The Adaptive Nature of Korean Traditional Medicine in Atlanta and Boston Open Access
Innes, Connor (Spring 2020)
Abstract
Environmental factors have historically contributed to the evolution of Traditional Korean Medicine on the Korean peninsula, and the influence of professional and social structures distinct to America would suggest that TKM is undergoing a similar process of change in the United States. Characterization of TKM in the U.S. is largely under studied, and the previous scholarship that does exist demonstrates a medical practice that primarily serves Korean American communities and fails to consider the distinct cultural, social, and structural factors found in the region of interest as well as the U.S. As a result, the objective of this study is to characterize TKM clinics and their practitioners through a qualitative analysis of outbound marketing materials, practitioner profiles, and practitioner interviews from the Atlanta and Boston areas. Online directories aiding the Korean American community and clinic websites provided both marketing materials as well as biographical information on practitioners, and semi-structured interviews provided first-hand experiences and perspectives of practitioners. In Atlanta, practitioners frame their practice within the context Western medicine and other alternative and complementary medicines without direct reference to TKM in order to provide familiarity to English-speaking patients. Comparatively, practitioners in Boston utilize their professional backgrounds with Western medicine to methodologically explain their practices to English-speaking patients while explicitly identifying with Korean practices. Nonetheless, clinics in both regions regularly employ the term “oriental medicine” to describe their clinic and practice as a result of broad professional definitions of traditional medicine in the U.S.
Therefore, the practice of TKM observed in the U.S. is inconsistent both between and within clinics as practitioners have differentially appealed to patients through recognition of the professional Western and traditional medicine sectors. Thus, TKM in the U.S. is best defined broadly by its adaptive nature. Future studies should focus on the impact of this adaptation on the identity and relationship of practitioners relative to the Korean American community, and additional interviews and research sites would increase the applicability of this research and its findings towards informing changes in the U.S. healthcare system.
Table of Contents
Chapter One: Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1
Chapter Two: The Practice of TKM in Atlanta ........................................................................... 19
Chapter Three: The Practice of TKM in Boston ......................................................................... 32
Chapter Four: Conclusion......................................................................................................... 45
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