By Honorary Reporter Martina Marrandino from Italy

Photos = Martina Marrandino

Along with other Honorary Reporters and K-influencers residing in Korea, I had the opportunity on Sept. 21 to experience hanyak (traditional Korean medicine) at the Seoul K-Medi Center. This event was organized by National Institute for Korean Medicine Development and KOCIS.

The center is at Yangnyeong Market, the nation's largest medicinal market located at Jegi-dong neighborhood, Dongdaemun-gu District, and is a beautiful three-story Hanok carrying on the tradition of Bojewon, a medical organization during the Joseon Dynasty that provided medicine to sick people as well as aid to the poor. 

This location is now a complex cultural center where visitors can learn about and experience hanyak through interesting exhibitions and activities such as foot baths and herbal cuisine.

Our tour started on the third floor, which has a mobile clinic, interactive room for herbal and traditional medicine (Bojewon), multipurpose auditorium and herbal meal (yakseon) center. Bojewon is an elegant space with a delicate aroma that offers acupressure and massage on a mechanical, heated massage mat with a heating eye patch.

Afterwards, we moved to the second floor to the Foot Bath Experience Room. Foot baths are thought to have benefits like improving blood circulation and relieving tension. Our group got a foot bath at a open space beneath a Hanok pavilion; we bathed our feet in warm water infused with seasonal medicinal herbs like wormwood and mother chrysanthemum while listening to traditional Korean music and inhaling the pleasant aroma.

Also on the second floor was Seoul Yangnyeongsi Herb Medicine Museum. Visitors can learn about traditional medicine, which pursues harmony between humans and nature, medicinal herbs and prescriptions, as well as the development process and status of Seoul Yangnyeong Market. 

The many interactive screens there allow activities such as discovering one's sasang  (constitution) and diagnosis by resting, exercising to balance the body's energy by following instructions on an interactive screen or receiving a personal prescription for a medicinal herb customized for one's body based on symptoms. In addition to Korean, all programs offer interpretation in English, Chinese and Japanese.

On the first floor is a costume room where visitors can try on traditional clothes worn by nurses and doctors during the Joseon era, an educational and cultural digital experience room for children, and entertaining 3D holograms.

After my experience at the center, I truly felt positive energy run through my body and genuinely think that everyone should visit. Make this center a must-see when visiting Seoul and experience traditional Korean medicine firsthand.

enny0611@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.