Heo Jun


Heo Jun was a court physician of the Yangcheon Heo clan during the reign of King Seonjo of the Joseon Dynasty in Korea.

Background

He was appointed as a court physician at the age of 29. He wrote a number of medical texts, but his most significant achievement is Dongui Bogam, which is often noted as the defining text of traditional Korean medicine. The work spread to East Asian countries like China, Japan, and Vietnam where it is still regarded as one of the classics of Oriental medicine today. Although Heo Jun worked extensively with the royal family, he put a great emphasis on making treatment methods accessible and comprehensible to common people. Whereas common medical practice was to elevate the perceived value of treatment by using rare and expensive ingredients, he instead found natural herb remedies that were easily attainable by commoners in Korea and that were just as effective. Furthermore, he wrote the names of the herbs using the simple hangul letters instead of using more difficult hanja, which most commoners did not understand.
Heo Jun's name and accomplishments are widely recognized by Koreans even today. Korean people still refer to Heo Jun's natural remedies found in his Dongui Bogam.

In popular culture

Films and television