Analysis of Koryo medicine research: clinical medicine topics in <i>Koryo medicine</i>

Objectives: South Korea, the United States, and the United Nations have imposed extensive economic sanctions against North Korea, which increased the use of traditional Korean medicine in North Korea to maintain its national health care system. This study attempts to study the latest trends of traditional Korean medicine research through bibliographic analysis of one of the North Korean medical journals. It will then provide insights into how traditional Korean medicine is used in North Korea.Methods: This study is based on 611 clinical research articles out of 931 articles extracted from 13 volumes of <i>Koryo Medicine</i> (2016 ~ 2019). The articles were classified according to the researched treatment, diseases and use alongside conventional drugs.Results: Based on the analysis of <i>Koryo Medicine</i>, the proportion of clinical research articles investigating the treatment effects was very high (65.6%). Also, clinical research using herbal medicine as treatment was the most common, accounting for 17.69% of the total. Some of the clinical research in <i>Koryo Medicine</i> were conducted in tandem with conventional drug treatment, especially on acupuncture.Conclusion: This study conducted a bibliographic analysis of <i>Koryo Medicine</i> to understand the current status of traditional Korean medicine within North Korea. The analysis identified main diseases, treatment methods, and integration with conventional drugs in the clinical research of traditional Korean medicine. As a country actively seeking to use traditional Korean medicine, North Korea will become an interesting field of global traditional medicine and complementary medicine research.