Abstract
Objectives : The inclusion of Korean Medicine in the national health care system led to the need of a serious discussion on its modernization. This paper looked at how these discussions were progressed. Especially, a difference in the meaning of 'science' in the 1950s and the 1990s was observed. Methods : Articles related to the medical dispute between Korean and Western Medicine in "EE LIM", especially the ones from the 1950s, were selected, classified and analyzed. Research papers on Evidence-Based Medicine were also analyzed. Evidence-Based Medicine was a new medical research methodology in the 1990s. Articles on Evidence-Based Medicine were searched and selected from journal databases: DBpia, KISS, RISS, and OASIS. Results : The problem of establishment of modernity of Korean Medicine in the recent times was addressed in the context of scientification and systematization. Accordingly, the academic societies of Korean Medicine aimed for scientification. But efforts to secure the identity of Korean Medicine opposed to western science were also made. Meanwhile, Evidence-Based Medicine established in 1992 presented a different concept of science. This led to a new means of acknowledgement of Korean Medicine in the modern society. Conclusions : The modernization process of Korean Medicine up to now was a course of scientification. But as this process did not fully reflect its characteristics, the modernization of Korean Medicine still remains a pending question. A modern study methodology that fully reflects the identity of Korean Medicine needs to be established.