Medical Literature

In 1392 Yi Songgye assumed the throne as King T’aejo and the Yi Dynasty (1392–1910) began. His supporters initiated a sweeping land reform program that began with a cadastral survey of landholding throughout the country and the destruction of previous registers of public and private landholdings. New developments in agriculture as well as in science, technology, and medicine followed, stimulating inventions and publications. For example, the agricultural manual called The Art of Farming, compiled in 1430, was based on the reasonable but novel premise that because Korean climate and soil differed from those of China, agricultural methods should be designed to meet the specific conditions found in the peninsula. Improvements in agricultural techniques produced increased yields, and the spread of cotton cultivation provided improved clothing for the common people.

Important developments in medical knowledge took place in the early years of the Yi dynasty, as the government encouraged its study and created two specialized institutions for medical care. One served the royal family and elite officials, and the other was to serve the general population. Candidates who scored well on the “Miscellaneous Examinations” could be employed in the Palace Medical Office, which trained regional medical officials.

The concept that indigenous conditions must be considered was increasingly incorporated into medical as well as agricultural writings. China’s influence on medical philosophy remained strong, but interest in the study and exploitation of Korea’s own traditional folk remedies stimulated the development of independent medical scholarship as may be seen in the Hyang-yak kugup pang (Emergency Remedies of Folk Medicine 1236).