Ji Seokyeong
- This is a Korean name; the family name is Ji.
Ji Seokyeong(지석영, 池錫永) 1855-1935 was a late Joseon period physician of oriental medicine, as well as a civil minister and Hangeul scholar. He studied vaccinations and worked to educate people about them, contributing greatly to the elimination of smallpox in Korea. He was the earliest Korean physician to administer vaccinations, and there is still much about his life and work that is unknown.
Birth and early life
Ji Seokyeong was born on May 15, 1855 in the city of Hanseong (now Seoul), the fourth son of Ji Ikyeong (지익용, 池翼龍) an oriental medicine physician. From an early age, he became interested in translations of western medical journals that came to Korea from China, and became interested in the work of the English doctor Edward Jenner, who was the first to administer the smallpox vaccination. In 1876 he met Pak Yongson, who had recently participated as translator for Kim Kisu in a diplomatic mission to observe Japan's modernization, under the terms of the Korean-Japanese Treaty of Amity. Knowing that Ji was interested in inoculation, Pak told Ji about Japan's advances in inoculation, and gave him a set of books on the topic that he had brought back, Jongdu Guigam (종두귀감, 種痘龜鑑, Models of Inoculation) written by Dr. Odaki of Suncheondang Clinic in Tokyo. Pak.
Having been interested in inoculations since an early age, and sorry that so many people were dying from infections disease, Je began to undertake research to try to develop vaccinations. Unable to create effective inoculations on his own, in 1879, he traveled to Pusan to study inoculation at the Japanese Naval Hospital. Completing his studies, he received some vaccine from the Hostpital, and on the way back to Seoul he stopped at his wife's hometown in Chungjugun Deoksanmyeon and inoculated 40 children of her relatives and neighbors against smallpox, the first inoculations to be administered in Korea. Arriving in Seoul, he vaccinated many children, working out of his house. However, since the vaccine he had brought with him from Busan could only treat a limited number of people, he determined to manufacture vaccine on his own.
Smallpox vaccinations
In 1880 Ji learned another diplomatic mission to Japan was being planned, and requested to join the staff, hoping to have a chance to learn about manufacturing vaccine during the Japan visit. The head of the Korean mission, Kim Hongjip, made a request on Ji's behalf to Japan's Foreign Affairs Minister Inoue, and Minister Inoue arranged for Ji to be introduced to the director of the vaccine department. In Japan, Ji studied the production and storage of vaccines, and brought 50 vials of vaccine back to Korea with him. Returning to Seoul, he continued to administer vaccinations.
In late 19th century Joseon Korea there was rising tension regarding Japanese influence in Korea. In 1882, during the Military Mutiny of 1882, or Imo Kullan, a Japanese military training officer was killed, and the Hanabusa, the head of the Japanese mission in Korea was also attacked. In the aftermath, Koreans like Ji Seokyeong who had close ties to Japan came under suspicion of being too sympathetic to Japan. He was injured and almost died when his clinic was destroyed by fire. Under threat of arrest, Ji was forced to leave Seoul for a while. In August he returned to Seoul and rebuilt the clinic, and in September he traveled south at the request of the governor of Jeolla province, to establish vaccination clinics in Jeonju and to instruct physicians on how to administer the vaccine. The following year, he continued to spread knowledge about the smallpox vaccine when, at the request of the governor of Chungcheong Province, he established another clinic in Gongju.
Teaching and writing
Ji Seokyeong passed the civil service examination in 1883, and was appointed as an instructor of Confucian precepts in the National University (관립대학교, 官立大學校). He began work on a book on inoculations, finally completing two volumes entitled New Principals of Inoculation, (Jongdu Sinseol, 종두신설, 種痘新說), including important essays on inoculation by English, Chinese and Japanese pioneers in the field.
Following the Kapsin Cheongbyeon or Coup d'Etat of 1884, again his association with Japan placed him under suspicion, and in 1887 he was arrested and sent to exile in Sinjido, an island off the coast of Jeolla province. During his time in exile, he continued to teach, and finally in 1893, was able to return to Seoul, he established the Wuduboyeongdang (우두보영당, 牛痘保嬰堂) clinic, where he continued inoculating children and training doctors.
Based on his qualification from the civil service exam in 1883, Ji Seokyeong was appointed to a district chief post near Pusan in 1891, where he served for a time. In 1899,
Died February 1, 1935
See Also
- List of Korea-related topics
Notes
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
External Links
- (Korean)Ministry of Culture Biography site]
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