Book ID: CBB001422175

Reconstructing Bodies: Biomedicine, Health, and Nation-Building in South Korea since 1945 (2013)

unapi

DiMoia, John Paul (Author)


Stanford University Press


Publication Date: 2013
Physical Details: x + 280 pp.; ill.; bibl.; index
Language: English

South Korea represents one of the world's most enthusiastic markets for plastic surgery. The growth of this market is particularly fascinating as access to medical care and surgery arose only recently with economic growth since the 1980s. Reconstructing Bodies traces the development of a medical infrastructure in the Republic of Korea (ROK) from 1945 to the present, arguing that the plastic surgery craze and the related development of biotech ambitions is deeply rooted in historical experience. Tracking the ROK's transition and independence from Japan, John P. DiMoia explains how the South Korean government mobilized biomedical resources and technologies to consolidate its desired image of a modern and progressive nation. Offering in-depth accounts of illustrative transformations, DiMoia narrates South Korean biomedical practice, including Seoul National University Hospital's emergence as an international biomedical site, state-directed family planning and anti-parasite campaigns, and the emerging market for aesthetic and plastic surgery, reflecting how South Koreans have appropriated medicine and surgery for themselves as individuals, increasingly prioritizing private forms of health care.

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Reviewed By

Review Harry Yi-Jui Wu (2020) Review of "Naming the Local: Medicine, Language, and Identity in Korea since the Fifteenth Century". Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences (pp. 633-640). unapi

Review Lijing Jiang (2017) Review of "Reconstructing Bodies: Biomedicine, Health, and Nation-Building in South Korea since 1945". Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences (pp. 88-91). unapi

Review Gregg Brazinsky (2015) Review of "Reconstructing Bodies: Biomedicine, Health, and Nation-Building in South Korea since 1945". East Asian Science, Technology, and Medicine (pp. 139-142). unapi

Review Manyong Moon (2016) Review of "Reconstructing Bodies: Biomedicine, Health, and Nation-Building in South Korea since 1945". Technology and Culture (pp. 487-488). unapi

Review Suh, Soyoung (2015) Review of "Reconstructing Bodies: Biomedicine, Health, and Nation-Building in South Korea since 1945". East Asian Science, Technology and Society: An International Journal (pp. 101-105). unapi

Review Lee, Victoria (2015) Review of "Reconstructing Bodies: Biomedicine, Health, and Nation-Building in South Korea since 1945". British Journal for the History of Science (pp. 716-717). unapi

Review Kim, Jane (2014) Review of "Reconstructing Bodies: Biomedicine, Health, and Nation-Building in South Korea since 1945". Medical History (pp. 612-614). unapi

Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB001422175/

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Authors & Contributors
Hyun, Jaehwan
Eduardo Zachary Albrecht
Street, Alice
Sarah F. Liebschutz
Guian A. McKee
Prkachin, Yvan
Concepts
Medicine and economics
Health care
Biomedicine
Hospitals and clinics
Medicine and society
Biomedical technology
Time Periods
20th century
20th century, late
21st century
19th century
20th century, early
Places
Japan
South Korea
United States
Papua New Guinea
Botswana
Singapore
Institutions
Rockefeller Foundation
Johns Hopkins Hospital
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