• The Journal of Korean Medical History
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2022

The medical system of the Central Military Command in the late Joseon Dynasty was practiced by military yakbang (clinicians 藥房), acupuncturists, and horse veterinarians. By analyzing and verifying various literatures, the following conclusions were obtained: 1) In the late Joseon Dynasty, military yakbang prioritized internal medical treatment over surgical treatment. Military yakbang were recognized before military acupuncturists were and had more medicinal gardens. This can be associated with the characteristics of the Military Medical Specialized Book that focuses on drug prescription. 2) The positions of military yakbang and military acupuncturists were not preferred by the Western Medical Offices (洋醫司). For example, in the latter days of King Sukjong's reign, positions were appointed from the Western Medical Offices but, on appeal, outside doctors were included as well. This is understood in terms of salary levels and guarantees of career opportunities. 3) The military acupuncturist was not selected based on ability as per the rules. If that was the case, more military acupuncturists would have been selected as royal acupuncturists (內鍼醫) under the system that continued until the late 19th century. In the future, it is expected that comparative studies will be conducted between local military medicine and the early Joseon's military medicine, thereby intensifying research on military medicine in the Joseon Dynasty.