SEOUL, KOREA — “At a time when traditional Korean medicine(TKM) is deemed in a state of crisis, I will seek future values of traditional Korean medicine and ways to enhance traditional Korean medicine’s contribution to the beneficial health of mankind. In the face of the Nagoya Protocol and the WHO’s ongoing discussions on the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), a sea change in the international pecking order is feared. Thus, any failure to adjust to external changes will jeopardize Korea’s traditional medicine,” said Dr. Kwak Sook-young, Director General at the Division of Traditional Korean Medicine Policy of the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
“On the domestic front, traditional Korean medicine has to regain public trust and legitimacy, while, on the international front, it has to secure international competitiveness. In this sense, participation in global standard setting and terminological unification is of paramount importance,” Director General Kwak added.
As the Nagoya Protocol on Access & Benefit Sharing (ABS), a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), was adopted in October 2010, nations now have to compete fiercely to cement their rights to their genetic resources and traditional knowledge. The Nagoya Protocol provides a transparent legal framework for the effective implementation of one of the three objectives of the CBD: the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources. Once the Nagoya Protocol comes into effect, contracting parties who want to tap a party’s genetic resources and traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources are required to attain prior approval from the party. In addition, benefits arising from the use of such material or knowledge will be shared under the mutually agreed terms of contracts.
Director General Kwak stressed, “If China lays claim to its traditional knowledge or if Korea, China and Japan all fight over the ownership of traditional knowledge, the losers of this battle will eventually have to pay royalties on prescriptions, prescription drugs and medicinal herbs to the winner.(For Korea, China, and Japan, if one of them vies for its traditional knowledge or If three of them do not see eye to eye, they would eventually seek a last resort: paying royalties on prescriptions, prescription drugs and medicinal herbs to one rightful owner.)” Since Korea’s traditional medicine industry is closely related to China, industries using the imports of Chinese medicinal herbs are expected to take a knock price-wise. Therefore, Korea has to undertake various defensive measures by securing genetic resources which are essential for making medicinal herbs, developing traditional knowledge on prescriptions and verifying the effects of herb medicine. Director General Kwak continued, “It is important for Korea to participate in the creation of international standards and norms in terms of the classification of oriental medicine. In the process, the foundation for the globalization of traditional Korean medicine will be laid.”
The WHO has been working on the International Classifications in Traditional Medicine (IC-TM) project since 2010, in which many traditional Korean medical doctors are involved promoting the role of traditional Korean medicine by either competing or cooperating with their Chinese counterparts. Though numerous nations have their own traditional medicine, Korea, China and Japan are participating as key member states. A budget of USD 300,000 is allotted to the IC-TM project each year. Once the IC-TM project is completed in 2014, each nation will be required to use standardized nomenclature for diseases. As well as this, the Ministry of Health and Welfare is supporting a project to standardize traditional medicine in the Western Pacific region by dispatching technical advisors to developing nations in the region.
The global oriental medicine market has been on the rise. According to WHO reports, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has become widely used alongside mainstream western medicine. In Japan, 60% to 70% of western medicine doctors prescribe herbal medicine and the US saw individual expenditures on CAM reaching USD 27 billion in 1997. In Korea, CAM centers are being established in Daegu and South Jeolla Province. And China, determined to underline that other nations’ traditional medicine have their roots based in traditional Chinese medicine, chose traditional Chinese medicine as one of the key government-backed sectors to globalize its traditional medicine.
Director General Kwak mentioned, “Since Korea in the past successfully secured a vantage point in the global trade market by exploiting its own medicinal resources and independently developed advanced technologies, Korea can turn this crisis into an opportunity as well.” Though Korea is in for cutthroat competition against China in terms of traditional medicine and genetic resources, medications like “Goryeo Ginseng” and “Woohwang chungsimwon” and the medical encyclopedia “Donguibogam,” one of the classics of Oriental medicine, have been sought-after by many Chinese and Japanese people, resulting in the potential for growth in Korean traditional medicine.
Korean ginseng, better known as the brand “Goryeo Ginseng,” has been well received in Northeast Asian nations and western nations; various studies have proved that Korean ginseng contains more healthy ingredients such as saponine than alternative ginseng grown in other nations. The method to make red ginseng from Korean ginseng, and the expertise required to mass produce Korean ginseng dates back to the Joseon era (July 1392 – October 1897). Woohwang chungsimwon, which appeared first in the Chinese book titled “Tai Ping Imperical Grace Formulary (太平惠民和劑局方[Tae-ping-hui-min-he-ji-ju-fang])” (written during the Song Dynasty), were improved many times by Joseon medical officers to become today’s Woohwang-chungsimwon, something which China cannot imitate.
Director General Kwak emphasized, “In contrast to western medicine which revolves around disease-specific treatment, traditional Korean medicine focuses on disease prevention and lifestyle changes. Rather than brief face-to-face consultations between doctors and patients, traditional Korean medicine practitioners opt for longer meetings with patients to learn more about the patient’s lifestyles and dietary habits.
