Abstract
This study examined the operation and facility changes of the Institute for Rural Health, which was established to provide medical and health care in rural areas of Jeollabuk-do from 1935 to the 1960s, and its founder, Dr. Lee Young-chun, based on records. The research institute, established for the purpose of providing medical care and hygiene to farmers in Jeollabuk-do, began in 1935 when Lee Young-chun opened a clinic as a farm doctor. The time when a separate corporation was established as a research institute to seriously promote medical care and hygiene was 1942, as can be seen from records from that time. However, the above plan was not realized at the time for various reasons, and after liberation, due to insufficient financial support, it was launched as the Institute for Rural Health in 1948. The Institute for Rural Health, established in 1948, continuously expanded its facilities to achieve its founding purpose. These facilities can be divided into the Ungbon Farm, the US military government (Shinhan Corporation), the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, depending on the entity that subsidized the operating expenses of the institute. However, the Institute for Rural Health was excluded from the operation of the Seagrave Hospital, which was established with the Korea-America Foundation in the 1970s, due to debt borrowed to supplement operating expenses after 1956, and thereafter lost its actual medical and sanitation activities.