『東西醫學要義』 간행으로 본 1920년대 한의학 정체성 변화에 관한 고찰

A Study on the Identity Formation of Korean Medicine in the 1920s: Focusing on the publication of Dongseo uihak youi

본 논문은 1920년대 한의학 지식 체계의 변천을 20세기 초 식민지 상황에서의 '정체성 형성'이라는 관점에서 살펴본다. 이 시기 활동했던 동서의학연구회의 회원이었던 도진우가 저술하고 동서의학연구회가 발행한 『동서의학요의』는 당시 식민지 보건의료체계에서 한의사의 역할을 개괄적으로 살펴볼 수 있는 중요한 책이다. 당시 한의 임상의의 대표적 단체였던 동서의학연구회는 『동서의학요의』 발간 뿐 아니라 서양의학 교육을 받은 의사와 대등한 '조선의사'를 배출하기 위해 한의학과 서양의학이 절충 또는 통합된 한의학을 교육하는 동서의학전문학교를 설립하려고 시도했다. 이러한 시도는 비록 실현되지는 않았지만, 1920년대 한의계 또는 한의학이 어떤 방향으로 어떻게 정체성을 추구했는지에 대한 중요한 단서를 제공한다.

This paper describes the transformation of the knowledge system of Korean medicine in the early 20th-century colonial context of the 1920s in terms of ‘identity formation’. At the time, newly introduced Western medicine was the dominant form of medical knowledge due to strong support from the colonial government but had did not enjoy popular support from the general public especially when compared to Korean medicine. Furthermore, the Japanese colonial government needed to utilize Korean medicine practitioners’ labor due to a serious shortage of Western medicine doctors. In this context, Dongseo uihak youi (Essentials of Eastern and Western Medicines) provides an overview of the role of Korean medicine practitioners in the colonial healthcare system of the time. The book contains a figure of a ‘modern’ Korean medicine practitioner working within a healthcare system influenced by colonial modernity. The association of Korean medicine doctors at that time not only published Dongseo uihak youi but also attempted to establish a school specializing in both Eastern and Western medicines or integrated Korean medicine, which would produce “the Chosŏn doctors” (Chosŏn ŭisa) on a par with doctors trained in Western medicine. Although their attempts did not materialized, they provide a clue as to how and in what direction Korean medicine pursued its identity in the 1920s.