Unstable Expansion: The Development of the Military Medical Evacuation Chain in Korea, 1948–1953
This research examines the expansion and characteristics of the Korean Army’s chain of medical evacuation in 1948–1953. The most important goal of the chain of medical evacuation was to conserve fighting strength, which cannot be achieved only by sending the sick and wounded to the rear for treatmen...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Korean Society for the History of Medicine
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Uisahak |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://medhist.or.kr/upload/pdf/kjmh-32-2-463.pdf |
| _version_ | 1827815337026912256 |
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| author | Jaegoo KANG Yunjae PARK |
| author_facet | Jaegoo KANG Yunjae PARK |
| author_sort | Jaegoo KANG |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This research examines the expansion and characteristics of the Korean Army’s chain of medical evacuation in 1948–1953. The most important goal of the chain of medical evacuation was to conserve fighting strength, which cannot be achieved only by sending the sick and wounded to the rear for treatment. It was more important to maintain as many mission-capable wounded soldiers on the frontline. Therefore, triage for conserving strength was the priority in the evacuation process, and military doctors conducting triage played a significant role. Focusing on military doctors, this article studies the instability of the Korean Army’s medical evacuation chain.Although Korea was liberated from Japanese colonial rule in August 1945, Korea had no army or army medical services. With the support of KMAG, the Korean Army was able to build a nationwide evacuation chain during the Korean War. However, the expansion of the medical evacuation chain resulted in instability. At the heart of the instability was manpower, rather than organization and transportation. Koreans had almost no experience with the military medical services before 1948, and during the Korean War, most doctors, who had been conscripted after the outbreak of the war, were not trained as military doctors. Therefore, the Korean Army had no other choice but to conduct medical evacuations using mobilized civilian doctors who were not sufficiently trained as military doctors. The escalating war revealed the problems of civilian doctors in military uniforms. Unlike the goal of the chain of medical evacuation, they easily evacuated patients and were reluctant to release patients to return to their duties. Korean Army doctors who were not sufficiently trained as military doctors struggled between the goals of military medical services and those of medical care. Consequently, the military doctors and the instability of the medical evacuation chain during the Korean War reflect the fundamental tension between war and medicine. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T23:58:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-02ab314f7b80491989d2d82382fa7d19 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1225-505X 2093-5609 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T23:58:46Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | Korean Society for the History of Medicine |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Uisahak |
| spelling | doaj.art-02ab314f7b80491989d2d82382fa7d192023-09-18T05:55:52ZengKorean Society for the History of MedicineUisahak1225-505X2093-56092023-08-0132246350110.13081/kjmh.2023.32.4632444Unstable Expansion: The Development of the Military Medical Evacuation Chain in Korea, 1948–1953Jaegoo KANG0Yunjae PARK1Ph.D. Student, Department of History, Kyung Hee UniversityProfessor, Department of History, Kyung Hee UniversityThis research examines the expansion and characteristics of the Korean Army’s chain of medical evacuation in 1948–1953. The most important goal of the chain of medical evacuation was to conserve fighting strength, which cannot be achieved only by sending the sick and wounded to the rear for treatment. It was more important to maintain as many mission-capable wounded soldiers on the frontline. Therefore, triage for conserving strength was the priority in the evacuation process, and military doctors conducting triage played a significant role. Focusing on military doctors, this article studies the instability of the Korean Army’s medical evacuation chain.Although Korea was liberated from Japanese colonial rule in August 1945, Korea had no army or army medical services. With the support of KMAG, the Korean Army was able to build a nationwide evacuation chain during the Korean War. However, the expansion of the medical evacuation chain resulted in instability. At the heart of the instability was manpower, rather than organization and transportation. Koreans had almost no experience with the military medical services before 1948, and during the Korean War, most doctors, who had been conscripted after the outbreak of the war, were not trained as military doctors. Therefore, the Korean Army had no other choice but to conduct medical evacuations using mobilized civilian doctors who were not sufficiently trained as military doctors. The escalating war revealed the problems of civilian doctors in military uniforms. Unlike the goal of the chain of medical evacuation, they easily evacuated patients and were reluctant to release patients to return to their duties. Korean Army doctors who were not sufficiently trained as military doctors struggled between the goals of military medical services and those of medical care. Consequently, the military doctors and the instability of the medical evacuation chain during the Korean War reflect the fundamental tension between war and medicine.http://medhist.or.kr/upload/pdf/kjmh-32-2-463.pdfthe korean warmedical evacuationchain of medical evacuationtriagemilitary doctoron-the-spot commissioned officermilitary medical servicekmag |
| spellingShingle | Jaegoo KANG Yunjae PARK Unstable Expansion: The Development of the Military Medical Evacuation Chain in Korea, 1948–1953 Uisahak the korean war medical evacuation chain of medical evacuation triage military doctor on-the-spot commissioned officer military medical service kmag |
| title | Unstable Expansion: The Development of the Military Medical Evacuation Chain in Korea, 1948–1953 |
| title_full | Unstable Expansion: The Development of the Military Medical Evacuation Chain in Korea, 1948–1953 |
| title_fullStr | Unstable Expansion: The Development of the Military Medical Evacuation Chain in Korea, 1948–1953 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unstable Expansion: The Development of the Military Medical Evacuation Chain in Korea, 1948–1953 |
| title_short | Unstable Expansion: The Development of the Military Medical Evacuation Chain in Korea, 1948–1953 |
| title_sort | unstable expansion the development of the military medical evacuation chain in korea 1948 1953 |
| topic | the korean war medical evacuation chain of medical evacuation triage military doctor on-the-spot commissioned officer military medical service kmag |
| url | http://medhist.or.kr/upload/pdf/kjmh-32-2-463.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jaegookang unstableexpansionthedevelopmentofthemilitarymedicalevacuationchaininkorea19481953 AT yunjaepark unstableexpansionthedevelopmentofthemilitarymedicalevacuationchaininkorea19481953 |