Sorokdo
Island and former leper colony in South Korea From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 |
Prior 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]
In 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
Portions of the 2016 film Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet were filmed on Sorokdo.[11]
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