Radiotherapies, women, and medical meaning-making in 1930s Korea
10.5977/jkasne.2024.30.4.391
- Author:
Soyoung SUH
1
Author Information
1. Associate Professor, Department of History, Dartmouth College
- Publication Type:REVIEW ARTICLE
- From:Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education
2024;30(4):391-400
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Purpose:This study investigates the medical application of X-rays and radium in treating female patients in 1930s Korea.
Methods:This research analyzes 1930s newspapers, medical journals, and women’s magazines to explore public perceptions of the healing and harmful effects of therapeutic radiation. Results: This study found that women’s bodies served as key sites for introducing new medical knowledge and technologies. Identified primarily as patients, housewives, and consumers, women contributed to normalizing radiation use in public and domestic settings, despite the lack of established safety standards. The transnational flow of medical devices, expertise, and personnel also highlighted both shared and distinct experiences of radiation therapy across national and imperial boundaries. Conclusion: While no direct causality links those varied experiences, comparing cases such as a Korean woman skeptical of radiation for breast cancer, a Japanese housewife who sued over radiation burns, and an American nurse whose expertise with X-rays conflicted with her caregiving role, offer insights into the meaning of modern medicine in colonial Korea.
