Western, traditional Korean medicine doctors clash over terminology

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Conflict continues over English term for traditional Korean medicine doctors

By Lee Hyo-jin

Western and traditional Korean medicine, both of which are widely practiced in Korea, take different approaches in treating a patient.

The former focuses mainly on diagnosing a disease based on a patient's symptoms and treats ailments by using drugs and surgery. In contrast, traditional Korean medicine approaches diagnosis, treatment and prevention as a whole, with the aim of curing the root causes of the illness by restoring balance in the body using herbal medicine and acupuncture.

The roots of traditional Korean medicine can be traced back as far as 3000 B.C., according to its practitioners. Although the field has been influenced by ancient Chinese medicine, traditional Korean medicine is recognized for its own unique treatment techniques. It saw a significant acceleration of use by Heo Jun, a royal physician in the 16th century who authored "Donguibogam," a treasured Korean medical encyclopedia.

Western medicine was introduced to Korea late in the 19th century by Dr. Horace Allen, the first Protestant missionary and physician from America, who contributed to the establishment of the country's first modern hospital, which was called "Chejungwon."

While the two approaches are dedicated to protecting public health and well-being, the relationship between them has rarely been good. In fact, their practitioners have often locked horns over various issues for many decades.

The latest conflict between the two medical traditions is the change in the English term referring to traditional Korean doctors.

The official English term describing the profession has been changed to doctor of Korean medicine, replacing the previously-used and disliked term of Oriental medical doctor, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, July 26.

The newly-coined term will now be used in official government documents, medical licenses and diplomas issued by universities that teach traditional Korean medicine.

"We are very pleased to have the English name changed, which was the result of our decade-long effort. We have been engaging in discussions with the health authorities since 2012," Kwon Sun-woo, who heads the international affairs team at the Association of Korean Medicine (AKOM), told The Korea Times.

"Nowadays, the term 'oriental' is perceived as rather outdated and considered a pejorative term for Asian people and their various cultures. We were concerned that foreigners may link our profession to shamanism or the practice of exorcism," he explained.

Kwon said that the new term would largely contribute to the successful globalization of traditional Korean medicine, as the association strives to expand its presence on the global stage amid heightened worldwide interest in and demand for such treatments.

However, the news immediately triggered a backlash from conventional/Western practicing doctors.

In this May 2019 photo, Choi Dae-zip, center, then president of the Korea Medical Association, heads to the Supreme Prosecutors Office in Seoul to file a complaint against the Association of Korean Medicine over the latter's plan to use X-ray equipment. Yonhap

The Korea Medical Association (KMA), which represents about 140,000 doctors and professors of Western medicine, viewed it as absurd to call Oriental medicine practitioners doctors of Korean medicine.

In a statement released on Aug. 4, it argued that referring to them as a "doctor" is equivalent to "calling a mosquito a bird."

"Due to the confusing term, patients, especially foreigners, will find it hard to differentiate the oriental doctors from us. There was absolutely no reason to replace the word 'traditional' with 'Korean' as the former better describes their centuries-long medical practice," said Kim Kyo-woong, an orthopedic surgeon and a senior official at the KMA.

The conflict over the English term is just one of the many issues that have seen the two groups clash.

While the government has allowed doctors in local clinics to perform rapid antigen tests and treat COVID-19 patients from February this year, doctors of traditional Korean medicine are still struggling to find their place in the pandemic response system.

They have been urging the government to recognize traditional Korean medicine as an official COVID-19 treatment method, and are demanding that traditional Korean medicine hospitals be included in the list of clinics offering rapid antigen tests.

However, Western doctors claim that traditional Korean medicine practitioners are not qualified to conduct COVID-19 tests, as they did not receive education in anatomy. They also argue that herbal medicine has not been scientifically proven to treat COVID-19 or long-term symptoms.

A notice attached at a traditional Korean medicine hospital in Seoul reads that the clinic offers treatments for patients suffering from long COVID-19 symptoms, March 23. Yonhap

In November 2020, the two groups collided over a pilot program rolled out by the government to include several types of herbal medicine in treatments covered by national health insurance. The measure was welcomed by the Korean medicine doctors, who viewed it as an opportunity to prove to the public the efficacy of traditional medicine, while the KMA called it "a nationwide clinical trial using unverified medicine."

Back in 2019, when traditional Korean medicine doctors declared their use of X-ray machines as well as to administer blood tests, Western medical doctors criticized the move as an "unlicensed, illegal medical act" and filed a complaint with the prosecution against AKOM.

Will the two sides ever reconcile?

Despite the ceaseless and sometimes aggravated disputes between the two medical traditions, there have been attempts to find ways for cooperation. In 2015, the health ministry and representatives of Western and traditional Korean medicines launched a committee to draw up such plans.

Nonetheless, it ended with no fruitful results, as neither of them could remove doubts that the other would try to infringe upon their territory if they begin to work together.

"Of course, combining the strengths of each medical profession may lead to improvement in medical services overall," Kim said. "But this can only be achieved upon the agreement that neither will infringe on the territory of the other."

Kwon said, "There are many things we can cooperate on such as response system to the ongoing pandemic and the development of treatments for incurable diseases."

"But we find the KMA's malicious choice of words about our profession highly disturbing. We often feel that they are looking down on us as if we are not licensed professionals but some kind of quack doctors. It is regrettable that the western medical practitioners are not showing minimal effort to understand our skills and knowledge."