Sources of History of Nursing in Korea

Recently, Sung-Deuk Oak, Associate Professor of Korean Christianity at UCLA, published the first volume of his current project, titled Sources of Nursing History in Korea, 1886-1911. Commissioned by the Korean Nurses Association and partially funded by a Faculty Development Grant from the UCLA Center for the Study of Women, this volume is a curated collection of both primary and secondary source materials documenting the nursing profession in Korea.

Regarding the publication of this series of important archival documents, Kyung Rim Shin, President of the Korean Nurses Association, said, “I hope that this series will unearth the primary sources of nursing work and education in the early modern and colonial Korea, and stimulate the in-depth study of its rich history. We hope that many vigorous young scholars, inspired by this project, will emerge and continue the in-depth study of nursing history in Korea, which is indispensable for the upgrading of the nursing work in Korea.”

The first volume contains both original Korean texts and English translations prepared by Professor Oak. Materials include the personal documents of both Western missionary doctors and nurses as well as the personal documents of three Korean nurses; magazine and newspaper articles about nursing work in Korea; and the Annual Reports of various hospitals and nursing schools in Korea. A planned second volume will compile and translate into English a range of historical and archival materials for the period 1886 to 1945.

More info: http://koreanchristianity.humnet.ucla.edu/dr-oak-/publications-