Foreign envoys were briefed on traditional Korean medicinal practices during the 49th Societas Koreana dinner and lecture at the National Press Center in Seoul on Wednesday.

Hosted by the government-funded research institute the Academy of Korean Studies, Societas Koreana meetings have been introducing various topics in Korean studies since 2010 to “ambassadors, diplomats and opinion leaders staying in Korea” with “diverse English-language materials designed to promote a better understanding of Korea,” according to an AKS pamphlet.

Many foreign envoys have regularly attended the meetings since they were first established. The 49th meeting included a lecture on traditional Korean medicinal practices by Don Baker, professor of Korean history at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. His work on religion and medicinal practices in Korea, called “Hanuihak” in Korean, has been published widely. Professor Baker has also focused on the life and work of Dasan, the pen name of Jeong Yak-yong, in some of his writings.

Hanuihak is still practiced in South Korea, but it was the major way to treat illnesses on the peninsula all the way into the late 19th century, Baker explained in his lecture. Modern medicine was introduced in Korea only when it was forced to open to the world by Japan and the West in the late 1870s and ’80s.

Past lecturers have included a number of distinguished scholars and researchers on Korea.

Daebong Sunim, the Zen master at Gyeryong Mountain International Zen Center, has delivered a lecture on unique aspects of Korean Buddhism; Michael Kim, a professor at Yonsei University, has lectured on colonial Seoul; and Darcy Paquet, an adjunct professor at Kyung Hee University and a writer and speaker on Korean film, has lectured on Korean cinema during the colonial period.

(ephilip2014@heraldcorp.com)