식민지 조선의 전염병예방령 개정과 ‘보균자’ 문제 (Revision of the Infectious Disease Prevention Order and Carrier Issues in Colonial Korea)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 의료역사연구회
· 수록지 정보 : 의료사회사연구 / 7권 / 5 ~ 33페이지
· 저자명 : 백선례

초록

1910년 병합 이후 조선총독부는 식민지 조선통치의 기반이 되는 다양한 법령들을 차례로 공포하였으며, 위생행정과 관련된 법령들 역시 1910년대에 차례대로 제정되었다. 1915년 6월 제령 제2호로 전염병예방령이 제정되었고, 이로써 조선총독부 통치 초기의 위생 관련 법령이 정비되었다. 1915년 전염병예방령 제정이 지니는 의미와 그 제정과정, 그리고 그 성격에 대해서는 상당한 분석이 이루어졌지만, 이후 1920년대 전염병예방령이 개정된 것에 주목한 연구는 찾아보기 힘들다. 이글에서는 1920년대 조선의 전염병예방령 개정에 주목하여 그 의미와 시행과정을 살펴보고자 한다. 이 전염병예방령 개정이 의미 있는 것 중의 하나는 ‘보균자’라는 의학지식이 법령이 반영되어 보균자 단속을 강조했다는 점에서이다. 20세기 초 새롭게 알려진 건강보균자에 대한 지식과 함께 보균자가 전염병 방역의 중요한 존재로 떠오르면서 보균자 취급 문제가 법령에 반영되었던 것이다.
조선에서는 1924년 6월 전염병예방령 개정이 관보를 통해 고시되었으나 실제 시행기일은 1928년 6월 1일로 시행까지 4년여의 시간이 소요되었다. 4년의 기간에 걸쳐 개정된 전염병예방령 및 시행규칙에서 가장 중요하게 강조되었던 부분은 역시 ‘보균자’ 단속의 강화였다. 이렇게 법령으로 보균자 취급이 강화된 만큼 언론에서 그려내는 보균자 묘사 또한 강화되었다. 언론을 통해 일반 대중들에게 보균자의 위험성을 강조하는 것은 보균자 검사를 위한 시설 및 인력이 부족한 상황에서 개인의 자발적 검사에 기댈 수밖에 없었던 식민지 조선의 상황이 반영된 것이기도 하였다.

영어초록

The typhoid outbreak that occurred in New York in the early 1900s and the case of Typhoid Mary, who was identified as the cause of the outbreak and sent a wave of the infection throughout the United States, established the existence of disease carriers. In addition, this also highlighted the importance of the identification of carriers in infectious disease prevention. In order to apply this new finding to quarantine strategies for infectious disease control, regulations had to be put in place. Accordingly, in the 1910s, a category of ‘carrier(s)’ was added to the revised Infectious Disease Prevention Order in Taiwan and Korea.
In the Japanese Empire, a 1922 revision of the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act considered carriers as infected patients, recommending the same set of rules for both carriers and patients. After the revision of the Act in Japan, revisions to the Infectious Disease Prevention Order in Taiwan and Korea followed. In December 1925, the Infectious Disease Prevention Order was abolished in Taiwan, to follow the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act of Japan. Although a revision of the Infectious Disease Prevention Order was announced through the official gazette in June 1924 in Korea, the revision did not actually take place until 4 years later, on June 1, 1928.
The most emphasized topic within the 4-year revision of the Infectious Disease Prevention Order and the Enforcement Decree of the Infectious Disease Prevention Order also pertained to carriers. In fact, until the 1910s, Koreans were viewed as potential carriers. However, overtime, greater importance was placed on the role of carriers in infectious disease prevention, which thus emerged as an urgent issue.
The existence of carriers in Colonial Korea was identified during the cholera outbreak in 1920, following an incident involving the accommodation of carriers in a hospital (Sunhwawon). The incident led to attempts to educate the public through newspaper and magazine articles on the existence of carriers and the need to quarantine. During the revision of the Infectious Disease Prevention Order, awareness regarding disease carriers was enforced due to a typhoid fever outbreak in Gyeonseong in January and February, 1928. Furthermore, attempts to increase the understanding about carriers were continued in the press, albeit in such a way that labeled carriers as the source of infectious disease and emphasized their risk to others. As a result, expressions used to describe carriers were becoming increasingly unsavory, such as the “troops of infectious diseases” and “spies”.
Medical information regarding carriers was included in the newly revised Infectious Disease Prevention Order and disseminated through newspaper and magazine articles with the purpose of promoting understanding with the aim of creating awareness about the need to investigate and quarantine carriers. Nevertheless, carriers continued to be framed as the major source of infectious diseases as a means to improve the public’s understanding of their role in disease transmission.

참고자료

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