Traditional Korean medicine
Encyclopedia
Traditional Korean medicine (Hangul
: 한의학, Hanja
: 韓醫學) developed with the influence of other traditional medicine. Its techniques in treatment and diagnosis are both similar and unique to other traditional medicine
. Traditional Korean medicine can be traced back as far as prehistoric times.
, 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 'eatable medicine', showing that, even in times when incantatory medicine was the mainstream, medicinal herbs were given as curatives in Korea. Moreover, the fact that wormwood and garlic are not found in ancient Chinese herbology shows that traditional Korean medicine developed unique practices, or inherited them from other cultures.
In the period of the Three Kingdoms
, the traditional Korean medicine was being influenced by other traditional medicines such as Chinese Medicine
. In the Goryeo
dynasty with the influence of others like Chinese medicine, more intense investigation of domestic herbs took place, and the result was the publication of numerous books on domestic herbs. Medical theories at this time were based on medicine of Song
and Yuan
, but prescriptions were based on the medicine of the Unified Silla
period such as the medical text First Aid Prescriptions Using Native Ingredients or "Hyangyak Gugeupbang (향약구급방), which was published in 1245.
Medicine flourished in the period of the Joseon
. A book named “the Classified Collection of Medical Prescriptions” (醫方類聚, 의방류취) was also memorable. This work was written by Kim Ye-mong (金禮蒙, 김예몽) and other Korean official doctors from 1443 to 1445. It collects more than fifty thousand prescriptions from one hundred and fifty-two medical works of ancient China before the fifteenth century. It also collects prescriptions from a Korean medical book “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. The book “the Classified Collection of Medical Prescriptions” has very important research value, because it keeps the contents of many ancient Chinese medical books which had been lost for a long time.
After this, many books on medical specialties were published. There are three physicians from the Joseon Dynasty
(1392-1910) who are generally credited with the development of traditional Korean medicine. They are Heo Jun
, 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 known Korean and Chinese medicine of its time and was influential to Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese medicine at that time.
The next major influence to Traditional Korean Medicine is related to “Metabolism Theory” or 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 Metabolism Theory. Yi Je-ma realized that even if patients suffer the same illness, patients need to use different herbal applications to treat the same illness due to the different metabolisms of individuals. Sasang typology
(사상의학) or Four Metabolism Theory focuses on the individual differences of patients based on body shape and characteristics. Treat illness by the treatment of the root cause through proper diagnosis. Key to this diagnosis is to first determine the metabolism type of each patient.
The next recognized individual is Saam, the 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 tradition medicine were established. Simple books on medicine for the common people were published. In the early nineteenth century, the Sasang typology
(사상의학) was written by Yi Je-ma, the third historical physician who developed much of traditional Korean medicine. Yi classified human beings into four main types, based on the emotion that dominated their personality and developed treatments for each type. The four types are Tae-yang, So-yang, Tae-eum, and So-eum.
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 which is when an herb is simmered in water over low heat for a certain period of time. Some examples of infusion are chamomile or peppermint, using flowers, leaves and powdered herbs. For 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 an alcohol or made into ace tracts where it is contained in a vinegar extract. They can be preserved as syrups such as glycerites in vegetable glycerin, or put in honey known as miels. Both of which have a sweet taste and the lack of alcohol being a more suitable choice for children.
Powdered and freeze dried herbs can be found in bulk, tablets, troches similar to a lozenge, pastes, and capsules. Fluid and strong extracts being a stronger concentrate tend to work more rapidly finding a quicker result.
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 using the patient's direct involvement in their own healing process and may use the patients intellectual, emotional, physical and spiritual attention to the process as critical. All methods of these are delivered differently depending on the herbal traditions of that 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 (Micozzi 164-167).
An example of herbal medicine is the use of medicinal mushrooms
as a food and as a tea. Clinical, animal, and cellular research has shown mushrooms may be able to up-regulate aspects of the immune system. A notable mushroom used in Korean medicine is Phellinus linteus
also known as Song-gen.
. Pressure points can also be stimulated by laser, massage, and electrical means (Pizzorno 243).
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 (Kim).
is a method of treating bodily ailments using essential plant oils (Micozzi S. Marc, Chambers Dictionary 1988). Roots, bark, stalks, flowers, or leaves, may be applied to the body through massage with a vegetable oil. The oils can also be inhaled, used as a compress, mixed in with ointment, or inserted internally through the rectum, vagina, or mouth (Hoffman 207-212).
Hangul
Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
: 한의학, Hanja
Hanja
Hanja is the Korean name for the Chinese characters hanzi. More specifically, it refers to those Chinese characters borrowed from Chinese and incorporated into the Korean language with Korean pronunciation...
: 韓醫學) developed with the influence of other traditional medicine. Its techniques in treatment and diagnosis are both similar and unique to other traditional medicine
Traditional medicine
Traditional medicine comprises unscientific knowledge systems that developed over generations within various societies before the era of modern medicine...
. Traditional Korean medicine can be traced back as far as prehistoric times.
History
Korean medicine was 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, now in present-day North Korea. This is the oldest archaeological implement associated with acupuncture found. In GojoseonGojoseon
Gojoseon was an ancient Korean kingdom. Go , meaning "ancient," distinguishes it from the later Joseon Dynasty; Joseon, as it is called in contemporaneous writings, is also romanized as Chosŏn....
, 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
Garlic
Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...
. In Jewang Ungi
Jewang ungi
The Jewang Ungi is a historical poem composed by Yi Seung-hyu in 1287, in the late Goryeo period. It depicts the history of Korea from Dangun to King Chungnyeol. A possible translation in English reads: "Rhymed Chronicles of Sovereigns"....
(제왕운기), which was written around the time of Samguk Yusa, wormwood and garlic are described as 'eatable medicine', showing that, even in times when incantatory medicine was the mainstream, medicinal herbs were given as curatives in Korea. Moreover, the fact that wormwood and garlic are not found in ancient Chinese herbology shows that traditional Korean medicine developed unique practices, or inherited them from other cultures.
In the period of the Three Kingdoms
Three Kingdoms of Korea
The Three Kingdoms of Korea refer to the ancient Korean kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla, which dominated the Korean peninsula and parts of Manchuria for much of the 1st millennium...
, the traditional Korean medicine was being influenced by other traditional medicines such as Chinese Medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese Medicine refers to a broad range of medicine practices sharing common theoretical concepts which have been developed in China and are based on a tradition of more than 2,000 years, including various forms of herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage , exercise , and dietary therapy...
. In the Goryeo
Goryeo
The Goryeo Dynasty or Koryŏ was a Korean dynasty established in 918 by Emperor Taejo. Korea gets its name from this kingdom which came to be pronounced Korea. It united the Later Three Kingdoms in 936 and ruled most of the Korean peninsula until it was removed by the Joseon dynasty in 1392...
dynasty with the influence of others like Chinese medicine, more intense investigation of domestic herbs took place, and the result was the publication of numerous books on domestic herbs. Medical theories at this time were based on medicine of Song
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
and Yuan
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
, but prescriptions were based on the medicine of the Unified Silla
Unified Silla
Unified Silla or Later Silla is the name often applied to the Korean kingdom of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, when it conquered Baekje in 660 and Goguryeo in 668, unifying the southern portion of the Korean peninsula...
period such as the medical text First Aid Prescriptions Using Native Ingredients or "Hyangyak Gugeupbang (향약구급방), which was published in 1245.
Medicine flourished in the period of the Joseon
Joseon Dynasty
Joseon , was a Korean state founded by Taejo Yi Seong-gye that lasted for approximately five centuries. It was founded in the aftermath of the overthrow of the Goryeo at what is today the city of Kaesong. Early on, Korea was retitled and the capital was relocated to modern-day Seoul...
. A book named “the Classified Collection of Medical Prescriptions” (醫方類聚, 의방류취) was also memorable. This work was written by Kim Ye-mong (金禮蒙, 김예몽) and other Korean official doctors from 1443 to 1445. It collects more than fifty thousand prescriptions from one hundred and fifty-two medical works of ancient China before the fifteenth century. It also collects prescriptions from a Korean medical book “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. The book “the Classified Collection of Medical Prescriptions” has very important research value, because it keeps the contents of many ancient Chinese medical books which had been lost for a long time.
After this, many books on medical specialties were published. There are three physicians from the Joseon Dynasty
Joseon Dynasty
Joseon , was a Korean state founded by Taejo Yi Seong-gye that lasted for approximately five centuries. It was founded in the aftermath of the overthrow of the Goryeo at what is today the city of Kaesong. Early on, Korea was retitled and the capital was relocated to modern-day Seoul...
(1392-1910) who are generally credited with the development of traditional Korean medicine. They are Heo Jun
Heo Jun
Heo Jun was a court physician of the Yangcheon Heo clan during the reign of King Seonjo of the Joseon Dynasty in Korea. He was appointed as a court physician at the age of 29. He wrote a number of medical texts, but his most significant achievement is Dongui bogam, which is often noted as the...
, Saam, and Yi Je-ma. After the Japanese invasion in 1592, Dongeui Bogam
Dongeui Bogam
The Dongui Bogam is a Korean medical book compiled by the royal physician, Heo Jun and was first published in 1613 during the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. The title literally means “Mirror of Eastern Medicine”. The book is regarded important in traditional Korean medicine and one of the classics of...
(동의보감) was written by Heo Jun
Heo Jun
Heo Jun was a court physician of the Yangcheon Heo clan during the reign of King Seonjo of the Joseon Dynasty in Korea. He was appointed as a court physician at the age of 29. He wrote a number of medical texts, but his most significant achievement is Dongui bogam, which is often noted as the...
, the first of the major physicians. This work further integrated the known Korean and Chinese medicine of its time and was influential to Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese medicine at that time.
The next major influence to Traditional Korean Medicine is related to “Metabolism Theory” or Sasang typology
Sasang typology
The Sasang typology is a traditional Korean medical typology, which was systematically theorized by Lee, Jae-ma and his book, "The Principal of Life Preservation in Oriental Medicine" in 1894...
(사상의학) . Yi Je-ma and his book, "The Principal of Life Preservation in Oriental Medicine" (東醫壽世保元, 동의수세보원) systematically theorized Metabolism Theory. Yi Je-ma realized that even if patients suffer the same illness, patients need to use different herbal applications to treat the same illness due to the different metabolisms of individuals. Sasang typology
Sasang typology
The Sasang typology is a traditional Korean medical typology, which was systematically theorized by Lee, Jae-ma and his book, "The Principal of Life Preservation in Oriental Medicine" in 1894...
(사상의학) or Four Metabolism Theory focuses on the individual differences of patients based on body shape and characteristics. Treat illness by the treatment of the root cause through proper diagnosis. Key to this diagnosis is to first determine the metabolism type of each patient.
The next recognized individual is Saam, the 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 tradition medicine were established. Simple books on medicine for the common people were published. In the early nineteenth century, the Sasang typology
Sasang typology
The Sasang typology is a traditional Korean medical typology, which was systematically theorized by Lee, Jae-ma and his book, "The Principal of Life Preservation in Oriental Medicine" in 1894...
(사상의학) was written by Yi Je-ma, the third historical physician who developed much of traditional Korean medicine. Yi classified human beings into four main types, based on the emotion that dominated their personality and developed treatments for each type. The four types are Tae-yang, So-yang, Tae-eum, and So-eum.
Current Applications
With the increase in the number of Korean immigrants coming to the United States in recent years it has become important for modern medicine to understand these traditional healing techniques and how they are used by the Korean community. Studies have shown that as many as half of Korean immigrants living in the United States practice some form of traditional healing at least part of the time, often concurrently with Western techniques. It has been speculated that the continued use of traditional techniques has much to do with the lack of familiarity with Western customs among new immigrants, but evidence has shown that the use of traditional techniques is often continued among second and third generation Korean immigrants. It has been suggested that this is due to a cultural difference in medicinal approaches that revolves around treating an entire individual, rather than one aspect of them or just their disease. Many Korean immigrants have spoken in similar terms, and have suggested that it is not just American doctors themselves but the manner in which they treat their patients which is "distant" and "disconnected" from the spiritual basis of the human body. Statistical analysis of experiments involving more traditional remedies including herbal supplements and acupuncture have found that a patient's mental state is more relaxed and their emotional well being often improves after being treated with more traditional remedies rather than with Western medicines, in which case some decrease in mental and emotional stability has been seen. Medical facilities who specialize in geriatric care have reported success with the use of traditional Korean medicine not only in their Korean patients but also among Caucasian Americans. It has become clear to many in the medical profession within the United States that in order to promote the well being of their Korean patients as well as their elderly patients "new" techniques involving the use of traditional Korean methods may not only be preferred by their patients but necessary for continued health (Kim et al. 109-119).Herbal medicine
Herbalism 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 specific parts being used. 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 which is when an herb is simmered in water over low heat for a certain period of time. Some examples of infusion are chamomile or peppermint, using flowers, leaves and powdered herbs. For 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 an alcohol or made into ace tracts where it is contained in a vinegar extract. They can be preserved as syrups such as glycerites in vegetable glycerin, or put in honey known as miels. Both of which have a sweet taste and the lack of alcohol being a more suitable choice for children.
Powdered and freeze dried herbs can be found in bulk, tablets, troches similar to a lozenge, pastes, and capsules. Fluid and strong extracts being a stronger concentrate tend to work more rapidly finding a quicker result.
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 using the patient's direct involvement in their own healing process and may use the patients intellectual, emotional, physical and spiritual attention to the process as critical. All methods of these are delivered differently depending on the herbal traditions of that 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 (Micozzi 164-167).
An example of herbal medicine is the use of medicinal mushrooms
Medicinal mushrooms
Medicinal mushrooms are mushrooms, or mushroom extracts, that are used or studied as possible treatments for diseases. Lentinula edodes , Grifola frondosa , Ganoderma lucidum , and Cordyceps, have a history of medicinal use spanning millennia in parts of Asia...
as a food and as a tea. Clinical, animal, and cellular research has shown mushrooms may be able to up-regulate aspects of the immune system. A notable mushroom used in Korean medicine is Phellinus linteus
Phellinus Linteus
Phellinus linteus is a medicinal mushroom used in Japan, Korea and China. It is shaped like a hoof, has a bitter taste, and in the wild grows on mulberry trees. The stem's color ranges from dark brown to black...
also known as Song-gen.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture needles are a medical instrument used to cure ailments by the method of withdrawing blood and stimulating certain points on humans and animals by inserting them on specific pressure points of the body. Acupuncture enhances the flow of vital energy (also known as "Qi") along pathways (called meridians). 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 moxibustionMoxibustion
Moxibustion is a traditional Chinese medicine therapy using moxa, or mugwort herb. It plays an important role in the traditional medical systems of China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Tibet, and Mongolia. Suppliers usually age the mugwort and grind it up to a fluff; practitioners burn the fluff or...
. Pressure points can also be stimulated by laser, massage, and electrical means (Pizzorno 243).
Moxibustion
MoxibustionMoxibustion
Moxibustion is a traditional Chinese medicine therapy using moxa, or mugwort herb. It plays an important role in the traditional medical systems of China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Tibet, and Mongolia. Suppliers usually age the mugwort and grind it up to a fluff; practitioners burn the fluff or...
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 (Kim).
Aromatherapy
AromatherapyAromatherapy
Aromatherapy is a form of alternative medicine that uses volatile plant materials, known as essential oils, and other aromatic compounds for the purpose of altering a person's mind, mood, cognitive function or health....
is a method of treating bodily ailments using essential plant oils (Micozzi S. Marc, Chambers Dictionary 1988). Roots, bark, stalks, flowers, or leaves, may be applied to the body through massage with a vegetable oil. The oils can also be inhaled, used as a compress, mixed in with ointment, or inserted internally through the rectum, vagina, or mouth (Hoffman 207-212).
Meditation
Meditation is a self-directed practice for the purpose of relaxing and calming the mind and body. It has been known to calm the mind, reduce pain, and help lower blood pressure and anxiety. Methods include concentrating on a single word or thought for a specific length of time. Some focus on physical experience such as breath or a sound or mantra, but all have a common objective of stilling the mind so that one's focus can be directed inwardly (Rodgers 293).See also
- List of Korea-related topics
- List of branches of alternative medicine
- Traditional Korean thoughtTraditional Korean thoughtTraditional Korean thought has been influenced by a number of religious and philosophical thought-systems over the years. As the main influences on life in Korea, often Korean Shamanism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. These movements have shaped Korean life and thought...
- Sasang typologySasang typologyThe Sasang typology is a traditional Korean medical typology, which was systematically theorized by Lee, Jae-ma and his book, "The Principal of Life Preservation in Oriental Medicine" in 1894...
- Dongui Bogam
- YakchimYakchimYakchim is one of many methods of Traditional Korean Medicine treatment. It is also called Pharmacupuncture, Korean Herb-acupuncture and Acupuncture with medicinal herbs).-Definition:...
- GinsengGinsengGinseng is any one of eleven species of slow-growing perennial plants with fleshy roots, belonging to the genus Panax of the family Araliaceae....