Is Korean Medicine different from other Eastern or Oriental Medicines?

Yes, it has unique characteristics that differentiate it from other medicines. The Eastern Medicine, Korean or Chinese or some other medicine, has actually interacted in one way or two to come to the status they occupy today. This is the way everything develops through history. But, even with common traits or similar backgrounds, Korean Medicine has its own special advantages to others. Our newsletters to come will focus on this matter.

You can refer to the "interview with Pf.Ahn Kyoo Seok" of our 2nd newsletter for more information on this.

Why is ancient Chinese characters used in Korean Medicine? Does this mean Korean Language came from Chinese?

In Korea, students majoring in Korean Medicine learn from books that are written in Korean, or ancient Chinese. Books that are written in ancient Chinese are, as you may already know, written by those who only knew ancient Chinese alphabets. It was only after King Sejong created "Hangul", the Korean alphabet in 1443 with his scholars that people-learned or not, could communicate with others in writing. So before the advent of this scientific creation, all forms of documents had to be written using ancient Chinese characters.

Some students do complain that it's too much time and effort to study with books written in Korean and at the same time with the ones in ancient Chinese characters. They're saying that we should save time from translating those ancient Chinese. But, there are also other people against this view. These people insist that 'originals are understood best when it's on the original form.' Translations into Korean or other language may well somehow distort the thoughts of the writer. It actually helps to study those kinds of books and see how the writer describes the circumstances around him at the time of history.

"Hangul", the Korean alphabet is not at all derived from, or a part of the Chinese language. King Sejong created "Hangul" with the name of "Hunmin Chongum", which means 'proper sound to instruct the people' in 1443, noticing that Korean language is different from Chinese language that it cannot be expressed with Chinese characters.

"Hunmin Chongum" has been nominated as "Memory of the World" by UNESCO in 1997. http://www.unesco.org/webworld/mdm/register/index.html

More on "Hunmin Chongum" may be found here: http://www.unesco.org/webworld/mdm/1997/eng/korea_hunmin/koreanom.html

Is it safe to be treated with Korean Medicine? How do I know who is well-trained or not?

This question is one of those that is asked all the time when speaking of "non-mainstream" medicines. It is true that people should be careful and choose the right doctors and medicines for them. Until recently, when people got sick, they never hesitated to see a doctor-specializing in Western medicine. But, with all the social changes-advent of naturalism, scientific proofs that alternative medical treatments do work, etc, people day by day look for medicines other than Western. But, with increase in the demand, there may as well be fear of whether they're "doing the right thing" for themselves.

People who are unfamiliar with the kinds of treatments in Korean Medicine may well be afraid or uncertain about being treated with such methods. Visiting a doctor as patients always gives a feeling of inferiority to the patients, and this gets even worse when the doctor specializes in something "different".

In any cases, patients should look for licensed doctors. There are a lot of unlicensed practitioners practicing all kinds of methods out there, but to reduce or remove any kind of danger only licensed doctors are to be sought after.