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Medical Knowledge on the Move: Institutional Translation of Medical Texts at Chejungwon during the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century

Ji-Hae Kang 1

1아주대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This study explores the ways in which ‘Western’ medical knowledge was translated into Korean and the roles of the translators involved in institutional translation activities during the late nineteenth and the early twentieth century. In Korea, the transmission of the Western medical knowledge is associated with the 1885 establishment of Chejungwon, a modern hospital and medical school operated by Protestant missionaries. Western medical texts were translated for the first time at Chejungwon against the background of growing Japanese threat, diminishing Chinese influence, and dramatic changes in social and political structures in Korea. Drawing on the concept of ‘institutional translation,’ the present study examines the process and product of Chejungwon’s translation by analyzing its institutional practices, translation policy, translators’ roles and activities, and translated texts. The study argues that medical knowledge translation at Chejungwon was a complex site of intersecting needs and expectations, collaborative practices, and social and cultural transformation.

Citation status

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