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| Government hospital in Seoul / Courtesy of Robert Neff Collection |
By Robert Neff
No one is sure where Spanish flu began. Some experts claim it started in the United States, others say Europe and there has even been speculation it started in China in 1917 and was imported to Europe through Chinese laborers (a Chinese medical journal backs up this theory). There is no question as to its impact on humanity _ more than 50 million people died as a result of this disease and no region was spared, including Korea.
The disease appears to have arrived on the peninsula in early spring 1918 and spread quickly. Ships carried it from port to port and the railroad transported it quickly throughout the interior. The five-day markets and cramped inns favored by itinerant merchants further facilitated its contagious spread.
In correspondence in June, an American woman residing in Seoul described the death of the family's Chinese cook. He apparently developed a sudden fever and was promptly taken to the hospital where he died shortly afterwards. Despite Japanese officials fumigating her home, she was afraid her husband had contracted the disease as he "started (displaying) all the symptoms."
There was apparently great concern at the American gold mining concession in northern Korea. In a previous cholera epidemic, large numbers of Korean, Chinese and Japanese miners had died quickly and unexpectedly _ some while working deep in the mine shafts. Even though the concession had modern medical facilities, some of the American miners' wives and their children were taking no chances and attempted to escape the disease by returning to the United States. It wasn't safe there either.
In an attempt to control the disease, the Japanese government closed places where large numbers of people congregated, such as schools, movie theaters and the city zoo and canceled ceremonies and events. People were encouraged to wear masks. Those who showed symptoms were barred from entering workplace and quarantines were enforced.
Many people shunned hospitals believing they would be quarantined and never see their families again so it is little wonder folk remedies and superstitions were sometimes used. Elixirs made of scallions, ginger, bamboo shoots, fish and other ingredients were said to be cures. Drawing images of scary temple guardians on paper and placing them on the sufferer's forehead was also thought to help _ interesting to note, in Gangwon Province, some people wrote the names of their local Japanese officials and policemen believing they were far scarier than the temple guardians.
An even darker folk remedy was described in a journal article by Lim Chai-sung:
"(After) removing a child's five organs and six viscera, one fills the body with black soybeans and baked earth, then boils the body whole and drinks the juice, then one can cure this disease."
Yet, despite modern medicine and superstitions, the death toll increased _ peaking in November 1918 with more than 91,000 dead. It had a serious impact on society. Mail could not be delivered because of the fatalities amongst the carriers, rice prices increased, and fuel _ when it could be obtained _ was three or four times more expensive than the previous year. Even coffins were difficult to obtain causing many people to bury their loved ones in straw mats which also caused the price of straw and hemp to prohibitively soar in price.
The disease also had an impact on society and politics. According to Lim and others, the misery caused by the Spanish flu outbreak was "a catalyst for social agitation that led to active Korean participation in the March 1st Independence Movement and the subsequent changes in the Japanese colonial policy in the 1920s."
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