Koryo Medicine (고려의학 / Koryo Uihak)
Koryo Medicine
고려의학 / Koryo Uihak
Translation and backgrounder by Stephen Mercado
A quarterly journal of science and technology related to traditional Asian medicine, published by the Science and Encyclopedia Publishing House.
Journal Title: The journal title has various renderings. Koryo 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 Koryŏ 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 the Academy of Koryo Medicine and/or related academic departments.
Subject Matter: The articles have to do with acupuncture, moxibustion and other aspects of traditional Korean medicine.
References: Some articles in this journal cite Western medical literature but references overall lean toward journal articles and monographs pertaining to traditional Korean and Chinese medicine, such as Pyongyang’s Medical Science Publishing House 고려림상의전 [Koryo Clinical Protocol] (2009) and 현대의학적기초와 림상 [Fundamentals and Clinical Practice of Acupuncture and Moxibustion] (2015). Cited Chinese journals include 针灸临床杂志 (Journal of Clinical Acupuncture and Moxibustion) and 中国中药杂志 (China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica).
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 have appeared in one issue or another include “Experiences in Treatment” (치료경험), “General Remarks and Data” (종설 및 자료) and “Bits and Pieces” (토막). Next, there is an unnumbered page of publishing information. Finally, the journal’s periodical publication number appears on the back cover.
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. 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 February, for a total of four issues per year. Issue 4 (November), 2020—the latest year available—was cumulative issue number 194, according to the table of contents and the publishing information page. 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 Moranbong Printing Plant, the date of printing was 9 November Juche 109 (2020), and the date of issue was 24 November Juche 109 (2020). There was no copyright line or International Standard Serial Number (ISSN). The publishing information can change over time; for example, in Issue 1, 2016, the earliest issue available, the publisher was the Medical Science Publishing House.