The Formation of the Historical Identity of Korean Doctors

Abstract

In modern society, doctors are a representative example of professionals—that is, doctors are members of an occupation with high barriers to entry. For doctors, long-term education, training, and licensing are factors that make it difficult to enter medical practice. These external characteristics, which have mainly arisen in the modern era, play an important part in the professional identity of doctors. Nonetheless, the core of the doctor’s identity is the identity of the healer. In today’s Korean society, the universal identity of doctors as healers results from a combination of the special historical identity of professionals with high entry barriers. Korean society currently demands a high level of ethical awareness from doctors. These demands are partly derived from the nature of the practice of medical care, but they also reflect demands for strong social responsibility as professionals. It is difficult to cultivate professional ethics simply by imposing legitimate virtues, presenting an ideal model, or emphasizing moral education that is not fully realistic. A deep-rooted sense of professional ethics stems from a clear awareness of professional identity. Education plays an important role in the formation and awareness of doctors’ professional identity, and various types of content and methods can be used in education. However, since the identity of an entity is formed through the process of historical experience, it is thought that the historical process of the formation of doctors as a profession should be included as an important part of education.