Basic Medicine (기초의학 / Kicho Uihak)
Basic Medicine
기초의학 / Kicho Uihak
Translation and backgrounder by Stephen Mercado
A quarterly journal of science and technology related to the study of human anatomy and its functions, published by the Science and Encyclopedia Publishing House.
Journal Title: The journal title has various renderings. Basic Medicine is the name in English. Its name in a simplified version of the standard McCune-Reischauer (M-R) transliteration system and the actual title in Korean are listed above. Its full M-R transliteration, as used in catalogs of the Library of Congress and other major libraries, is Kichʻo ŭihak.
Author Information: Editorials and anecdotes of the Revolution (혁명 일화) are unsigned. The research papers show author names but lack other information common to science papers, such as academic or professional affiliation, academic titles, areas of research or author biography. The journal’s title suggests possible author affiliation with relevant State Academy of Sciences (SAS) institutes, academic departments and/or hospitals.
Subject Matter: The articles have to do with the basic structure and functions of the human body, including topics ranging from cardiovascular functions to various diseases.
References: Authors publishing in this journal tend to cite both Chinese and Western monographs and journal articles, including those of many Chinese and Japanese authors published in English abroad. Domestic sources include the monograph 예방중독학연구법 [Research Methods in Preventive Toxicology] (2001) and journal 의학과학기술통보 [Bulletin of Medical Science and Technology]. Western journals include the British Journal of Cancer, Cell Biology and Toxicology and Human Pathology.
Sections: Each issue comprises a front cover; an unnumbered page with a framed quotation of one of the three generations of the Kim family; a table of contents (TOC) in Korean; the articles; the publishing information; and the back cover. Regime messages/propaganda appear throughout the journal.
In recent years, the front cover shows a slogan over the journal title, under which is the name of the publisher, the issue number and year of issue, and the corporate logo. The TOC in Korean starts with two or three items, each either an editorial or an anecdote of the Revolution. There follows some number of articles under the section “Research Results” (연구성과). Other sections that often appear in the journal are “General Remarks and Data” (종설 및 자료), “Original Idea” (창안), “News” (상식) and “Legal Commentary” (법무해헐). Following the last item is the publishing information. The back cover shows the periodical publication number and, in recent years, the journal’s International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) over a bar code.
Publisher: The publisher’s name in English is the Science and Encyclopedia Publishing House. It is the Kwahak Paekkwa Sajon Chulpansa in simplified M-R and 과학백과사전출판사 in Korean. The publisher’s name appears in Korean on the journal’s cover and in English on the copyright line on the publishing information page. In addition, the front cover includes the publisher’s logo: a globe, with a representation of the atom imposed at the top and an abbreviated version of the publisher’s Korean name, 백과 (Paekkwa), at the bottom.
Prior to Issue 3, 2018, the publisher’s name printed on the front cover was 의학과학출판사 (Uihak Kwahak Chulpansa, the Medical Science Publishing House). Confusingly, the front cover for the 2016 and 2017 issues, as well as the first two issues of 2018, show the Medical Science Publishing House name together with the Paekkwa corporate logo.
The publisher publishes an issue each quarter, starting in January, totaling four issues per year. According to the TOC and publishing information page, issue 3 (July) 2022 was cumulative issue number 123. The publishing information page also indicated that there was an editorial committee (no members named), the publisher was the Science and Encyclopedia Publishing House, the place of printing was the Pyongyang General Printing Plant, the date of printing was 1 July Juche 111 (2022), and the date of issue was 14 July Juche 111 (2022). The copyright line was © Science and Encyclopedia Publishing House 2022, DPR Korea, but in some issues, the journal showed no copyright line, ISSN or telephone number.