Traditional Medicine in Korea : The Past and the Present

The Korean peninsula, located between the vast Chinese mainland and Japan, has a unique cultural background that goes back five thousand years. In ancient times, the region was deeply influenced by Chinese culture, and traditional medicine in Korea was no exception. The Korean character, HAN GUL (24 alphabets), was invented at in the early 1400s by The Great King Sejong (1397-1450) of the Chosun dynasty. But few changes were made to traditional medicines for about 500 years thereafter. At the start of the 20th century, missionaries from western countries introduced new concepts and techniques of medicine. During the last century, there was enormous development in modern medical sciences. Even today, however, natural medicine -including folk medicine (or traditional Chinese medicine) - plays an important role in Korean health care. In this paper, we will review and discuss traditional Korean medicines as it has evolved over the past three thousand years.