Palliative Care in Korea: a Nursing Point of View

The first hospice/palliative care in Korea was begun in 1965 in a clinic run by Catholic Sisters of the Little Company of Mary from Australia. Expansion was graduai rather than rapid, but by 1999 there were sorne 60 hospice/palliative care programmes. However, palliative care is not recognised or supported as a part of the healthcare delivery system by the govemment ( 1 ). Christians have been prominent in the introduction of hospice/palliative care. The Korea Hospice Association (drawing upon Protestant church interest) was set up on 7th November 1991, the Korea Catholic Hospice Association on 28th March 1992. An umbrella body, the Korean Society for Hospice/Palliative Care was established in 1998, and includes 290 members, mainly doctors and nurses committed to the development of hospice/palliative care in Korea (2).