Alternative medicine in Korea

There are very rich history of Korean alternative medicine.

Korean medicine was originated in ancient times. In Gojoseok 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, 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 inflenced by other traditional medicines such as Chinese medicine. In the Goryeo dynasty with the influence of others like indian 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: see the medical text Hyangyak Gugeupbang , which was published in 1245 and can be translated as First Aid Prescriptions Using Native Ingredients.

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 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.

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