Grant Award View - GA268402

On 17 September 2022, a landmark medical institution in Busan will celebrate 70 years of existence delivering excellence in maternal and neonatal healthcare. The Ilsin Women’s Hospital, established in 1952 by Australian missionaries, Dr Helen and Sister Cath Mackenzie, changed the course of midwifery and obstetrical practices in Korea, providing a stronghold for young female health professionals with a competitive and world-class medical training program. 
 
In the making of Ilsin as one of the principal reference maternity centres in Korea, there was a group of unassuming local people - among them, widows of the Korean War, refugees from North Korea and single mothers - who joined the Mackenzie sisters in their vision of bringing quality medical help to those who needed it the most. They worked unfailingly to stem, continue and perpetuate the sisters’ ideals; it is thanks to them that Ilsin continued to thrive even after the sisters’ departure from Korea.   
 
This project explores the contribution of the Korean staff at Ilsin who gave incalculable aid, assistance and encouragement to the Mackenzie sisters, closing in this way the gap between the Australians and the locals in the spawning of an institution that brought out the best of both countries.