The following article was contributed via the Embassy of India in Korea as part of its efforts to promote Ayurveda, a natural system of medicine, originated in India more than 3,000 years ago. ED.By Song Han-youngIn recent years, mega-trends such as "naturalism" and "chemical-free" have continued around the world. These trends naturally led to interest in natural herbs which resulted in a gradual increase of herb-related products. In addition, as concerns on "immunity" and "health" increased during the coronavirus outbreak this year, interest in "how can I keep my usual health?" contributed to "What could protect my health?" The situation affected and raised interest in natural herbs.In recent years, mega-trends such as "naturalism" and "chemical-free" have continued around the world. These trends naturally led to interest in natural herbs which resulted in a gradual increase of herb-related products. In addition, as concerns on "immunity" and "health" increased during the coronavirus outbreak this year, interest in "how can I keep my usual health?" contributed to "What could protect my health?" The situation affected and raised interest in natural herbs.

In Korea, the term "medicinal herb" is more familiar than "natural herb." And when it comes to medicinal herbs, people naturally think of Oriental or Chinese medicine. But the West is more familiar with Ayurveda. In fact, according to the business report, "Future Market Insight 2017," 57.8 percent of the herbal drug market is Ayurvedic products. This means that Ayurveda acquires more than half of the global herb market. According to Google Trend Search, the search volume of Ayurveda is more than four times higher than that of Chinese medicine. The gap is gradually growing. This also implies that Ayurveda is better-known worldwide than Chinese medicine.The easiest way to describe Ayurveda is as Indian traditional medicine. Just as there is Korean medicine in Korea and Chinese medicine in China, India also has its own traditional medicine, which is called Ayurveda. Although there are differences of opinion among scholars, it is generally said that Ayurveda has a history of about 5,000 years. This means that it almost coincided with the Indus civilization, and the history of Ayurveda is understood that it is an accumulated medical knowledge obtained by ancient people observing nature.The important point is that traditional medicine with a long history has been actively used as one of the medical systems in India and its surrounding cultures to this day. The medical system has the characteristic that it can be maintained and inherited only if it has a practical effect. In other words, it means that the knowledge of Ayurveda survived through the clinical trials for a long time.In recent years, Western medicine is used as a synonym for modern medicine and is becoming the center of the situation, but gradually people are recognizing there are some areas that Western medicine cannot handle. As a result, the concept of "integrative medical science" including other medical systems began to develop. In particular, the medical system which has a long history like Ayurveda and has been widely used in one culture to this day is receiving a lot of attention because it has been historically verified.Interest in Ayurveda is increasing gradually in Korea as well as in the West. "Oil pulling" and "coffee mixed with coconut oil or butter" which is a trend these days, are based on Ayurvedic health methods. In addition, a Korean corporation has recently developed Ayurveda-based lifestyle products, and small and medium-sized enterprises are also launching products with Ayurveda concepts one by one.Growing interest in Ayurveda from global trends to medical systems and real-life products signifies that awareness of Ayurveda is being raised in Korea. We look forward to the day when the "holistic health method" handled by Ayurveda will also shine in Korea.

Song Han-young is an Ayurvedic doctor and CEO of Veda Life (Apoveda).

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A rising interest in thousands of years old Indian medical system - Korea Times