets was introduced. Moreover, nationwide movements for the eradication of parasite were carried out. As a result, human wastes gradually turned from an object of fear in relation to sanitation to an object of dirtiness in relation to cleanness.