**’Anatomy (Jejungwon Hangul School Textbook)’ Announced for Registration as a Cultural Heritage’**
The first Hangul anatomy textbook in Korea will become a nationally registered cultural heritage.
On the 14th, the Cultural Heritage Administration announced the registration of ‘Anatomy (Jejungwon Hangul School Textbook)’ as a national registered cultural heritage.
Published in 1906 at Jejungwon, a modern Western medical institution, ‘Anatomy’ is Korea’s first Hangul anatomy textbook. It was used as a textbook at Severance Hospital’s medical school and various missionary medical institutions. It serves as a representative material showcasing the state of early education when Western medicine was being introduced domestically, confirming that modern medical education was based on a scientific understanding of human body structures and functions.
The textbook is comprised of three volumes, systematically explaining the structure and function of the human body. Volume 1 focuses on the basic structure of the body, such as bones and muscles, explaining the principles of body shape and movement. Volume 2 covers the functions and physiological actions of major organs like the heart, lungs, and digestive organs. Volume 3 explains the body’s action and response systems through the nervous system and sensory organs.
Notably, the book uses native Korean terms such as ‘염통’ (heart) and ‘밥통’ (stomach) instead of relying on Chinese characters or foreign words, and adds explanations not found in the original text. It allows an insight into how modern medical knowledge was translated into Korean and popularized. It is a valuable linguistic resource as it also reveals Hangul orthography and phonetic changes from the early 20th century.
The book is currently housed at the National Hangeul Museum.
The Cultural Heritage Administration stated, “‘Anatomy’ holds significant academic and historical value as it symbolizes the starting point of modern medical education in Korea. We plan to closely cooperate with local governments and owners to ensure systematic preservation and management, and actively utilize it for scholarly research, exhibitions, and educational purposes.”