Dr. Strange! Help doctors in Korea

Woo Jae-hyuk

By Woo Jae-hyuk

A while ago, in every theater around the world, “Dr. Strange” was the most popular film for sure.

It’s about how a renowned and arrogant neurosurgeon happens to become the greatest hero of all the Marvel heroes.

In the movie, his teacher, the Ancient One, (spoiler alert: she was really and truly ancient) showed him the meridian chart (also known as the acupuncture chart) and MRI images to let him know there are various ways to see the world.

In order to see through the true nature of the universe, one must open their eyes and expand their perspectives.

This is the lesson the Ancient One was trying to present to her beloved and know-it-all apprentice.

Dr. Strange refused to embrace this lesson, but with years of practice and contemplation he finally managed to expand his views by accepting the differences and render the great sorceress supreme.

How is Dr. Strange related with this column? Hear me out!

In Korea, there is one phenomenon Dr. Strange might find very strange. It’s a ceaseless conflict between Korean Oriental medicine practitioners and those who practice Western medicine.

The former is doctors who studies Korean Oriental medicine and treat patients with traditional ways such as acupuncture and herbal medicine.

The latter study Western medicine and practice just like any other doctor in most countries.

Both go through a similar course of becoming a doctor, six years or four years of graduate school and four to five years of residency.

Some of the subjects the Korean Oriental medical schools provide such as acupuncture and herbal medicine are different from medical schools, but other than these traditional subjects (but believe me they don't teach voodoo or magic potion classes like at Hogwarts), they have quite similar courses as they do at medical schools for the purpose of letting their students comprehend the fundamentals of medical science.

By doing so, their students will be able to function as doctors and scientists.

In terms of treatment and diagnosis, there can be a difference between the two.

Korean Oriental medicine practitioners usually focus on the patient rather than the disease while the doctors practicing Western medicine concentrate on the illness itself.

There is no right or wrong in the approach of the two disciplines, they are just different (of course misdiagnosis is something any doctor should absolutely avoid).

Two doctors have their own way of seeing the patient, with each way having their own unique perspective. However, both doctors can’t stand the differences and jump to the conclusion that the other is wrong without trying to understand each other.

Just as how Dr. Strange comes to realize his ignorance by accepting other possibilities, hopefully the same can happen with the two types of doctors.

Both can help and enlighten each other with their own methods of treating. In doing so, doctors in Korea can open a completely new chapter in the history of medicine and provide more chances of improving the quality of human life.

In China and Japan, they also possess traditional medicine and they have doctors who practice like Korean Oriental medicine practitioners.

Especially in the case of China, the Chinese government is trying hard to extract ideas from their traditional medicine and prove their effects by doing tons of research and development.

The 2015 Nobel Prize winner Tu Youyou (China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine) is a very exemplary case of the fusion of medicine.

She got the idea of treating malaria from various Chinese traditional medical texts and after doing a lot of trials she finally managed to find the cure, artemisinin and dihydroartemisinin.

This triumph was possible due to the joint efforts of both disciplines without prejudice and conflict. Chinese doctors present the path Koreans should take.

Dr. Strange might want say this to the two types of doctors in Korea “Forget everything you think you know.”

And former U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton might add one more: “Strong Together.”

The writer practices Korean medicine at Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine which specializes in spine and joint.