The biological standard of living of Korean men under Confucianism, colonialism, capitalism, and communism.

This study focuses on analysing the heights of 10,953 Korean men aged 20 to 40 years who were measured during the Joseon dynasty, the Japanese colonialisation period, and the contemporary period, the latter including both North and South Korea. This study thus provides rare long-term statistical evidence on how biological living standards have developed over several centuries, encompassing Confucianism, colonialism, capitalism, and communism. Using error bar analysis of heights for each historical sample period, this study confirms that heights rose as economic performance improved. For instance, economically poorer North Koreans were expectedly shorter, by about 6 cm, than their peers living in the developed South. Similarly, premodern inhabitants of present-day South Korea, who produced a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita below the world average, were about 4 cm shorter than contemporary South Koreans, who have a mean income above the world average. Along similar lines, North Koreans, who have a GDP per capita akin to that of the premodern Joseon dynasty, have not improved much in height. On the contrary, mean heights of North Koreans were even slightly below (by about 2.4 cm) heights of Joseon dynasty Koreans. All in all, the heights follow a U-shaped pattern across time, wherein heights were lowest during the colonial era. Heights bounced back to Joseon dynasty levels during the interwar period, a time period where South Korea benefitted from international aid, only to rise again and surpass even premodern levels under South Korea's flourishing market economy.

Morphological studies of fly puparia (Diptera: Calliphoridae) in the soil from a Joseon Dynasty grave in Korea.

Archaeoentomological investigations were conducted on soil contents from a grave belonging to the Joseon Dynasty as part of the Urban Environment Maintenance Project (UEMP) in Cheongjin 12-16 dong (districts), Jongno-gu, Seoul, Korea, from December 01, 2008 to February 19, 2011. A total of 28 insect puparia with hard shells of the common green bottle fly Lucilia sericata were identified in the soil. Evidence suggested that the corpse was placed outside for some days instead of being buried immediately after death. This is the first report of fly puparia in soil samples from a tomb of the Joseon Dynasty during 16-17 AD in Korea. Our findings may help determine the timeframe of burial and offer archaeological insights into the funerary customs of the period.

Updates on parasite infection prevalence in the Joseon period based on parasitological studies of human coprolites isolated from archaeological sites in the cities of Euijeongbu, Gumi, and Wonju.

Parasite infection rates estimated by examining ancient coprolites can provide insights into parasitism in Joseon society. Using newly discovered Joseon period cases is essential to regularly update the parasite infection rates and reinforce the reliability of our previous estimations. In the present study, we investigated parasite infections in Joseon coprolites newly isolated from the cities of Euijeongbu, Gumi, and Wonju. We then updated the overall parasite infection rates of Joseon period samples (n= 30) as follows: 86.7% (26/30) for Trichuris trichiura, 56.7% (17/30) for Ascaris lumbricoides, 30.0% (9/30) for Clonorchis sinensis, and 30.0% (9/30) for Paragonimus westermani. The parasite infection rates in the Joseon society, estimated through coprolite examination, were very similar to those determined previously despite the addition of new cases to the existing data pool.

Revealing Joseon period People's single nucleotide polymorphism associated with lactase gene by ancient DNA analysis of human remains from archaeological sites in Korea.

Lactase non-persistence (LNP), one of the causes of lactose intolerance, is related to lactase gene associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Since the frequency of LNP varies by ethnic group and country, the research to reveal the presence or absence of LNP for specific people has been conducted worldwide. However, in East Asia, the study of lactase gene associated SNPs have not been sufficiently examined so far using ancient human specimens from archaeological sites. In our study of Joseon period human remains (n=14), we successfully revealed genetic information of lactase gene associated SNPs (rs1679771596, rs41525747, rs4988236, rs4988235, rs41380347, rs869051967, rs145946881 and rs182549), further confirming that as for eight SNPs, the pre-modern Korean people had a lactase non-persistent genotype. Our report contributes to the establishment of LNP associated SNP analysis technique that can be useful in forthcoming studies on human bones and mummy samples from East Asian archaeological sites.

A portrait drawing of the 17th century Korean scholar based on craniofacial reconstruction.

As a technique mainly hiring in forensic investigation field to identify the descents, craniofacial reconstruction (CFR) is also used in archaeology to create the faces from ancient or medieval human remains, when there is little information about his/her appearance. Eung-Cheok Ko (1531-1605) was a writer and scholar in the mid Joseon period. In January of 2019, His mummified body was found at Gumi, Kyeonsangbuk-do, Korea. The remains were anthropologically examined, and archaeological CFR was also requested for this case. This report reveals the case's facial reconstruction process and his portrait that is drawn based on the 3-dimensional CFR result.

Revisiting diaphragmatic hernia of Joseon period Korean mummy by three-dimensional liver and heart segmentation and model reconstruction.

A three-dimensional (3D) segmentation and model reconstruction is a specialized tool to reveal spatial interrelationship between multiple internal organs by generating images without overlapping structures. This technique can also be applicable to mummy studies, but related reports have so far been very rare. In this study, we applied 3D segmentation and model reconstruction to computed tomography images of a Korean mummy with congenital diaphragmatic hernia. As originally revealed by the autopsy in 2013, the current 3D reconstruction reveals that the mummy's heart is shifted to the left due to the liver pushing up to thoracic cavity thorough diaphragmatic hernial defect. We can generate 3D images by calling up the data exclusively from mummy's target organs, thus minimizing the confusion of diagnosis that could be caused by overlapping organs.

Genetic analysis of mitochondrial DNA from ancient Equus caballus bones found at archaeological site of Joseon dynasty period capital area.

OBJECTIVE: To understand the domestication and spread of horses in history, genetic information is essential. However, mitogenetic traits of ancient or medieval horses have yet to be comprehensively revealed, especially for East Asia. This study thus set out to reveal the maternal lineage of skeletal horse remains retrieved from a 15th century archaeological site (Gongpyeongdong) at Old Seoul City in South Korea. METHODS: We extracted DNA from the femur of Equus caballus (SNU-A001) from Joseon period Gongpyeongdong site. Mitochondrial (mt) DNA (HRS 15128-16116) of E. caballus was amplified by polymerase chain reaction. Cloning and sequencing were conducted for the mtDNA amplicons. The sequencing results were analyzed by NCBI/BLAST and phylogenetic tool of MEGA7 software. RESULTS: By means of mtDNA cytochrome b and D-loop analysis, we found that the 15th century Korean horse belonged to haplogroup Q representing those horses that have historically been raised widely in East Asia. CONCLUSION: The horse is unique among domesticated animals for the remarkable impact it has on human civilization in terms of transportation and trade. Utilizing the Joseonperiod horse remains, we can obtain clues to reveal the genetic traits of Korean horse that existed before the introduction of Western horses.

GENETIC ANALYSIS OF ANCIENT CLONORCHIS SINENSIS EGGS ATTAINED FROM GORYEONG MUMMY OF JOSEON DYNASTY PERIOD.

Although Clonorchis sinensis is a parasite that still infects many people in East Asia, its genetics remain largely unknown. We conducted ancient DNA analysis of C. sinensis eggs obtained from a Joseon period mummy newly discovered in South Korea. Clonorchis sinensis DNA was amplified for internal transcribed spacer 1, cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1, and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 and 5 genes. The results of BLAST/NCBI showed that the consensus sequences were 98.24 to 100% identical to the modern and ancient C. sinensis sequences reported from Korea, China, Japan, and other Asian countries. Our report helps to fill in the genetic profile of ancient C. sinensis strains that infected East Asian people hundreds of years ago.

Did King Yeongjo (1694-1776) of Joseon Dynasty Korea suffer dementia during the last decade of his reign?

King Yeongjo, the 21st king of Joseon (18th Century Korea), reigned during the prime years of the dynasty and was its oldest king. Despite his many accomplishments, debate surrounds his reputed display of the symptoms of dementia during the last years of his life.  The King showed signs of dementia after 40 years of his regency in 1762 at the age of 69 years, including disorientation, cognitive impairment, amnestic disorder and so on. We examined evidence from the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty and related research papers. Additionally, dementia specialists were asked to undertake a survey to provide objectivity to the literary findings. Prior to his death in 1776, 25 meaningful dementia symptoms were recorded in the Annals across a 10-year period. However, despite indications of dementia, the Joseon dynasty supported him as a king and helped him retain his dignity until the end. This suggests that historical perception changes regarding dementia may also inform current-day attitudes to improve the living standards of patients suffering from dementia and related neuropsychiatric disorders.

The surface and the back of late Joseon medicine - Centered on medical knowledge system.

Many medical books of the late Joseon Dynasty were based on the medical knowledge of Donguibogam. For this reason, most of the studies have explained the medicine of the late Joseon Dynasty focusing on Donguibogam. However, the appearance of medicine in the late Joseon Dynasty is more complex than that. Although the "treatment knowledge" of Donguibogam had a huge impact in the late Joseon Dynasty, the "medical thought" of Donguibogam was not easily established. This is confirmed through the knowledge system of medical books in the late Joseon Dynasty. Jejungsinpyeon, published by the government in the late Joseon Dynasty, disassembled the contents of Dongibogam and rearranged it into a knowledge system of Uihagibmun. Injeji, which was made in the private sector, followed the same method. They tried to maintain part of the knowledge system of Donguibogam. Nevertheless, the framework of perception that extends from "human" to "disease," the central idea of Donguibogam, was not maintained. This shows that there was a considerable amount of respect for the medicine of Ming Dynasty in the late Joseon Dynasty. Therefore, for a more in-depth understanding of medicine in the late Joseon Dynasty, it is necessary to examine in more detail the influences of other medical books such as Uihagibmun, Bonchogangmok, and Gyeongakjeonseo in addition to Donguibogam. This should be understood as a process in which various medical knowledge and systems compete.

Cholera epidemic and quarantine of open ports in Joseon in 1886.

In 1886, cholera was prevalent nationwide in Joseon. This year was not yet the time when the Joseon government officially overhauled quarantine rules to go into effect. Thus, quarantine efforts to prevent cholera varied depending on each of the three opening ports in the Joseon Dynasty. In Wonsan, officials of the three countries(Joseon, Japan and Qing) discussed ways to deal with cholera, and quarantine activities were carried out smoothly. On the other hand, Busan underwent friction and conflict between the parties over the implementation of quarantine rules within the region. When the Japanese consulate said that it would establish quarantine rules first and implement them, officials from various countries, including the Joseon Dynasty, strongly protested against the movement, saying that they did not reach prior consent. On top of that, economic interests were also affecting circumstances of port trade. In Incheon, there were differences between the home country and the local consulate over the urgent issue to be dealt with locally and the legal principles of applying the treaty. Since consular officials were not authorized to establish quarantine rules, the situation was settled into cancellation of the rules already issued there. The Japanese consul working at each port in the Joseon Dynasty suggested specific rules to develop quarantine activities. At this point, we can read Japan's intention to preempt the standard of future quarantine inspections. The enforcement of quarantine rules, however, was a matter that required consent from the Joseon official Gamri, the Acting Commissioner of the Joseon Maritime Customs and diplomats from each country. Furthermore, they had to go through the process of obtaining review and approval from their home countries if there were any problems in the operation of the treaty. The establishment and implementation of quarantine rules were complicated by interests of various players in each country concerning protection of their own citizens. Even though it was timely and the purpose of implementation was good, it could not follow through the quarantine rules as proposed by the Japanese consul at the opening port. The accumulation of quarantine experience and information at each port of Joseon in 1886 provided the foundation for the Joseon government to move toward to establish quarantine rules and implement them with the consent of each country in the following year.

Processing Method & Distribution of Medicinal Plant Ginseng in Early Modern East Asia -Focusing on Ginseng as a Tribute Item of Joeseon to the Ming Dynasty.

Ginseng started to emerge as an international medicinal material during the Joseon Dynasty. This paper examines ginseng as a tribute presented to the Ming royal family by Joseon Dynasty. Joseon Dynasty presented peeled and dried ginseng (white ginseng) to the emperor. The Ming Dynasty demanded chosam (natural ginseng) with no peeling in 1602. By the request of Joseon Dynasty during the period of Lord Gwanghae, the presented ginseng was again changed to pasam (boiled and dried ginseng). Although Nurhachi of the Jurchen is known to have invented this method of processing pasam, Joseon was exporting pasam to the Ming Dynasty earlier than that. As such, the Nurhachi theory of the invention of the pasam should be reexamined. Joseon Dynasty presented ginseng to each emperor and heir to the throne through its envoys. The total amount of ginseng sent to the royal family of the Ming Dynasty during the Joseon Dynasty is estimated to be approximately 664 to 880 geuns per year in the fifteenth century, 300 to 500 geuns in the sixteenth century, and about 160 to 360 geuns in the 17th century. When the Japanese Invasion of Korea occurred in 1592, the Joseon government informed the Ming Dynasty of the miserable situation of the Joseon people and chose to reduce the tribute. However, even after the war, the amount of tribute ginseng in Joseon continued to be small. This is because the medical industry in the Ming Dynasty grew significantly, and medical books prescribing Joseon ginseng increased, and the rich people of the Ming Dynasty loved ginseng so much that they imported Joseon ginseng at high prices. Local residents of Guangdong, China, a major customer base of Joseon ginseng, also used ginseng as a preventive medicine for JangGi. From the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries, the amount of ginseng that Joseon tributed to the Ming Dynasty continued to decrease, and the ginseng processing method also moved in the direction of reducing the burden of processing. This was caused by changes in the environment surrounding the use of ginseng, including changes in the international situation at the time, growth of the medical industry, increasing interest in ginseng by the people of the Ming, and economic considerations of the Joseon government. The two countries sought changes in the ginseng tribute through an agreement.

Reconsideration of Dr. Allen's Report about Hemoptysis Patients from High Prevalence of Archaeoparasitological Paragonimiasis in Korea.

Horace N. Allen, an American physician, was a Presbyterian missionary to Korea. In 1886, he wrote the annual report of the Korean government hospital, summarizing patient statistics according to outpatient and inpatient classification for the first ever in Korean history. In the report, he speculated that hemoptysis cases of outpatient might have been mainly caused by distoma. Allen's conjecture was noteworthy because only a few years lapsed since the first scientific report of paragonimiasis. However, he was not sure of his assumption either because it was not evidently supported by proper microscopic or post-mortem examinations. In this letter, we thus revisit his assumption with our parasitological data recently obtained from Joseon period mummies.

Reconsideration of Dr. Allen's Report about Hemoptysis Patients from High Prevalence of Archaeoparasitological Paragonimiasis in Korea

Horace N. Allen, an American physician, was a Presbyterian missionary to Korea. In 1886, he wrote the annual report of the Korean government hospital, summarizing patient statistics according to outpatient and inpatient classification for the first ever in Korean history. In the report, he speculated that hemoptysis cases of outpatient might have been mainly caused by distoma. Allen’s conjecture was noteworthy because only a few years lapsed since the first scientific report of paragonimiasis. However, he was not sure of his assumption either because it was not evidently supported by proper microscopic or post-mortem examinations. In this letter, we thus revisit his assumption with our parasitological data recently obtained from Joseon period mummies.

A historical approach to syphilis infection in Korea

From the end of the 15th century, syphilis spread worldwide, posing a serious threat to public health. Venereal syphilis has been a major research topic, not only in clinical medicine but also in paleopathology, especially because it is a disease of questionable origin and of high prevalence until the discovery of antibiotics. Syphilis in history has been studied extensively in Europe and the Americas, though less so in Asia. In this review, based on extant historical documents and available paleopathological data, we pinpoint the introduction and trace the spread of venereal syphilis in Korea to the end of the 19th century. This review provides fundamental information that will be a great help in future researches on pre-20th century syphilis in Korea.

Horse-riding accidents and injuries in historical records of Joseon Dynasty, Korea.

Only a few osteological reports describe bone injuries thought to have been caused by falls from horses. Nevertheless, anthropological study alone is insufficient for establishing the correlates of such equestrian accidents. We therefore reviewed the records in Seungjeongwon ilgi (Diaries of the Royal Secretariat) and Joseon wangjo silrok (Annals of the Joseon Dynasty) of the Korea's Joseon period (1392-1910 CE). Although the mechanisms of trauma were diverse, the Joseon documents recorded many injuries caused by horse-riding accidents. During 1625-1872 CE, equestrian-related accidents occurred almost every year, overwhelming other causes of trauma. In all horse-riding accidents (n=142), 37.77% of the records offer detailed data about the traumatic mechanism. Injuries occurred most frequently to the extremities (79.58%), which were followed by the trunk (34.5%) and head (4.92%). Although we do not think that this attempt can explain every paleopathological case, our historical review shows that equestrian-related injuries could be considered as one of the major causes for the bone trauma observed among ancient equestrian people.

The Change of the Status of Joseon Medical Bureaucrats in the 15th and 16th Centuries / 의사학

In the 15th century, Joseon dynasty's goal for the stabilization of the ruling system, the ideological freedom of the era, and the necessity of medicine due to the introduction of Jin and Yuan dynasty's medicine led to the increased interest in medicine by the nobility along with tolerant practice. The practice of reading medical books is a good example of this institutional demonstration. However, by the end of the 15th century, a noticeable change had taken place. Within the nobility, there was an ideological rigidity regarding technology other than those of Confucianism, as the nobility became concentrated on the principles of Neo-Confucianism. In addition, as the publication of large-scale editions such as Ŭibangyuch'wi (the Classified Collection of Medical Prescriptions) came to an end, they have become less inclined to nurture talent at the level of the central government as in the previous period. In addition, as the discrimination against illegitimate children became stronger, technical bureaucrats such as medical officials, which were open to illegitimate children, came to be seen in increasingly disdainful and differentiated manners. From the late Sejong period to the early Seongjong period, the entrance of illegitimate sons into the medical bureaucracy solidified the negligence of medicine by the nobility. After then, the medical bureaucracy came to be monopolized by illegitimate sons. As for illegitimate sons, they were not allowed to enter society through Confucian practices, and as such, the only way for them to enter the government was by continuing to gain experience as technical bureaucrats. Technical posts that became dominated by illegitimate sons became an object of contempt by the nobility, and the cycle reproduced itself with the social perception that legitimate sons of the nobility could not become a medical official. Medical officials from the Yi clan of Yangseong had been legitimate sons and passers of the civil service examination in the 15th century. However, in the 16th century, only illegitimate sons became medical officials. The formation of Jungin (middleclass) in technical posts since the middle of the Joseon period is also related to this phenomenon. The Yi clan of Yangseong that produced medical officials for 130years over four generations since Yi Hyoji, a medical book reading official, is an exemplary case of the change in the social perception in the early Joseon period regarding medical bureaucrats.

Historical Details about the Meat Consumption and Taeniases in Joseon Period of Korea.

Previous paleoparasitological studies of Joseon specimens established that the prevalence of Taenia infection was not much different from that of the early 20th century Korean population. As many of taeniases originally diagnosed as Taenia saginata in South Korea were revealed to be actually Taenia asiatica, which share a common intermediate host with T. solium (the pig), Joseon people must have ingested raw pork frequently. However, the current examination of extant Joseon documents revealed that the population ate significant amounts of beef even if the beef ban was enforced; and pork was not consumed as much as we thought. Considering the meat consumption pattern at that time, Joseon people should have been infected by T. saginata more frequently than T. asiatica. This may suggest a low prevalence of T. saginata metacestodes in cattle compared to that of T. asiatica metacestodes in pigs, possibly due to the traditional way of rearing pigs (using human feces). This letter gives us a chance to reconsider the existing preconception about parasitic infections in Korean history though we are still hard to accurately estimate the historical patterns of taeniases at this stage.

The presence of sharp-edged weapon related cut mark in Joseon skull discovered at the 16th century market district of Old Seoul City ruins in South Korea.

A human skull was discovered at the 16th-century drainage channel of market district ruins, one of the busiest streets in the capital of Joseon kingdom. By anthropological examination, we noticed the cut mark at the right occipital part of the cranium. Judging from the wound property, it might have been caused by a strong strike using a sharp-edged weapon. As no periosteal reaction or healing signs were observed at the cut mark, he might have died shortly after the skull wound was made. We speculated that this might have been of a civilian or soldier victim who died in a battle or the decapitated head of prisoner. This is the first report about the discovery of the skull damaged by sharp-edged weapon at the archaeological sites in the capital city of Joseon Kingdom.

The First Conference Date of Korean Association of Anatomists and the Subjects of Lecture / 체질인류학회지

The first conference of Korean Association of Anatomists started on November 13, 1948 at the department of anatomy of Seoul National University College of Medicine by about 10 anatomists and staffs from several medical schools in Seoul. It was presented with six lectures at ‘The Second Annual Meeting/First Conference of Joseon Association of Anatomists’.