Sorokdo (Korean: 소록도, lit. 'Sorok Island') is an island in Goheung County, South Jeolla in South Korea. The word sorok means "small deer", which the island's coastline, viewed from above, is supposed to resemble.[1] The island is approximately one kilometer away from the larger Nokdong Port.
Sorokdo
소록도 小鹿島 | |
|---|---|
| Korean transcription(s) | |
| • Hangul | 소록도 |
| • Hanja | 小鹿島 |
 | |
 | |
| Country | South Korea |
| Region | Jeolla |
| Area | |
• Total | 4.46 km2 (1.72 sq mi) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 708 |
History
editPrior to Japanese colonization, Sorokdo had a population of roughly 1000 people living in 170 households.[2]
Sorokdo is the site of the largest leper colony in South Korea, housed in Sorokdo National Hospital. The hospital was built in 1916, then known as Sorokdo Charity Clinic.[3] Established during the Japanese colonization of Korea, the hospital and the island were turned into a concentration camp for lepers, with a history of patient abuse including slave labor, forced sterilizations, unethical human experimentation, and deliberate starvation.[4] The Japanese authorities divided the island geographically - the eastern portion was a zone for non-patients, i.e. hospital staff and their families, while the western area was used to isolate patients. The dividing line between the two was referred to as sutanjang, meaning 'place of sadness'.[5] Patients were allowed to see their families once a month, but were forced to remain at a distance as the disease was believed to be airborne.[citation needed]
At its peak in 1940, 6,000 patients with Hansen's disease resided on the island.[6] Following the end of Japanese rule, the South Korean government continued to quarantine people with leprosy on Sorokdo until 1963.[7]
In 1962, two Catholic Austrian nurses, Margreth Pissarek and Marianne Stoeger, arrived at Sorokdo to provide treatment for patients and help establish community facilities, such as childcare centers.[8] In 1984 Pope John Paul II visited the island; this was considered a watershed moment in the consideration of the human rights of the remaining patients and residents.[2]
The Japanese colonial law regarding the quarantine of lepers remained in effect in South Korean until 1991; the South Korean government continued to send lepers to Sorokdo National Hospital and seven leper villages remained on the island as of 2007[update].[citation needed]
Present day
editIn 2009, the Sorokdo bridge opened, connecting the island to the mainland and the neighboring island of Geogeum.[3] Prior to the bridge's opening, formerly infected people were required to show permission from a doctor to take the ferry to leave the island. The Sorokdo National Hospital predominantly treats patients with dementia, and the island sees roughly 300,000 tourists per year.[citation needed]
Sorokdo National Hospital Hansen’s Disease Museum was designated as a national specialized museum by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism in 2019.[citation needed]
In 1935, Japanese authorities forced patients to build a Shinto shrine to mandate Shinto worship as part of the Japanese assimilationist policy naisen ittai (Japanese: 内鮮一体).[9] Still standing on the island, it is one of the last remaining Shinto shrines left in South Korea.[10] Other religious buildings, including Catholic and Protestant churches as well as Buddhist temples, have been built on the island.[citation needed]
In films
editPortions of the 2016 film Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet were filmed on Sorokdo.[11]
References
edit- ^ "Korean Leper Colony: Sorok Island". koreabridge.net. May 31, 2011.
- ^ a b Jang, Seong-Gon; Lee, Hyun Kyung; Kang, Dong-Jin (January 2020). "Sustainable Conservation of a Difficult Heritage in South Korea: Mapping the Conservation Resources of Sorok-do Island, Hansen's Disease Site". Sustainability. 12 (17): 6834. doi:10.3390/su12176834. ISSN 2071-1050.
- ^ a b "The Sorokdo National Hospital of South Korea: complicated legacy". Hektoen International - an Online Medical Humanities Journal. 30 December 2020. Retrieved 2022-06-05.
- ^ "Korean ex-leprosy patients return to island colony". The State. 2013-11-24. Retrieved 2013-11-24.
- ^ "Island with agonizing past moves forward". Korea JoongAng Daily. 15 April 2015. Retrieved 2022-06-05.
- ^ "Sorok-do: Island of Patients". Gwangju News. 2021-05-05. Retrieved 2022-06-05.
- ^ "Sorok Island: The last leper colony". The Independent. 2007-08-19. Retrieved 2022-06-05.
- ^ "Legacy of sadness and survival on Sorokdo". The Korea Times. 2019-08-30. Retrieved 2022-06-05.
- ^ Administration, Cultural Heritage. "Former Shinto Shrine of Sorokdo Rehabilitation Center, Goheung - Heritage Search". Cultural Heritage Administration. Retrieved 2022-06-05.
- ^ Choung, Eun-hye; Choi, Suh-hee (2020-08-02). "Sorokdo as a combined dark tourism site of leprosy and colonized past". Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research. 25 (8): 814–828. doi:10.1080/10941665.2020.1767666. ISSN 1094-1665. S2CID 219914985.
- ^ "Jeollabuk-do Province: Rising Location for Diverse Films". Korean Film. Retrieved 2022-06-05.
34°30′N 127°07′E / 34.500°N 127.117°E
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