Ministry of Health and Welfare Sorokdo National Hospital Hansen’s Disease Museum

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On January 17, 2018, Sorokdo National Hospital published 『Contemplation of Hansen’s Disease and People over the Past 100 Years』, a compilation of the hospital’s 100-year history. Hansen’s disease experts participated in the publication project, which reflects the history not only from the viewpoint of the hospital but also from Hansen’s disease patients. Books were divided into the history edition and the medical service edition. A photograph collection was published separately to help readers understand better.

The books present introspection to the past and promise for the future. Even the dark past, when the hospital failed to meet its original mission of treating Hansen’s disease patients and taking good care of them and suppressed them instead, was stated objectively. The books face the past misdeeds and limitations squarely while presenting vision for the future through introspection.

The history edition is based on 「The 80 Years of Sorokdo」 published in 1996 by Sorokdo National Hospital. It aimed to reexamine the past from the viewpoint of Hansen’s disease patients. For example, it clearly stated that the bloodshed that took place in 1945 on liberation, which took away lives of 84 patients’ representatives, was a massacre committed by administrative staff of the hospital, not an accident.

「The 80 Years of Sorokdo」 somewhat lacked contents related to medical service. But in 「The 100 Years of Sorokdo」, a separate medical service edition was published along with the history edition. It states passage of domestic Hansen’s disease policies, changes in hospital operation, management, and system, development phases of medicines, etc. in detail. The fact that medical history was published separately from general history symbolizes a change in the characteristic of Sorokdo National Hospital from a quarantine facility to a medical institution.

Photographs vividly show how Hansen’s disease patients cultivated and led their life on the strength of education, religion, and self-governing activities, even amid illness and poverty.

「The 100 Years of Sorokdo」 is a monumental work and marks a milestone that puts an end to extremely difficult times and opens a new era with restored human rights.

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