The Beginning of Addiction Treatment in Korea: Based on Sung-do An and Kyung-Bin Kim

This article focuses on two pioneers: Sung-do An (also known as Arthur McMahon), who founded Korea’s Alcoholics Anonymous(A.A.), and Kyung-Bin Kim, the psychiatrist who pioneered addiction treatment in South Korea. McMahon was researched through indirect interviews with A.A. and Al-Anon members, whereas Kim was interviewed directly. Since McMahon had been sober in 1977, he shared his message about the urgent need for alcohol treatment and translated Alcoholics Anonymous. He had got meeting places near the express bus terminal in Seoul and started A.A. meeting there. He, as a wounded healer, spread the necessity of addiction treatment among people who did not accept addiction in their society. McMahon met Kim at Korean Psychiatric Association conference in 1985 and handed over his A.A. book which was translated into Korean. After getting the book, Kim started Alcohol treatment at the National Mental Hospital in 1986. He wanted more experience in alcohol treatment so that he moved to the US and stayed in Hazelden, which utilized the as Minnesota Model. After he had spent one year there, he returned to Korea and applied his experience in Korea. Kim contributed to many parts of addiction treatment structure in Korea as a psychiatrist, such as the inclusion of addiction treatment under Korean national insurance and the establishment of alcohol counseling center under the Ministry of Health and Welfare.