![A Korean acupuncturist inserting a needle into a leg Wellcome V0018478](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/A_Korean_acupuncturist_inserting_a_needle_into_a_leg_Wellcome_V0018478.jpg)
Traditional Korean medicine (known in
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
as Koryo medicine) refers to the forms of
traditional medicine
Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...
practiced in Korea.
History
Korean medicine traditions originated in ancient and prehistoric times and can be traced back as far as 3000 B.C. when stone and bone needles were found in
North Hamgyong Province, in present-day North Korea. Korean medicine originated from Korea. In
Gojoseon
Gojoseon () also called Joseon (), was the first kingdom on the Korean Peninsula. According to Korean mythology, the kingdom was established by the legendary founder named Dangun. Gojoseon possessed the most advanced culture in the Korean P ...
, where the
founding myth of Korea is recorded, there is a story of a tiger and a bear who wanted to reincarnate in human form and who ate
wormwood and
garlic. In ''
Jewang Ungi'' (제왕운기), which was written around the time of ''Samguk Yusa'', wormwood and garlic are described as 'edible medicine', showing that, even in times when incantatory medicine was the mainstream, medicinal herbs were given as curatives in Korea. Medicinal herbs at this time were used as remedial treatment such as easing the pain or tending injury, along with knowing what foods were good for health. Moreover, wormwood and garlic are not found in ancient Chinese herbology, showing that traditional Korean medicine developed unique practices and inherited them from other cultures. Rather than following medicine developed by the Chinese, Korea invented their medicine independently.
[Shin Joon-shik. (2008). Introduction to Korea’s Traditional Medicine. ''Koreana'', ''22''(1), 8–13.] The medicine that Koreans developed was best-matched to the physical constitution and lifestyle of Koreans.
In the period of the
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...
, traditional Korean medicine was mainly influenced by other traditional medicines such as
ancient Chinese medicine. There was important trade with foreign countries during the period of the Three Kingdoms.
“In particular, medical knowledge from China and India supplemented the foundation of traditional medicine that had been handed down from the Old Joseon period."
In Korea, this has “spurred further developments."
“This trend continued into the Unified Silla period, with Korean medicine being blended with Chinese and Indian medicine, and then localized.”
In the period of Goryeo, Korea started the establishment of their own unique medicine because of “a lack of development of Chinese medicine, upon the founding of the Yuan Dynasty.”
In addition, the medicinal exchange value between Korea and China began to decline.
During the continuous trade with the Chinese, the traditional medicine from China was invented based on medicinal knowledge from Korea.
Some journals of medical information were first established during the Ming Dynasty in China together with “medical texts."
Detailed accounts consisting of medical experiences are included in these specialized texts written by Koreans.
In the
Goryeo
Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificat ...
dynasty, a more intense investigation of domestic herbs took place: The result was the publication of numerous books on domestic herbs. Medical theories at this time were based on the medicine of
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
, but prescriptions were based on the medicine of the
Unified Silla
Unified Silla, or Late Silla (, ), is the name often applied to the Korean kingdom of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, after 668 CE. In the 7th century, a Silla–Tang alliance conquered Baekje and the southern part of Goguryeo in the ...
period such as the medical text ''First Aid Prescriptions Using Native Ingredients'' or ''Hyangyak Gugeupbang'' (향약구급방), which was published in 1236. Other medical journals were published during this period like ''Introductory Guide to Medicine for the General Public'' or ''Jejungiphyobang'' (제중입효방).
Medicine flourished in the period of the
Joseon. For example, the first training system of nurses was instituted under
King Taejong (1400–1418), while under the reign of King
Sejong the Great (1418–1450) measures were adopted to promote the development of a variety of Korean medicinal ingredients. These efforts were systematized and published in the Hyangyak Jipseongbang (향약집성방, 1433), which was completed and included 703 Korean native medicines, providing an impetus to break away from dependence on Chinese medicine.
The medical encyclopaedia named ''Classified Collection of Medical Prescriptions'' (醫方類聚, 의방유취), which included many classics from traditional chinese medicine, written by Kim Ye-mong (金禮蒙, 김예몽) and other Korean official doctors from 1443 to 1445, was regarded as one of the greatest medical texts of the 15th century.
It included more than 50,000 prescriptions and incorporated 153 different Korean and Chinese texts,
including the ''Concise Prescriptions of Royal Doctors'' (御醫撮要方, 어의촬요방) which was written by Choi Chong-jun (崔宗峻, 최종준) in 1226. ''Classified Collection of Medical Prescriptions'' has very important research value, because it keeps the contents of many ancient Korean and Chinese medical books that had been lost for a long time.
![동의보감 (2)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/%EB%8F%99%EC%9D%98%EB%B3%B4%EA%B0%90_%282%29.JPG)
After this, many books on medical specialties were published. There are three physicians from the
Joseon Dynasty
Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and r ...
(1392–1910) who are generally credited with further development of traditional Korean medicine—
Heo Jun
Heo Jun (허준, 1539 – 9 October 1615) was a Korean physician. He was the royal chief physician of '' Naeuiwon'' during the reign of King Seonjo and King Gwanghae of the Joseon Dynasty in Korea.
Biography
Heo Jun was born in 1539 to an affl ...
, Saam, and
Yi Je-ma. After the
Japanese invasion in 1592, ''
Dongeui Bogam'' (동의보감) was written by Heo Jun, the first of the major physicians. This work further integrated the Korean and Chinese medicine of its time and was influential to Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese medicine. In the late period of Joseon, Yi Je-ma's “unique system of constitutional medicine” illustrates the “nature of” the medicine that has been traditionally developed in Korea by example.
Medical treatments were based upon yin and yang principles “and the five elements."
A warm treatment would treat a person who is a yin.
On the other hand, a cold treatment would treat a person who is a yang.
The next major influence to traditional Korean medicine is related to
Sasang typology (사상의학).
Yi Je-ma and his book, ''The Principal of Life Preservation in Oriental Medicine'' (東醫壽世保元, 동의수세보원) systematically theorized with the influence of
Korean Confucianism and his clinical experiences in Korea.
Yi Je-ma said that even if patients suffer the same illness, patients need to use different herbal applications to treat the same illness due to the pathophysiologies of individuals. He stresses that the health of human body had a close relationship with the state of mind. He believed that the human mind and body were not separate and they closely reflected each other, and the aspect of mind needed to be considered when examining the causes of disease. Thus, not only food and natural environment but also emotional changes in humans can be another major reason for illness. He believed that medical diagnosis and treatment should be based on person's typology rather than on symptoms alone and each person should be given different prescriptions depending on the constitution of the individual. Sasang typology (사상의학) focuses on the individual patients based on different reactions to disease and herbs. Treat illness by the treatment of the root cause through proper diagnosis. Key to this diagnosis is to first determine the internal organs or pathophysiology of each patient.
The next recognized individual is Saam, a priest-physician who is believed to have lived during the 16th century. Although there is much unknown about Saam, including his real name and date of birth, it is recorded that he studied under the famous monk Samyang. He developed a system of acupuncture that employs the five element theory.
In the late Joseon dynasty, positivism was widespread. Clinical evidence was used more commonly as the basis for studying disease and developing cures. Scholars who had turned away from politics devoted themselves to treating diseases and, in consequence, new schools of traditional medicine were established. Simple books on medicine for the common people were published.
Yi Je-ma classified human beings into four main types, based on the emotion that dominated their personality and developed treatments for each type:
* Tae-Yang (태양, ) or "greater yang"
* So-Yang (소양, ) or "lesser yang"
* Tae-Eum (태음, ) or "greater yin"
* So-Eum (소음, ) or "lesser yin"
The Japanese took control of Korea, which made the Korean traditional medicine fall on difficult times.
Colonial rule of the Japanese started since 1910.
The continuance of developing Korean medicine was suspended for 40 years due to the Japanese rule.
Academic research of this medicine was suspended as well.
The suppression lasted until 1945.
Korea was freed from the Japanese rule at this time.
In 1951, the enactment of the National Medical Treatment Law established an organized framework for skillful practitioners who use the medicine that has been traditionally developed to treat patients.
Koreans and their government supported this medicine.
In 1970s, Korean traditional medicine including acupuncture was generally acknowledged by healthcare clinics because of its value.
A study focused on the examination of traditional Korean medicine during the
Covid pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...
has concluded that "traditional Korean medicine homecare services could function as a viable alternative for continued medical care disrupted during the coronavirus disease 19 pandemic."
Originally, Korean traditional medicine was called “medicine of symptoms."
[Ko Changham. (2008). Three Popular Applications of Korea’s Traditional Medicine. Koreana, 22(1), 14–23.] “Principles of traditional medicine call for an assessment of eight symptoms."
These symptoms are categorized “into four pairs: cold/hot, deficiency/sufficiency, large/small, and yin/yang."
Korean traditional medicine is ineffective when used alone in some situations.
The medicine from the West can be used with Korean medicine, which is more effective.
In Korea, this widespread practice occurs for a long time.
Methods
The most common applications of Korean traditional medicine are acupuncture, herbal medicine, and moxibustion.
They describe a combination of natural and medical sciences research.
In Korea, adherents of the medicine that has been traditionally developed advise that acupuncture comes first.
Moxibustion comes second and herbal medicine comes third.
Depending on physical state and particular condition of the individual, these practices can be prescribed in separate ways.
Herbal medicine
Herbalism
Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern reme ...
is the study and practice of using plant material for the purpose of food, medicine, or health. They may be flowers, plants, shrubs, trees, moss, lichen, fern, algae, seaweed or fungus. The plant may be used in its entirety or with only specific parts. In each culture or medical system there are different types of herbal practitioners: professional and lay herbalists, plant gatherers, and medicine makers.
Herbal medicines may be presented in many forms including fresh, dried, whole, or chopped. Herbs may be prepared as infusions when an herb is soaked in a liquid or decocted—simmered in water over low heat for a certain period. Some examples of infusion are chamomile or peppermint, using flowers, leaves and powdered herbs. Decocting examples may be rose hips,
cinnamon bark, and licorice root consisting of fruits, seeds, barks, and roots. Fresh and dried herbs can be tinctured where herbs are kept in alcohol or contained in a vinegar extract. They can be preserved as syrups such as glycerites in vegetable glycerin or put in honey known as miels. Powdered and freeze dried herbs can be found in bulk, tablets, troches similar to a lozenge, pastes, and capsules.
Non-oral herbal uses consist of creams, baths, oils, ointments, gels, distilled waters, washes, poultices, compresses, snuffs, steams, inhaled smoke and aromatics volatile oils.
Many herbalists consider the patient's direct involvement to be critical. These methods are delivered differently depending on the herbal traditions of each area. Nature is not necessarily safe; special attention should be used when grading quality, deciding a dosage, realizing possible effects, and any interactions with herbal medications.
An example of herbal medicine is the use of
medicinal mushrooms
Medicinal fungi are fungi that contain metabolites or can be induced to produce metabolites through biotechnology to develop prescription drugs. Compounds successfully developed into drugs or under research include antibiotics, anti-cancer drugs, ...
as a food and as a tea. A notable mushroom used in traditional Korean medicine is ''
Phellinus linteus'' known as Song-gen.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientif ...
is used to withdraw blood or stimulate certain points on humans and animals by inserting them on specific pressure points of the body. Traditional acupuncture involves the belief that a "life force" (''
qi'') circulates within the body in lines called meridians.
Scientific investigation has not found any
histological
Histology,
also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology which studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at larger structures vis ...
or
physiological evidence for traditional Chinese concepts such as ''
qi'',
meridians, and
acupuncture point
Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientif ...
s,
and many modern practitioners no longer support the existence of life force energy (''qi'') flowing through meridians, which was a major part of early belief systems.
Pressure points can be stimulated through a mixture of methods ranging from the insertion and withdrawal of very small needles to the use of heat, known as
moxibustion
Moxibustion () is a traditional Chinese medicine therapy which consists of burning dried mugwort ('' wikt:moxa'') on particular points on the body. It plays an important role in the traditional medical systems of China, Japan, Korea, Vietna ...
. Pressure points can also be stimulated by laser, massage, and electrical means. Constitutional acupuncture, medicinal acupuncture, Sa-am acupuncture, and single-needle acupuncture are unique methods of acupuncture.
Moxibustion
Moxibustion
Moxibustion () is a traditional Chinese medicine therapy which consists of burning dried mugwort ('' wikt:moxa'') on particular points on the body. It plays an important role in the traditional medical systems of China, Japan, Korea, Vietna ...
is a technique in which heat is applied to the body with a stick or a cone of burning mugwort. The tool is placed over the affected area without burning the skin. The cone or stick can also be placed over a pressure point to stimulate and strengthen the blood.
A
Cochrane Review
Cochrane (previously known as the Cochrane Collaboration) is a British international charitable organisation formed to organise medical research findings to facilitate evidence-based choices about health interventions involving health profes ...
found limited evidence for the use of moxibustion in correcting
breech presentation of babies, and called for more experimental trials. Moxibustion has also been studied for the treatment of pain,
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
,
stroke,
ulcerative colitis
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a long-term condition that results in inflammation and ulcers of the colon and rectum. The primary symptoms of active disease are abdominal pain and diarrhea mixed with blood (hematochezia). Weight loss, fever, and ...
,
constipation
Constipation is a bowel dysfunction that makes bowel movements infrequent or hard to pass. The stool is often hard and dry. Other symptoms may include abdominal pain, bloating, and feeling as if one has not completely passed the bowel movement ...
, and
hypertension. Systematic reviews have found that these studies are of low quality and positive findings could be due to
publication bias.
Education
Graduate School of Korean Medicine
The
South Korean government
The Government of South Korea is the union government of the Republic of Korea, created by the Constitution of South Korea as the executive, legislative and judicial authority of the republic. The president acts as the head of state and is the ...
established a national school of traditional Korean medicine to establish its national treasure on a solid basis after the closing of the first modern educational facility (Dong-Je medical school) one hundred years ago by the Japanese invasion.
In 2008, the School of Korean Medicine was established inside
Pusan National University with the 50 undergraduate students on the Yangsan medical campus. The new affiliated Korean Medical Hospital and Research Center for Clinical Studies are under construction.
Compared with common private traditional medicine
undergraduate
Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...
schools (6 years), this is a special
graduate school
Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree.
The organization and stru ...
(4+4).
General Hospital of Koryo Medicine
Koryo medicine is a form of traditional medicine used in
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
and promoted by the North Korean government, providing half of the reported healthcare in the country. It is largely practised in the General Hospital of Koryo Medicine,
Pyongyang
Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populat ...
. Examples of Koryo medicine sold commercially are
Kumdang-2 and
Royal Blood-Fresh, sold by the
Pugang Pharmaceutic Company
The Pugang Pharmaceutic Company( ko, 부강제약회사) is a pharmaceutical company founded in 1983 and operated by North Korea's Ministry of Public Health. Although the company did have its assets frozen as a result of U.S. sanctions against ...
, both of which are popular with Chinese tourists to North Korea.
See also
*
Dongui Bogam
*
Ginseng
Ginseng () is the root of plants in the genus '' Panax'', such as Korean ginseng ('' P. ginseng''), South China ginseng ('' P. notoginseng''), and American ginseng ('' P. quinquefolius''), typically characterized by the presence of ginsenosides ...
*
Kampo
, often known simply as , is the study of traditional Chinese medicine in Japan following its introduction, beginning in the 7th century. It was adapted and modified to suit Japanese culture and traditions. Traditional Japanese medicine use ...
*
Korean philosophy
*
List of forms of alternative medicine
*
List of topics characterized as pseudoscience
This is a list of topics that have, either currently or in the past, been characterized as pseudoscience by academics or researchers. Detailed discussion of these topics may be found on their main pages. These characterizations were made in the ...
*
Pharmacognosy
*
Sasang typology
*
Traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of acti ...
*
Traditional Vietnamese medicine
*
Yakchim
Notes
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Traditional Korean Medicine