Jutta I. Andersson
Bio
Jutta Andersson served in Korea as part of the Swedish Red Cross as a Step-Nurse. Born in Germany, Jutta Andersson’s family first moved to Latvia and then migrated to Stockholm, Sweden after WWII when she was twelve. She originally signed up for going to Korea because she thought it would be an adventure while attending nursing school in Stockholm. The Swedish Red Cross was one of the first hospitals in Korea and treated their first patient on September 25, 1950. Jutta Andersson ultimately served in Korea as a step-nurse for three months servicing both Allied and Communist (POW) forces.
Video Clips
Busan: September 1950
Jutta Andersson describes Busan when she arrived in September of 1950. She describes the despair of the people living around Busan. She also describes life as a nurse and how nurses could not freely move about. However, she did visit the hills surrounding Busan and go to a Buddhist Temple with an escort.
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Into the Fire
Jutta Andersson describes first arriving into Busan at the very beginning of the war and treating the first patient within one week of arrival. New medical buildings were being constructed everyday including barracks for patients and new surgical buildings. Jutta Andersson also describes living conditions and having a hard time finding fresh water.
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Duty of a Nurse
Jutta Andersson explains her duties as a nurse in the barracks. She mainly treated soldiers with non-life threatening injuries or soldiers who were in stable condition. In her barracks she also treated POW's from North Korea and China. POW's were generally scared of uncertainty, but thankful for the treatment and did not want to go back to the POW camp.
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Entertainment
Jutta Andersson describes entertainment during her off hours. There were no parties, but nurses could go to the beach. Nurses could also dress in heels and attend various concerts such as the Korean children's choir or an orchestra. For Christmas there was a special fest for the traditional Swedish St. Lucy's Day.
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Revisit of South Korea
Jutta Andersson describes her revisit to South Korea. She described Busan as another world with skyscrapers. The hills of Busan that Jutta Andersson remembers originally were unrecognizable due to the growth of the city. She compares the growth of South Korea to the growth of her birth country of Germany.
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Treatment of POW's
Jutta Andersson explains her treatment of North Korean soldiers. The United States military did not want to treat these soldiers. However, the Swedish doctors and nurses had to treat injured North Koreans because of the Geneva Convention. The United States had to accept the Swedish treatment of North Korean soldiers.
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