Front Line Doctors - Sweden, India, and Denmark
Learn about the devotion of the medical support countries during the Korean War
An employee examining studentsUnited Nations Peace Memorial
With a sharp rise in civilian damages along with the massive number of military casualties, the UN Security Council resolved to provide “relief to the Korean civilian population.”
The NORMASH’s medical activitiesUnited Nations Peace Memorial
Medical support countries provided not only helped with military medical operations but also contributed greatly to aid war victims and post-war restoration.
A Swedish nurse with the Red Cross flagUnited Nations Peace Memorial
Sweden
The Swedish government informed the United Nations of its intention to send a field hospital unit on July 14 as the UN Security Council adopted the resolution to provide assistance to South Korea.
Swedish Red Cross workers to serve in the Korean WarUnited Nations Peace Memorial
The SRCH departed Stockholm on August 24, 1950, and arrived in Busan on September 24.
Documents related to the Swedish Red Cross Field Hospital Unit, which served in the Korean WarUnited Nations Peace Memorial
As armistice talks began, they fully embarked on aiding civilians as well as treating wounded soldiers by opening a separate clinic for civilians and setting up hospital beds for tuberculosis patients.
A photograph of Swedish negotiators for the armistice arriving in the USUnited Nations Peace Memorial
A Swedish medical team of 1,124 experienced professionals stayed in Busan for six and a half years to treat over 2 million patients from twenty countries.
The personnel of the 60th Field Hospital withdrawing to their home country after the signing of the armisticeUnited Nations Peace Memorial
India
India, which remained neutral or non-aligned after South Korea regained independence on August 15, 1947, abstained from the UN’s assistance to South Korea but voted for the resolution to aid civilians and dispatched the 60th Field Hospital.
The Indian 60th Field HospitalUnited Nations Peace Memorial
The 60th Field Hospital was organized as a subordinate unit of the Airborne Division and consisted of medical corpsmen who mostly had a lot of experience through serving in World War II and more. They saved countless lives by providing first aid to the wounded at the forefront.
A military stamp of the Indian forces that served in the Korean WarUnited Nations Peace Memorial
The detached unit provided relief to civilians in Daegu. They sent one surgical team to the Western Municipal Hospital with equipment and medicine to treat many patients...
... and anesthesia training was conducted to train 30 South Korean anesthetic technicians, as well as opening a clinic to treat civilian outpatients.
A trumpet-shaped commemorative tablet received by the Indian 60th Field Hospital UnitUnited Nations Peace Memorial
India’s 60th Field Hospital dispatched 627 people per year to perform about 2,300 outpatient surgeries and treat 20,000 inpatients and was awarded many medals for their advanced medical skills and philanthropy.
After the armistice, they joined and supported the team in charge of repatriating prisoners of war before returning to India.
Jutlandia in the Wonsan PortUnited Nations Peace Memorial
Denmark
As the UN resolved to furnish military assistance to South Korea on June 27, 1950, Denmark decided to provide medical support, becoming the first UN member to notify such intention, with a promise to dispatch Jutlandia, a hospital ship, on August 19 and supply various medicine.
Danish Red Cross membersUnited Nations Peace Memorial
The hospital ship Jutlandia, which the Danish government was to send, had medical, administrative, and vessel personnel alongside the medical departments of surgery, internal medicine, dentistry, and radiology.
JutlandiaUnited Nations Peace Memorial
The Jutlandia was anchored in Busan Port most of the time, but depending on the situation, it proceeded to the front port despite the threat of shelling to perform active medical aid activities.
Jutlandia in the Wonsan PortUnited Nations Peace Memorial
During its three dispatches to South Korea, 630 people performed their duties, treating or evacuating over 6,000 patients. Its cutting-edge medical facilities, medicine, and excellent medical personnel enabled the fast recovery of critical patients, with only 25 deaths.
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