London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

The Sancheong World Traditional Medicine Anti-Aging Expo: reaching beyond Korea to heal the world.

The 2023 Sancheong World Traditional Medicine and Anti-Aging Expo (“Sancheong Expo”) will be held in Donguibogam Village, Sancheong County, from 15 September to 19 October 2023. The theme of this healing expo is “Promise of the Future, Traditional Medicine in the World”. Visitors can enjoy health and healing through the experience of traditional medicine from … [Read More]

Byungchan Kim is runner-up in HIX Award 2018

Quite by chance last week I happened to be visiting the offices of one of the sponsors of the HIX Award – though I didn’t know this connection in advance. The HIX Award is open to current art students and graduates of the last two years and is aimed at helping with the transition between … [Read More]

Donguibogam to be upgraded to National Treasure status

To be honest, I’ve always wondered why an item listed in UNESCO’s Memory of the World register was only rated a “Treasure” (no 1085) rather than a “National Treasure”. The three sets of the encyclopaedia’s first edition are currently held by the National Library of Korea, the Kyujanggak Institute For Korean Studies and the Academy … [Read More]

2013 Travel Diary #26: The first round of farewells

Donguibogam Village, Sancheong-gun, Thursday 12 September, 12 noon. After a refreshing herbal tea, it was time for lunch: Sancheong Beef bulgogi with Mr Byeon, Min Hyang-sik and Min Young-ki. Not only barbecued beef, but in increasing order of difficulty, raw beef fillet, raw beef liver, and raw beef lung. I really struggled with the last … [Read More]

2013 Travel Diary #24: Yin, Yang and Ginseng

Donguibogam Village, Sancheong-gun, Wednesday 11 September, 5:30pm. Refreshed by our nap on the fragrant pillow, we move on from the Traditional Medicine Experience Pavilion to the Theme Hall, outside which stand the statues of the two best known figures in Korean Traditional Medicine, who have now made it into popular culture courtesy of TV dramas: … [Read More]

2013 Travel Diary #22: Tiger, Bear and herb: the traditional Korean medicine experience

Donguibogam Village, Sancheong-gun, Wednesday 11 September, 4pm. In Korean mythology, it seems that it’s not the bear that has the sore head. It’s the tiger. In the Korean Medicine Theme Park, which forms part of the Donguibogam Village, the exhibits focus on the different parts of the human body, but throughout there is the recurring … [Read More]

2013 Travel Diary #3: Preparing for the Expo

Donguibogam Village, Sancheong-gun, Friday 6 September, 7am. Four hundred years ago, a ground-breaking medical encyclopaedia was published. The Donguibogam, literally the Principles and Practice of Eastern Medicine, was compiled and edited by Heo Jun, a Korean royal doctor, with the support of a team of medical scholars and academics. The work had been commissioned by … [Read More]

What is the Donguibogam and what is in it?

Koreans usually have two choices when they have to visit a clinic: one is a medical clinic, employing western medicine for treatment; and the other is a traditional clinic, employing traditional medicine. There are many obvious differences between the two types, mainly concerning methods of diagnosis and treatment. Most importantly, the traditional medical clinic has … [Read More]

Donguibogam: Prevention before Treatment

The Donguibogam is a medical encyclopedia written by Heo Jun (1539-1615), a royal physician and renowned doctor, in the 16th to 17th century. People often say there has been no traditional Korean medicine (TKM) doctor greater than him since. The encyclopedia was registered at UNESCO as part of the ‘Memory of the World’ register in … [Read More]

Donguibogam to feature at the Thames Festival

2013 will see the 400th anniversary of the first publication of the Donguibogam, the most precious book in traditional Korean medicine (TKM). There will be a commemorative World Traditional Medicine EXPO (known as Donguibogam EXPO) in Sancheong in 2013 (6 September — 20 October, 45 days) to celebrate this anniversary. Sancheong County, at the foot … [Read More]