Head doctor at Weedahm Oriental Hospital, Dr. Seohyeong Choi, conducted a lecture on Korean medicine to the professors of Chinese medicine for the first time in Korea and China.

On September 28th, Dr. Seohyeong Choi held a lecture on gastrointestinal phlegm-stasis disorder at one of the top hospitals in China, China-Japan Friendship Hospital of Peking University Health Science Center, with the local gastroenterologists including the world-famous authority Yao Shukun attending. It is quite unusual to hold a Korean medicine lecture to western medicine doctors who are rarely interested in oriental medicine in the country where the oriental medicine originated. 

In the lecture, Dr. Seohyeong Choi emphasized that gastrointestinal phlegm stagnation slows down the gastrointestinal movement to cause all kinds of diseases including secretion of digestive enzymes, blood circulation disorders, and immune disorders.

Gastrointestinal phlegm stagnation refers to a new kind of gastrointestinal disease caused by bad eating habits such as fast eating, overeating, and heavy drinking that cause toxins to pile up inside the stomach and phlegm to accumulate in the gastrointestinal muscularis layer, which ultimately stiffens the stomach and the intestines. This disorder started to become known after Dr. Seohyeong Choi, who has been treating gastrointestinal disorders for 23 years since 2003 when he founded the east-west joint medical hospital, presented his theory on gastrointestinal phlegm-stasis disorder, a commonly occurring disorder that cannot be discovered with endoscopy nor diagnosed or treated.

The former president and a standing committee member of Peking University Zhou Qifeng said it was the best lecture, and Dr. Yao Shukun from Peking University Health Science Center identified with the theory and said it is impressive. Former president Zhou Qifeng has had visited Dr. Seohyeong Choi in 2014 for treatment of the gastrointestinal phlegm-stasis disorder.

Dr. Choi’s lecture was covered by China’s top newspaper People's Daily and was introduced throughout China. Also, after the lecture, the directors at People’s Daily greeted Dr. Choi in person showed great interest in the theory when the doctor visited the newspaper group. One of the personnel stated that official coverage on a foreigner oriental medical doctor was unprecedented. 

Professor Gyeongsook Shin, the head of Korea-China Science & Cultural Exchange Association, acted as the liaison for this lecture. The publication of Dr. Choi on the theory of gastrointestinal phlegm-stasis disorder, Babtong Daeballan, will be published in China in coming December through Peking University Press.

On the other note, Dr. Seohyeong Choi signed the MOU with China-Japan Friendship Hospital (2800 beds).

Hankyung.com News Team newsinfo@hankyung.com

Babtong Daeballan, Publication of Seohyeong Choi (Director of Weedahm Oriental Hospital), Released in China
Weedahm Oriental Hospital 05-24-2016 

Babtong Daeballan, Publication of Seohyeong Choi (Director of Weedahm Oriental Hospital), Released in China Publication party attended by Peking University president, doctors from Peking University Health Science Center, editors of People’s Daily



Babtong Daeballan, a book written by Seohyeong Choi, the director of Weedahm Oriental Hospital, is now published in China.

At 2pm of the 21st, the publication party for Dr. Seohyeong Choi’s book Babtong Daeballan took place at the multipurpose room in Wangfujing Bookstore in Beijing, China.

The attendees included the former president of Peking University Zhou Qifeng, Professor Yao Shukun from the gastroenterology department at Peking University Health Science Center (Vice President of China-Japan Friendship Hospital), vice president and editor-in-chief of China Medical Science and Technology Press, and overseas network editor of People’s Daily, and the attendees were greatly interested in the publication event. From Korea came the former vice-minister of Ministry of Health and Welfare Jaeseong Song and Gyeongsook Shin, the head of Korea-China Science & Cultural Exchange Association.

The newly released Chinese version of Babtong Daeballan is a publication first released in Korean in 2013 that identifies the real cause of gastrointestinal diseases - something that could not be discovered with endoscopy. 

The original publication in Korean released in 2013 introduced a new gastrointestinal disease named gastrointestinal phlegm-stasis disorder, where a toxin called phlegm accumulates in the stomach from fast eating, binge eating, late-night eating, overeating, eating alone to stiffen and damage the stomach and intestines tissues. 

The publication party for Babtong Daeballan in China is meaningful in so many levels as the publication has discovered the cause of neurogenic stomach problems to be the ‘phlegm’ accumulated in the gastrointestinal muscularis layer - a cause that could not be identified with the Chinese medicine or western medicine thus far.  

The editor-in-chief of the publication company China Medical Science and Technology Press that oversaw the publication of the Chinese version of the book mentioned there is a Chinese saying that goes “If you are to treat any disease, start from the stomach. The importance of gastrointestinal health has been emphasized since ancient times, the method of maintaining its health was not clear. This is where Dr. Seohyeong Choi’s publication comes into the picture. I am certain that this book will become the turning point for many Chinese suffering from a gastrointestinal disorder.”

Former president of Peking University Zhou Qifeng introduced himself in his congratulatory remark as “a former patient who visited Dr. Seohyeong Choi in 2014 to receive treatment on gastrointestinal phlegm-stasis disorder” and said “This book will not only help preventing and treating gastrointestinal disorders but also bring health and happiness to the Chinese people.”

The publication party included a special lecture by Dr. Choi on the gastrointestinal phlegm-stasis disorder. Dr. Choi also has given a lecture last September at China-Japan Friendship Hospital of Peking University Health Science Center before western medical doctors to introduce the gastrointestinal phlegm-stasis disorder. At that time, Prof. Yao Shukun, an authority on gastroenterology from Peking University Health Science Center, remarked, “A new perception and therapy for gastrointestinal diseases has been found.” 

Many reporters from different newspapers, TV and radio channels including People’s Daily, Science and Technology Daily, and Guangming Daily also took part in the event. 

During the Q&A time with the readers, Dr. Choi gave detailed answers to questions to define the disease and explain how to prevent it. The event ended with the book signing.

Currently, the Chinese version of Babtong Daeballan has made it to a second printing. 

Jiyeon Yoon webmaster@upkorea.net