No abstract available.
Korean War*

Korean Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (KAOG) was established semicentury ago (1947). Even Korea faced a massive destrcution, political and economic crisis during Korean war, but KAOG bad developed more and more. Finally, KAOG has developed a stable association now. Now not only KAOG is a firm association domestically but also engages in an international association (e.g. AOFG, FIGO, SOINTF) and gives much contribution. Even now KAOG faces a hard-time, but I hope that KAOG will develop a prospective association in 21th century with an effort to educate many young researchers.
Hope ; Korea ; Korean War

No abstract available.
Humans ; Korean War* ; MMPI* ; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic* ; Veterans*

In commemoration of the 50th anniversary since the Korean War, Korean government has initiated a four -year project beginning from the year 2000 to 2003 to excavate the remains of soldier casualties from the Korean War. During the year 2000 -2001 excavation total 555 casualties (minimum number of individual; MNI) are discovered around the southern parts of Korean peninsula. On the basis of the bone remains anthropological researches including the determination of sex, the estimation of age and stature have been carried out. All casualties are determined as male mainly based on the characteristic features of the innominate bone of the pelvis. Estimation of age is gained from 313 individuals. Over 64% of the casualties were estimated between the age 20 -24 years old and almost 20% were between the age 15 -19 years old. From these data, it has been conformed that the majority of soldiers can be classified as being in a young age category Total 270 individuals are examined for estimation of statures. Approximately 68% of the findings were estimated to have been between the height 160 -170 cm in proportion, and almost 14% of findings were below 160 cm tall. Identifying the remains of casualties are carried out by uncovered belongings, taking note of eyewitness accounts, and applying scientific methods. A total of 34 individual names were identified, and among them only four soldiers have been confirmed. 27 are still in the process of verification, and the rest are nearly impossible to identify.
Anniversaries and Special Events ; Humans ; Korean War* ; Male ; Military Personnel ; Pelvis

To determine the cause of death of prisoners of war during the Korean War (1950-1953), death certificates or medical records were analyzed. Out of 7,614 deaths, 5,013 (65.8%) were due to infectious diseases. Although dysentery and tuberculosis were the most common infectious diseases, parasitic diseases had caused 14 deaths: paragonimiasis in 5, malaria in 3, amoebiasis in 2, intestinal parasitosis in 2, ascariasis in 1, and schistosomiasis in 1. These results showed that paragonimiasis, malaria, and amoebiasis were the most fatal parasitic diseases during the early 1950s in the Korean Peninsula. Since schistosomiasis is not endemic to Korea, it is likely that the infected private soldier moved from China or Japan to Korea.
Cause of Death ; China ; Human Migration ; Humans ; Japan ; Korea ; Korean War ; Parasitic Diseases/*mortality ; Prisoners of War

The Korean Society for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (KTCVS) was founded in 1968 and celebrated the 50th anniversary of its founding in 2018. The launch of the KTCVS may seem somewhat recent, given that the American Association for Thoracic Surgery was founded in 1917. However, considering the circumstances of the Korean medical community after the Japanese occupation (1910–1945), World War II (1940–1945), and the Korean War (1950–1953), this apparent delay is understandable. Even before the foundation of the KTCVS, the early pioneers of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery promptly adopted medical technologies from more advanced countries such as the United States, and contributed significantly to both cardiac and thoracic surgery despite difficult circumstances. In 2012, before the 50th anniversary of the founding of the KTCVS, members shared the opinion that objective records of the activities of the early pioneers should be identified and preserved, and reacted positively towards the necessity for historians who would preserve such records. With this background, the Historical Records Preservation Committee of the KTCVS (hereinafter, referred to as ‘the Committee’) was launched. The Committee published a white paper on the history of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery in 2015 and held an exhibition of the achievements of the pioneers at the 50th anniversary of the founding of the KTCVS. The Committee also published a book entitled “The history of Korean thoracic surgery with photographs: celebrating the 50th anniversary of the society.” The Committee will keep making efforts to find and preserve materials related to activities during the early development of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery in Korea.
Anniversaries and Special Events ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Humans ; Korea ; Korean War ; Occupations ; Thoracic Surgery ; United States ; World War II

OBJECTIVE: 60-year old Korean population has particular life experiences such as Korean War. With this life experience, we aimed to examine the moderating role of social support on the relationship between adverse life events and depressive symptoms in later life. METHODS: The total respondents were 639 people who were 60-year old dwelling in Yangpyung, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. One to one interviews were conducted by experienced research assistants. RESULTS: Examining depression, 14.7% of total population showed 15 or higher geriatric depression scale-shortform-Korea score. 70% did report stressful life events as many as 13. Also, 31.6% of total participants were isolated or at high risk of isolation. Using hierarchical multiple regression models, the results showed that social support moderated the influence of the exposure to stressful life events on depression (R2=0.124, beta=-0.118, p<0.01). The moderating effect was greater in male (R2=0.118, beta=-1.36, p<0.01) than that of female (R2=0.113, beta=-0.115, p<0.01), which is apposite to our hypothesis. CONCLUSION: This finding suggests that social support play critical roles in the stress-outcome relationship among 60-years old population like it was suggested. Since most stressful events are inevitable, it is important to build sufficient social support networks.
Surveys and Questionnaires ; Depression* ; Female ; Gyeonggi-do* ; Humans ; Korea ; Korean War ; Life Change Events ; Male

Koreans have repeatedly experienced societal traumas, of which Korean Peninsula division and 6.25 are the greatest sources of trauma. Such division and the Korean War have destroyed the concept of "nation community," "town community," and "rational community" in the Korean people. Thus, Korean people have come to 1) live in a society with no recognition of community, 2) obsession with extreme ideologism, 3) lower ability to resolve conflict making societal dissension more serious. For the healing of this trauma, the following projects are needed : 1) foreign case analysis of societal trauma healing, 2) analysis of each subject and healing, 3) rebuilding of nation, town, and ration community in Korean society, 4) creation of artwork that gives introspection to division and its sublimation, 5) take the challenge to sublimate suffering in order to create a higher mental state of individual and society. Thus, the professional role of a psychiatrist is important. First, administer professional treatment to those in need of medical psychiatric help who are suffering from societal trauma resulting from division. Second, grasp the mental and societal difficulties and special help needed for the various traumas. Third, help in creation of artwork dealing with the pain of division. Fourth, create a more culturally sensitive and appropriate psychiatric support method for North Korean Refugees in South Korea. Fifth, help in sublimating pain and finding meaning and maturation through it. It is important to acknowledge that "Unification is Healing."
Hand Strength ; Humans ; Korea ; Korean War ; Mercuric Chloride ; Obsessive Behavior ; Professional Role ; Psychiatry ; Refugees ; Sublimation

Shigellosis is an acute diarrheal disease caused by bacteria of the genus Shigella. Following the occurrence of a large outbreak of shigellosis as well as sporadic cases since 1998, shigellosis has been a major health problem in Korea. There have been major changes in epidemiology during the last five decades concerning shigellosis in terms of total incidence of shigellosis, prevalence of certain serogroups, selection of specific clones, and introduction of new Shigella clones. S. dysenteriae was the most prevalent species until the early twentieth century, S. flexneri was the most prevalent until the late 1980s, and S. sonnei has been the most prevalent since 1990. Diverse serotypes of S. dysenteriae (4 serotypes), S. flexneri (8 serotypes), and S. boydii (4 serotypes) were found during the Korean War and many of these Korean endemic Shigella strains circulated in the community until the late 1970s. However, the endemic strains of S. dysenteriae, S. boydii, and S. sonnei disappeared in the late 1980s. A new clone of S. sonnei that was introduced between the late 1980s and the early 1990s was responsible for a large proportion of shigellosis in recent years. S. flexneri serotype 4a was the most frequently found during the Korean War and then the incidence of S. flexneri 2a gradually increased with time. S. flexneri isolates detected from 1991 to 1997 were all serotype 2a. However, the diverse clones of S. flexneri reemerged in Korea since 1999. It has not been determined whether the S. flexneri strains from the 2000s were the descendants of the Korean endemic strains or imported new strains, but the PFGE patterns were different between S. flexneri strains from the 1980s and 2000s. The widespread of new S. sonnei strains and the persistence of S. flexneri strains are responsible for the endemicity of shigellosis in Korea.
Bacteria ; Clone Cells ; Dysentery, Bacillary* ; Epidemiology* ; Incidence ; Korea* ; Korean War ; Prevalence ; Shigella

In Korea, overseas adoption has been practiced for more than 50 years. Initially, overseas adoption began with the objective to provide permanent homes for Korean war orphans, including mixed-blood children. From 1953 to 2007, about 160,000 Korean children were placed worldwide through overseas adoption and approximately 70,000 children were adopted in Korea. During that period, Korea developed into one of leading industrial countries in the world and the family norms changed dramatically. Since 1989, the Korean government has made diverse efforts to increase domestic adoptions and to support adopted families through the revisions to Korea's Child Welfare Law. However, it is not enough to reduce overseas adoptions rapidly because the Korean government's economic support for adopted families is not adequate and Korean sentiments regarding adoption have not changed. Being an international adoptee is a unique experience, involving dissimilarities of race, ethnicity, and culture. Clearly, it is very important for us to focus on placing Korean children in the best possible environment. Therefore, Korea must make diverse efforts to reduce overseas adoptions and to encourage domestic adoption. First, Korean society has to try to reduce the number of children who need out-of-home care. Second, the Korean government and people should make an effort to increase domestic adoptions, including adoptions of disabled and older children. Finally, the Korean government and adoption agencies have to provide professional pre-adoption and post-adoption services for international adoptees and adoptive parents.
Adoption ; Child ; Child Welfare ; Child, Orphaned ; Continental Population Groups ; Humans ; Jurisprudence ; Korea ; Korean War ; Parents