Embracing Hygienic Modernity in Late Nineteenth-century Korea: A View from the Periphery

Abstract

This paper examines Koreans' response to cholera and the introduction of hygienic modernity by the Japanese after the opening of Korea in 1876. As Korea's first open port, Pusan became a testing ground for Japanese hygienic modernity in Korea with the influx of Japanese settlers who introduced modern medical knowledge to the area. The introduction of modern medical science and technology by the Japanese, through the establishment of modern facilities such as Saisei Iin, the first modern clinic in Pusan, had a significant impact on the local community, which was suffering the horrific consequences of cholera due to ineffectual government management. In the process, the Japanese settlers utilised hygienic modernity as a way of legitimising and increasing their power over indigenous Koreans. While it is necessary to recognise the contributions of the Japanese to disseminating modern medicine and medical knowledge to local Koreans in Pusan, hygienic modernity became a way of legitimising the power of the Japanese settlers over indigenous Koreans in Pusan as a result.