The World Remembers Old Korean Medicine 9
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Opening a communicative space between Korea and the world The World Remembers Old Korean Medicine Hangeul Brings New Life to Tribal Tongue 9 SEPTEMBER 2009 www.korea.net ISSN: 2005-2162 SEPTEMBER 2009 CONTENTS VOL. 13 / NO. 9 06 38 48 52 62 Publisher Cover Story Green Growth Sports Kim He-beom, Korean Culture and 06 • UNESCO Honors Korean Medicine’s Ancient 32 • Global Praise for Eco-Korea 48 • Taking Down the Champion Information Service Ambitions • Panel Discusses Green Policy • Fierce Midfielder Is Youngest Korean to Chief Editor • UN Honors Green Strategy Head to England Ko Hye-ryun News in Focus • Korea Just Misses FIBA Berth 18 • Turning a Notorious Debacle into Hope for the Culture Editing & Printing JoongAng Daily Future 35 • Korean Wave Goes Literal in ‘Haeundae’ Travel • Lee hopes for thaw with North • Haiku’s Elegant Cousin 52 • The Luxuries of Time Cover Photo E-mail The 25-volume Dong- [email protected] • A Global Bridge of Words uibogam represents Obituary Korean Food the height of ancient Design 22 • A man whose name meant ‘democracy’ Korean Literature 57 • Back to Basics, and Thank Buddha Oriental medicine. JoongAng Daily 38 • Park Wan-seo: Stripping naked our modern • The Secret to Family Cooking All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be Diplomacy hypocrisy reproduced in any form without permission from Korea and the Korean Culture and Information Service. 24 • Trade Agreement Broadens Horizon for Korea and People India The articles published in Korea do not necessarily rep- Korean Artist 59 • A Teenage Novelist’s Voyage resent the views of the publisher. The publisher is not • Korea’s Ambitious Phantom • A New Shade of Korean Leader liable for errors or omissions. 42 Global Korea • Blazing a Trail in Hollywood Letters to the editor should include the writer’s full name 26 • 14 Volunteers Go Abroad to Bolster the Human Science & Tech and address. Letters may be edited for clarity and/or • Discovering Musical Joy in the Fields space restrictions. Family 44 • Technology, Convenience, Culture on the If you want to receive a free copy of Korea or wish to • An Electricity ‘Control Tower’ Subway Rails Foreign viewpoints cancel a subscription, please e-mail us. • Hangeul Brings New Life to Tribal Tongue A downloadable PDF file of Korea and a map and glos- 66 • And Korea Transforms Yet Again: sary with common Korean words appearing in our text Hidden Champions are available by clicking on the thumbnail of Korea on Alan Timblick the homepage of www.korea.net. 47 • Dogged Fighter Against Rotten Toothbrushes 발간등록번호: 11-1110073-000016-06 4 korea September 2009 September 2009 korea 5 Cover Story | Korea, country of chroniclers UNESCO Honors Korean Medicine’s Ancient Ambitions [YONHAP] 6 korea September 2009 September 2009 korea 7 Cover Story | Korea, country of chroniclers ny Korean would be able to Academy of Korean Studies. Memory of the World Register to 193 pieces or It was King Seonjo (1552-1608), tell you this much: Dongui- The content of the book is easy to under- collections from 83 countries. Joseon’s 14th monarch, who ordered bogam is an old book on dis- stand, and sometimes quite specific. According to officials at the Korean National Heo Jun (1539-1615) to write the eases and cures, and its One section on internal diseases reads, Commission for UNESCO, “UNESCO showed book. The death of people around Aauthor is Heo Jun, a royal doctor during “When people undergo significant emotional its high regard for the Donguibogam as the com- the king, including his own chil- the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). trauma, they may experience weakened heart, pilation of all medical philosophies and treat- dren, to infectious diseases incur- But the details may be fuzzy for nausea and anxiety. If those symptoms continue ments in East Asia at the time, mostly in Chi- able at the time drove him to pursue some. The book is in fact a 25-volume for a long time, they could develop into amnesia. n a .” solutions, so Seonjo collected a encyclopedia written in 1613, a compi- To cure amnesia, one should prescribe insing- Along with the Ministry for Health, Welfare group of intellectuals to work for lation of all the Eastern medical prin- wisadan, which is made of cow’s gall bladder.” and Family Affairs; the Cultural Heritage Admin- Heo, in what would be today’s ver- ciples and practices of the time. Another chapter, on somatology, suggests an istration, and oriental medicine experts, the sion of a government committee or Still, there’s no doubt that, affordable cure for stiffness of the neck. Korean National Commission for UNESCO has task force. in Korea at least, Donguibog- “Stiffness of the neck, front or back, is often worked since 2007 to promote the medical book According to historical records, am is one of the lucky few caused by humidity in the body. A Chinese for inclusion on the esteemed list. their work consumed a great deal of books to enjoy high name rec- quince is effective when you cannot move your The Donguibogam contains information time, materials and money even by ognition even though those who neck due to tensed muscles,” it reads. broken up into five categories: internal diseases, today’s standards. wrote it are long dead, the paper has Discussions of folk remedies also abound in external diseases and somatology, miscellaneous The compilation alone took discolored and the binding has worn the volumes. “Inducing vomiting is one of the diseases in gynecology and pediatrics, medicinal more than 10 years. Three more out. oldest medical practices. Renowned doctors decoction (extracting chemicals from mostly years were needed to engrave the And as of July 31, this ancient collection from long ago have used it, along with inducing plants through boiling) and acupuncture. text on wood blocks and print it for is no longer exclusively a Korean treasure, sweating and diarrhea. For patients in the early Officials at the Korean National Commis- mass distribution. Experts estimate with the Korean Cultural Heritage Administra- stages of disease, one should induce vomiting. sion for UNESCO also noted that the UN agen- the work would’ve cost tens of bil- tion announcing that UNESCO has added the But for patients in advanced stages of disease or cy praised the Donguibogam for “reflecting the lions of won, or tens of millions of Donguibogam, a Donguibogam to its Memory of the World Reg- for those who are old, weak and frail, do not state’s determination to document the principles dollars, in today’s money. comprehensive medi- ister. induce vomiting.” of preventive medicine and establish a public Though King Sejong the Great cal book, is made up There have even been novels and dramas Along with the Donguibogam, the United health care system, ideas that in 1613 were cen- (1397-1450) had introduced a of five categories: based on the story of this famous book and its Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural turies ahead of their time.” unique Korean writing system, [YONHAP] internal diseases, equally well-known author. A variety of editions Organization added 34 pieces of documentary It’s true: The publication of the Donguibog- Hangeul, around 1443, Chinese external diseases and are still available, with explanatory tomes and heritage to its list in the ninth meeting of the am was a state-sponsored project — in fact quite characters still dominated Korean academia and From top, an 18th- somatology, other Web sites helping keep the encyclopedia’s legacy UNESCO International Advisory Committee in a costly and drawn-out one. literature, and Heo wrote Donguibogam in that century edition of the diseases in gynecol- alive. Bridgetown, Barbados, held from July 29 to 31. alphabet, known here as hanmun. Donguibogam from ogy and pediatrics, And since 1991, Donguibogam has enjoyed The documents honored include Anne Yet three of the 25 volumes in the Dongui- Japan; a 20th century medicinal decoction more than simple name recognition. In that year Frank’s diaries from the Netherlands, the Magna bogam were translated into Hangul, a process version from China, and acupuncture. the Korean government designated the book Carta from Britain and the Song of the Nibel- that experts believe took place in the mid-19th and a 19th-century Korea’s National Treasure No. 1,085, endowing ungs from Germany, a heroic poem from medi- century judging from the books’ grammatical edition in the Korean the book, if belatedly, with the official status it aeval Europe and the basis for the famous oper- characteristics. In fact, there seems to have been langauge deserves. atic cycle by Richard Wagner. an effort to translate all 25 parts into Korean, but The original copy from the 17th century is UNESCO’s Memory of the World Regis- for some reason the project was never complet- currently under the care of two different organi- ter seeks to preserve documents and library ed. These three Hangeul tomes are now histori- zations: the National Library of Korea and the collections from around the world. Its cal artifacts in their own right, kept at the Acad- International Advisory Committee meets emy of Korean Studies. every two years to assess nominations. But the addition of the Donguibogam to the The Donguibogam not only outlines the Other selections on the list include the UNESCO register was not without controversy. Vienna City Library’s Schubert collection, Choi Yeong-ho, an official with the Welfare most advanced Eastern medical the manuscripts and correspondence of Ministry who attended the IAC meeting in Bar- techniques of the time, it also showcases Hans Christian Andersen from Denmark bados, said China was watching the process and the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.