The Korea Heritage Service announced Thursday that Anatomy - a three-volume medical textbook published in the early 20th century at Chejungwon, Korea's first modern medical institution established by American missionaries - will be added to the national registry of cultural heritage.
The book offers a glimpse into how Western scientific knowledge was translated and introduced to Koreans during the country's early modernization period.
It was widely used at medical schools and missionary hospitals in the early 1900s, when Western medicine was still unfamiliar to Korean society.
The work was translated into Korean by physician and later independence activist Kim Pil-soon and edited by Canadian missionary doctor Oliver Avison, who played a key role in introducing modern medicine to Korea. The three-volume series was published in 1906.
Heritage officials said the book demonstrates how Western medicine was first taught in Korea and marks the beginning of the country's modern medical education system.
The volumes explain the human body step by step, covering bones and muscles as well as major organs such as the heart and lungs, along with the nervous system and sensory organs.
The format was designed to help Korean students better understand anatomy and modern medicine.
The book is also valued for showing how modern medical terminology was adapted into everyday Korean. Rather than relying solely on Chinese characters or foreign terminology, the translators used accessible Korean expressions to make anatomy easier to understand.
Heritage authorities said the work also illustrates how scientific terminology, spelling and pronunciation evolved in the early 1900s as modern ideas entered the Korean language.
The designation will be finalized following a 30-day public review period and a final evaluation by the Korea Heritage Service.
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