Uinyeo

Uinyeo (literally "medicine women") were female physicians who specialized in the treatment of women during the Joseon Dynasty (1392 – 1910) of Korea. The uinyeo were established as a solution to social taboos against women receiving treatment from male physicians. The uinyeo system first appeared in 1406 after King Taejong ordered its establishment within the Jesaengwon (濟生院 health care centers for commoners).

Establishment

The proposal for establishing Uinyeo originated with Heo Do (許道), a government officer who held the title of Jijesaengwonsa (知濟生院事). He suggested to the king that a number of intelligent young women should receive medical training to treat women. Although the uinyeo system started to practise medicine, it was deeply related to a Korean traditional custom at the time. The Joseon Dynasty was a strict Confucian state that strengthened the distinction between the sexes which was called naeoe (內外; sex segregation). Therefore, there were many cases in which female patients died without receiving proper treatment because they felt ashamed of being examined by a male doctor. On the other hand, jungin (middle-class people) and sangmin (commoners) did not want to become a uinyeo for the custom, so young girls who belonged to stores and offices in the palace as slaves were trained in medicine for this purpose.