Country Profile

South Korea

The Genesis of Health Promotion in South Korea

by Dr. Kim Il Soon and Dr. P. O'Donnell

 

General Information

In future years, 1998 will probably be recognized as the year in which the cornerstones of the health promotion foundation were laid in Korea. During 1998, a Public Health Promotion Law was implemented, the first Institute for Health Promotion was created, the first "Healthy City" Project was launched, the first graduate level courses on health promotion were taught and plans for the first broad based workplace health promotion program were developed.

 

Public Health Promotion Law # 4914

As stated in section 1 of the Public Health Promotion Law, "The purpose of this law is to enhance the health status of the population by providing accurate information. By educating people in the value of health and responsible behaviors, an appropriate environment will be created to allow people to practice healthy lifestyles by themselves."

The law requires the Minister of Health to develop a health promotion plan which will be implemented by city mayors and provincial governors and draw on the services provided by local health centers. Health campaigns will be launched to encourage people to quit smoking, drink moderately, and improve their nutrition and oral health. Limitations will be placed on tobacco advertisement and sales, and non-smoking areas will be designated in public places. "Healthy lifestyle societies" will be created at the city and provincial level to help people practice good health habits. The law also requires that a "Health Promotion Fund" be created to provide grants for health promotion efforts including public education, materials development, research, health assessments and health promotion efforts in local health centers. Funds are secured by a "tax" of 2 Korean Won per pack of cigarettes sold (about .15¢ US), allocation of 5% of health insurance budgets and an optional subsidy from the Ministry of Health. This law was passed in 1995, and the first grants from the fund were awarded in 1997. The various elements of the law are still being implemented.

We expect this Public Health Promotion Law to provide a stable framework for health promotion in Korea, but also recognize that grass roots health promotion efforts are equally important for the development of this new area. Fortunately a number of pivotal efforts, described below, are occurring in education, and program development.

 

Health Promotion in Academia and the Workplace

For what we believe to be the first time in Korea, health promotion was introduced into academia and the workplace. Graduate level courses in health promotion were taught in the Graduate School of Health Science and Management at Yonsei University, and the Department of Preventive Medicine at Catholic University, both in Seoul, Korea. Also, the Institute for Health Promotion was created in March of 1998, within the Graduate School of Health Sciences and Management at Yonsei University. The purpose of the Institute is to refine the science of health promotion, assist in national health promotion planning, build coalitions of health promotion professionals and train health care professionals in health promotion techniques. Current research efforts include research on the relationship between health practices and medical care costs. The Institute is also coordinating the Kwachun City Healthy City Project in conjunction with the World Health Organization.

Finally, the College of Medicine at Catholic University is working with a number of large employers to develop what we believe are the first systematic broad-based health promotion programs in Korea.

 

Future of Health Promotion

The future of health promotion in Korea is potentially promising, but is uncertain at this point. Korea is in the midst of a financial crisis which has included a 40 % devaluation of its currency relative to the US dollar, bankruptcies of a number of major corporations, and the second highest recorded unemployment rate in Korean history. Medical care costs are not a severe problem in Korea so there is little pressure to control them. These conditions do not bode well for health promotion. However, many leaders of the medical community and the Ministry of Health are very interested in health promotion. The cause of death in Korea has shifted from infectious disease to diseases with lifestyle related causes.

Korean men lead the world in smoking rates; a growing portion of Korean people are sedentary; binge drinking is part of the culture; traditional Korean diets are low fat but very high in sodium and people are beginning to adopt high fat Western fast foods. Health promotion could certainly improve the health and quality of life of the Korean people, and we are pushing ahead to fill out the foundation for health promotion in Korea.

 

Kim Il Soon, MD, Ph.D is Director, Institue for Health promotion, Graduate School of Health Science and Management and Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine of Yonsei University. Michael O'Donell, Ph.D, MBA, MPH, is the Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Health Promotion and currently a Fulbright Senior Scholar at Yonsei University and Catholic University in Seoul, Korea. For information contact Dr. Kim Il Soon at dpmkis@yumc.yonsei.ac.kr or Michael O'Donell at ajhealthp@AOL.com
 
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