A Study on the Jejungwon Hospital Building in Jaedong and Gurigae, and Uses of the Hospital after its Relocation

Jejungwon hospital, the first modern healthcare facility to be built in Korea, was built at Jaedong in 1885 and moved to Gurigae in 1887. Finally, it was moved to Dodong, outside the Namdaemun Gate, and its name was changed to Severance Hospital. The Jaedong Jejungwon hospital was located at a former house of HONG Youngsik, and it was expanded by renovating existing buildings and constructing new buildings in 2 years. The Gurigae Jejungwon hospital, which was located near Myeongdong Cathedral, was bigger than the Jaedong Jejungwon one and even provided residence to doctors. Jejungwon hospital was a good example of the healthcare facilities that were available in early modern Korea; however, due to a lack of historical materials, it is not easy to analyze the buildings of Jejungwon hospital. Recently, several architectural drawings made by Japanese and photographs taken by foreigners in the early 20th century were discovered, which help us to understand the buildings of the Jejungwon hospitals in Jaedong and Gurigae. This study analyzes the locations and layouts of the buildings of Jejungwon hospital and, furthermore, traces the history of Jejungwon hospital following its relocation. The Jaedong Jejungwon hospital was located at 35 Jaedong, as already known. By analyzing the architectural drawing of Kyeongseong Women’s High-School Dormitory, the exact size of the existing building of Jaedong Jejungwon was calculated as 12m × 3.9m. Since the relocation of Jejungwon hospital to Gurigae in 1887, the remnants of Jejungwon buildings were used as Gwangjewon (1900-1907); a vaccine-manufacturing plant (1907-1910); and, finally, the dormitory of Kyeongseong Women‘s High School(1910s-1950s). The Gurigae Jejungwon hospital was assumed to be located at 193, 2nd street of Koganecho and 4, 1st street of Meijicho. In particular, the residence of Avison, which was built after 1894, was located at 4, 1st Street of Meijicho, the place with the highest elevation compared to surrounding areas. After 1905, Stevens, a foreign affairs adviser, lived there for one year, following which the Korean government office for agriculture and industry took over the place. The buildings that were used as the hospital at 193, 2nd street of Koganecho were transformed into the Daedong Japanese Club. By analyzing the newly found research materials, it is possible to examine and revise the previous research on the Jaedong Jejungwon and Gurigae Jejungwon hospital buildings. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that the buildings of Jejungwon hospital in Jaedong and Gurigae have been reused as healthcare facilities over the years