A Foundation for a “Cheerful Society”: The Korean War and the Rise of Psychiatry

Abstract

One of the most remarkable medical achievements of the Korean War was the development of psychiatry. During the Korean War, soldiers and prisoners of war (POWs) experienced “gross stress reaction” and manifested poor concentration and memory as well as clinical depression and social alienation. Rest and relaxation rotations served as the primary treatment for their conditions. Civilians also bore the brunt of the war’s effects. Delusions of grandeur and megalomania appear to have been common among Koreans, but there were few mental health facilities to provide treatment and care. Out of the furnace of war, psychiatry emerged as a newly specialized field, and in the 1950s, Korea became the very place where military psychiatry training under the U.S. military laid the groundwork for civilian psychiatry. This essay aims to enrich the study of mental illness during and after the Korean War by providing a more detailed picture of the mental problems experienced not only by veterans and POWs, but also by civilians in Korea. Examining mental health issues from this period is challenging due to the scarcity of resources for delving into the minds of the civilians involved. Taking military psychiatry as a starting point, this essay goes beyond existing scholarship to discuss psychiatry-related responses to the Korean War, including the influence of military psychiatry on civilian psychiatry, the endeavors of medical professionals and government policies, and contemporary expressions of mental distress during and after the war.