This study aimed to establish that the success of proprietary medicine during the Japanese colonial period was significantly influenced by the development of proprietary medications that were formulated using Korean medicine, rather than the introduction of Western medicine and drugs associated with the modernization of Japan under colonial rule. Public trust towards the traditional Korean medicine prescriptions had previously been formed considering the well-established efficacies of the drugs. However, most medicines were produced as decoctions, which were difficult to store or immediately consume during emergencies. Modernization-associated changes in people’s perceptions primarily focused on the ease with which it was possible to consume medicine, which subsequently resulted in the proactive research towards the development of new varieties of proprietary medicine from Korean medicine. Several proprietary medicines formulated using Korean medicine have been produced from new prescriptions which were modified from textual sources of traditional Korean medicine. Items that were not mentioned in the medical books, but were known to be clinically effective, otherwise known as home remedies, were used to formulate numerous proprietary medicines. To date, clinicians have continued to use prescriptions such as Young Shin Hwan and Sa Yuk Tang. Proprietary medications formulated from Korean medicine may be considered as a part of the transitionary phase of traditional Korean and herbal medicines, during which they underwent the necessary changes associated with modernization. These changes did not entirely represent the field of Korean or herbal medicine, which is contraindicative of the fact that the people who were exposed to the excessive advertising campaigns during the Japanese colonial period continue to believe that these changes were reflected in the field of Korean and herbal medicine as a whole. The widespread interest in proprietary medicines that occurred during the period of Japanese occupation of Korea was accompanied by a change in the use of
Korean medicines. As a traditional therapeutic medical system that heavily adopted Western practices and formed the basis of the Joseon medical system, the Korean medical system gradually lost its status as a therapeutic medical system during the period of Japanese occupation. Although many therapeutic, proprietary medicines were made from various Korean medicines during the early period of the Japanese occupation, the inclination to use tonics and herbal medicines increased toward the end of the occupation period. This was because the number of advertisements of proprietary Japanese medicines in newspapers significantly exceeded that of Korean medicines toward the latter part of the occupation period, with items being primarily centered on nutritious tonics made from appropriate mixtures of Korean and Western medical substances. The term “nutritious tonic” started being used after the introduction of tonic water, and the use of nutritious tonics was influenced by the then popular discourse on nervous breakdown and the importance of stamina. Its effectiveness as a tonic to strengthen a weak constitution and promote fatigue recovery, as well as its popularity as a cure for nervous breakdown and a medicine to enhance stamina and health, is responsible the current favorable image of a nutritious tonic. Moreover, despite the very comprehensive and diverse treatment methods or concepts associated with a tonic that treats “deficiency vexation” and “internal damage,” as used in the Korean medical industry, tonics are divided into categories such as nutritious tonic, vigor tonic, and nutritious supplement. However, today, ambiguities exist regarding the definition of a tonic and the boundaries among the aforementioned categories. During the Japanese colonial period, patent medicine was a catalyst that changed the uses of traditional oriental medicines and Korean medicines. The Japanese colonial period is historically significant since it witnessed rapid transformations in many dimensions, including the Korean medical system. This study is significant in that it clarifies the transformation in the medical system
by describing the mutual influence between proprietary medicine and Korean medicines.