This dissertation examines the process of infrastructure-building for public health in South Korea following liberation from colonial rule with a focus on the national tuberculosis control policy. Tuberculosis was a widely prevalent disease that posed a heavy burden on both the population and the economy, and the 1962 national program, implemented through the nation-wide network of public health centers by the Park Chung Hee administration, is commonly considered as the watershed that turned the tide against the disease. This dissertation historically investigates how the infrastructure—not only the physical, but also the administrative, organizational, operational, and technical—for the tuberculosis program was designed and implemented, by whom, and more importantly, why. It argues that the emergence of tuberculosis as a controllable disease and a matter of public health was not driven merely by domestic factors but was closely tied to both the international political and technical developments. Moreover, this dissertation highlights the legacies of Korea’s postcolonial experience—the US military occupation, the Korean War, and the period of nation- building against the backdrop of the Cold War—in building the administrative and physical infrastructure for public health. In covering this period, this dissertation emphasizes the role of WHO and its long-term advocacy for strengthening the public health infrastructure in South Korea. WHO provided close technical assistance for the tuberculosis program, and developed a close partnership with not just the government but also KNTA, a key domestic actor that rose to influence in the postcolonial period. By demonstrating that the infrastructure for South Korea’s tuberculosis program had been built atop relationships established over decades under specific postcolonial contexts, this dissertation also contributes to the field of global health as a case study in WHO’s global initiatives in its early years and its long-term impact, and to the field of development studies by highlighting the role of non-governmental, voluntary groups, as key contributors to multilateral initiatives.
본 연구는 국가결핵관리정책 사례를 통해 해방 이후의 공중보건 인프라가 만들어지는 과정을 분석한다. 박정희 정권의 보건소법 개정과 함께 1962년에 발표된 국가결핵관리정책은 망국병으로 불리던 결핵의 유병률을 짧은 기간내 급격히 줄이는 효과를 이끌었던 정책으로 알려져 왔다. 본 논문은 국가결핵관리사업을 뒷받침해준 여러 물리적, 행정적, 조직적, 기술적 인프라의 계획과 운영과정을 역사적으로 분석하여, 1960년대 결핵관리정책은 단순히 국내 상황과 필요에 의해서 뿐만이 아니라 국제사회의 여러 정치적기술적인 요소들에 의해 중요한 공중보건 문제로 부상됨을 주장한다. 또한, 본논문은한국의해방이후미군정시기, 한국전쟁, 그리고냉전시기의긴장속 국가건설 과정이 공중보건 인프라에 미친 영향에 집중한다. 특히, 세계보건기구의 지속적인 공중보건 인프라 구축을 위한 노력이 어떻게 1960년대 결핵관리사업의 수행까지 이어졌는지 조망하며, 세계보건기구와 한국정부, 그리고 결핵협회라는 민간 전문가 단체와의 협력에 집중한다. 즉, 한국의 결핵관리는 이러한 특수한 역사적 맥락 속에서 형성된 삼자간의 관계의 결과물이라는 주장을 통해 본 논문은 세계보건기구의 초기 사업에 관한 이해를 도울 뿐 아니라, 한국이 현재 당면한 결핵문제와 개발도상국의 공중보건 및 질병관리 사업에 있어 민간단체의 역할에 대한 시사점을 제공한다.
