Chejungwon () was founded in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

in 1885, and is known as the first Western medical institution in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. It affiliated with Yonhee University in 1957, which changed its name to

Yonsei University Yonsei University (; ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea. As a member of the "SKY" universities, Yonsei University is deemed one of the three most prestigious institutions in the country. It is particularly respected in the ...

to mark the collaboration. It is now part of the Yonsei University Health System.

History

Establishment as Gwanghyewon

In 1885, during the

Gapsin Coup The Gapsin Coup, also known as the Gapsin Revolution, was a failed three-day coup d'état that occurred in Korea during 1884. Korean reformers in the Enlightenment Party sought to initiate rapid changes within the country, including eliminating ...

, Min Young-ik, the nephew of

Empress Myeongseong Empress Myeongseong or Empress Myungsung (명성황후 민씨; 17 November 1851 – 8 October 1895In lunar calendar, the Empress was born on 25 September 1851 and died on 20 August 1895), informally known as Empress Min, was the official wife ...

(wife of

Emperor Gojong Gojong (; 8 September 1852 – 21 January 1919) was the monarch of Korea from 1864 to 1907. He reigned as the last King of Joseon from 1864 to 1897, and as the first Emperor of Korea from 1897 until his forced abdication in 1907. He is known ...

), was stabbed and seriously injured. The German diplomat

Paul Georg von Möllendorff Paul Georg von Möllendorff (17 February 1847 in Zehdenick, Prussia – 20 April 1901 in Ningbo, China) was a German linguist and diplomat. Möllendorff is mostly known for his service as an adviser to the Korean king Gojong in the late nineteen ...

was present at the massacre and quickly requested medical care from American Dr.

Horace Newton Allen Horace Newton Allen (April 23, 1858 – December 11, 1932) was a missionary, physician, and American ambassador to Korea. He was the first Protestant missionary in Korea, arriving there on September 15, 1884. After treating Min Young-ik, a r ...

, a missionary who had recently arrived. Allen was an American

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

who studied medicine at

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...

. Under his modern medical treatment, unknown to Korea at the time, Min recovered in three months. Thereafter, Gojong displayed an interest in Western medicine, leading to the appointment of Allen as his personal court physician. Together, they established ''Gwanghyewon'' (; lit. "House of Extended Grace" or "Widespread Relief House"),

Joseon Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

's first Western hospital, on 29 February 1885. The hospital was located in

Jae-dong Jae-dong is a ''dong (neighbourhood), dong'', neighbourhood of Jongno-gu in Seoul, South Korea. It is a legal dong (법정동 ) administered under its administrative dong (행정동 ), Gahoe-dong. See also *Administrative divisions of South Ko ...

Renamed as Chejungwon

On 12 March 1885, Gojong renamed Gwanghyewon as ''Chejungwon'' (; lit. "House of Universal Helpfulness"). In March 1886, sixteen men were selected as Chejungwon's first class of students to study Western medicine. Twelve of the sixteen students successfully became doctors.

Renamed as Severance Hospital

In 1893, Oliver R. Avison, a professor of the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

, became the fourth hospital director of Chejungwon. In 1900, while on furlough in North America, Avison was invited to speak at a conference of missions in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Among the audience was

Louis Severance Louis Henry Severance (August 1, 1838 – June 25, 1913) was an American oilman and philanthropist who was a founding member of the Standard Oil Trust, the first treasurer of Standard Oil, (Charitable foundation established by Louis Severance ...

, an American businessman and philanthropist from

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

who was connected to Standard Oil. Severance donated a large sum of money () to Chejungwon, with which a new hospital was built in front of

Sungnyemun Namdaemun (, ), officially known as the Sungnyemun (, ), is one of the Eight Gates in the Fortress Wall of Seoul, South Korea, which surrounded the city in the Joseon dynasty. It is located in Jung-gu between Seoul Station and Seoul Plaza, ...

. Chejungwon subsequently changed its name to "Severance Hospital" on 3 September 1904. In the same year, the hospital added the Severance Hospital Medical School and the attached School of Nursing. After Severance's death, his son, John Severance, donated an additional to the hospital. Severance Hospital became one of the best-equipped and most well-known hospitals in Asia. The first seven medical licenses in Korean history were awarded to graduates of Severance Hospital Medical School on 3 June 1908: Hong Jong-eun, Kim Pil-soon, Hong Seok-hoo,

Park Seo-yang Park Seo-yang (korean:박서양 朴瑞陽, September 30, 1885 – December 15, 1940) was a Korean early modern surgeon, doctor, chemist, and independence activist from a slave family. His real name was Bongchul (봉출Japanese colonial rule, the Japanese renamed the hospital and medical school as "Asahi Medical School." When Korea regained independence in 1945, the hospital officially reclaimed its name as Severance Hospital. The medical school was upgraded to "Severance Medical College" in 1947. On 5 January 1957, the Severance Medical College was united with Yonhee University under the name of

. The

Severance Hospital Severance Hospital is a teaching hospital located in Sinchon-dong, Seodaemun District, South Korea. It is one of the oldest and biggest university hospitals in South Korea. It has 2,437 beds and treats approximately 2,500,000 outpatients and 840, ...

is currently part of the Yonsei University Health System and affiliated with the Yonsei University College of Medicine.

Hospital directors

() - March 1885 to September 1887 # John William Heron () - September 1887 to July 1890 # Charles C. Vinton () - April 1891 to November 1893 # Oliver R. Avison () - November 1893 – 1932

Significance

Chejungwon was the first Western hospital and medical school in Korea. Its transition into the Korean society, however, was not easy. The older generation of Koreans did not believe and trust the staff as doctors because they were foreign. Because of these doubts, Koreans did not think that Western medicine was effective. Yet, under the leadership and efforts of its hospital directors, Chejungwon became one of the most renowned hospitals at that time, eventually earning the trust of the locals.

In popular culture

The 36-episode television series ''

Jejungwon Chejungwon () was founded in Seoul in 1885, and is known as the first Western medical institution in Korea. It affiliated with Yonhee University in 1957, which changed its name to Yonsei University to mark the collaboration. It is now part of the ...

'', starring

Park Yong-woo Park Yong-woo (; born March 16, 1971) is a South Korean actor. Early life Park Yong-woo's father was an engineering professor and his mother was a music teacher. As a child he was shy and expressed himself poorly. Instead, he nurtured his imag ...

, Han Hye-jin and

Yeon Jung-hoon Yeon Jung-hoon (born November 6, 1978) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for generational epic '' East of Eden'' (2008), crime procedural ''Vampire Prosecutor'' (2011-2012) and the domestically popular weekend drama ''Pots of Gold'' (2013 ...

, aired on SBS in 2010, explore the early years of the hospital and its first medical students.

References

External links

*http://100.naver.com/100.nhn?docid=19237 {{Coord, 37, 33, 46.5, N, 126, 56, 19.8, E, display=title Hospitals in Seoul Hospitals established in 1885