50 Years of the Physiological Society of Korean Medicine: Retrospect and Reflection

The Physiological Society of Korean Medicine (大韓東醫生理學會, PSKM) was established on November 28, 1975. For the following 50 years, the Society stood at the forefront of the development of the Physiology of Korean Medicine (韓醫生理學, PKM). The academic foundations for PKM were laid by Yoon Gil-Young, and Kim Wan-Hee subsequently developed into a physiology based on the Neo Medicine Discourse(第3醫學論) and Analogical Function System(類機能體系). From the 1950s to the 1970s, the efforts of these two scholars enabled the field of PKM to play a pioneering role within the Korean medicine community, leading the discourse on the development of Korean Medicine. However, the 'scientific and modernized PKM’ advocated by these two scholars faded during the 1980s and 1990s. This paper reviews the current state of PKM as PSKM marks its 50th anniversary, and considers the direction the Society should take. It emphasizes the need to continue the academic lineage of the 'scientific and modernized PKM', which faded after Yoon Gil-Young and Kim Wan-Hee, and advocates for changes in PKM to meet contemporary demands. Furthermore, it argues that this work should be centered around the Society.