All systems of medicine consists of two main constituents; theory and clinical experience. Doctors start out at first with theories to cure patients in need. As the theories are put into practice, varying results are obtained. Sometimes the results are good, while at other times they're not. Such accumulated experience leads to additional theories which can explain the results, and this cycle continues on and on, leading to the formation of a system of medicine suited to the people using it.

Over a long period of time, many nations and cultures have built numerous medical systems based on a relatively small number of major systems. Thus, many branches of medicine may have similarities shared because of the common philosophy in the background, but they also have their distinct characteristics that have been shaped by the clinical experiences unique to the nation or culture. Such uniqueness may have been brought on by the climate of the region, diet, or lifestyles. A good example would be the emphasis the French put on the liver, and the Germans on the heart. Because of the French culture and experience, they view the liver as an overseer of the body's general state of health, and they observe the liver with zeal. The Germans take the same stance on the heart. This has made the two nation's medicine more able to deal with problems of the corresponding organ.

To speak broadly, two of the more prominent groups of medical systems are the Eastern and Western school. Eastern medicine has started from a macrocosmic perception, while Western medicine centered in on the microcosm. Eastern medicine, compared to Western medicine which zooms in on incinerating the disease and soothing the symptom, focuses more on restoring one's state of health so as to help the body become able to repel the problematic factor on its own. An analogy can be made to getting rid of pests in a house; the Western view would be to kill the pest with hammers, and the Eastern one would be to clean the house with brooms. Killing the pest may be quick at times, but without cleaning the house other pests are likely to enter, and damage may be done to the house itself in the killing. A thorough cleaning may take more time if the house is dirty, but pests would leave the house if there was nothing to feed on, and new pests would not enter. Due to this possibly antagonistic standpoint, Western medicine has gained an edge at relieving the patient of the symptoms, while Eastern medicine has become adept at restoring the overall state of health.

Korean Medicine, along with Chinese, Japanese and others, has its roots firmly planted in Eastern medicine. Thus the common features naturally can be seen. But Chinese and Japanese medicine pronounces exterior factors called the Six pernicious influences as the main cause of disorder in the body, which is prominent due to their shifty climates. And Korean Medicine, on the other hand, points at the deficient state of the individual's health as the prime factor of disharmony. This is due to the fact that the clement Korean climate did not bring on such a heavy barrage of external pernicious influences compared to the other countries. Therefore, a bigger portion of the problems were caused by a deficiency in the person's body. And the difference did not end here. Declaring one's internal deficiency responsible for disorder led to a major difference between Korean Medicine and other medicines of the Eastern school; putting emphasis on the person or the disease. Korean medicine chose to put the individual in the spotlight. This is a major deviation, and it has cultivated theories and treatments more suited to the individual, including the widely reknowned Sasang constitutional medicine.

Putting the individual foremost has a big meaning. Restoring the body's overall state of health is the strong point of Eastern medicine. And Korean medicine has maximized this advantage by choosing to know where to clean in the house, providing a more fundamental solution. Plus, Korea's constitutional medicine may be applied to other countries and cultures with ease, because the characteristics of people vary less than the exterior influences. That is because people indifferent regions are composed of different proportions of constitutions. There are more people in America who fall into the Taeyang constitution, which is a rare constitution in Korea. But the main four category doesn't change, which makes it an ideal system to adapt. Thus, the two virtues of Korean medicine - emphasizing the person's deficiency as the cause for disorder, and medicine tailored to each individual - provide a unique edge unseen in other systems of medicine.