Korean J Med Hist.  2013 Apr;22(1):133-178.

A Study on the Discourse and Reality of Abortion in Korea: 1920s~1930s

• Lee YA

Abstract

This paper tried to collect, classify and analyse the discourse about abortion in 1920~1930. In Korea, modern medical abortion operation started in 1920~30s. At that time abortion was prohibited by the Japanese Government-General of Korea, because the Japanese Government-General of Korea needed large population which was used for labor and exploitation. Hence, the Empire of Japan de-penalized Japanese criminal law related to birth control but Korean law was not revised between 1910~1945. Nevertheless, there were quite a few women who wanted abortion when they had children born in sin or they were too poor to raise their children, so they had abortion secretly. At that time the women generally had abortion through toxic drugs or foods and violence (dropping from a high place or beating their stomach). But high class women did it by medical operation. In 1920s, there was few Korean (modern) medical doctors who could operate for abortion, instead Japanese immigrant medical doctors did it--as the newspaper of that time showed(there were many pieces of news that Japanese doctor who helped abortion was arrested by the police). As time went by Korean doctors got their say about the technique and various knowledge of abortion in newspapers, magazines, and academic Journals; this was especially the case starting in 1930. It is worth noting that they were sometimes arrested for illegal abortion operations. Furthermore, from the late 1920s the insist that abortion should be permitted for women and poor people, appeared. This insist was affected by Japan, the Soviet Union and other countries which was generous with abortion.

Keyword

abortion; discourse; women; cultural study; obstetrics and gynecology; birth control; Japanese colonial Korea

MeSH Terms

Abortion, Criminal
Asian Continental Ancestry Group
Child
Contraception
Criminal Law
Diphtheria Toxoid
Emigrants and Immigrants
Female
Haemophilus Vaccines
Humans
Hypogonadism
Japan
Jurisprudence
Korea
Mitochondrial Diseases
Newspapers
Ophthalmoplegia
Periodicals as Topic
USSR
Vaccines, Conjugate
Violence
Diphtheria Toxoid
Haemophilus Vaccines
Hypogonadism
Mitochondrial Diseases
Ophthalmoplegia
Vaccines, Conjugate