Kim Bong-han

{{Infobox person

| name = Kim Bong-han

| native_name =

| native_name_lang =

| image = Kim Bong Ham, Kryungrak presentation 1963 or 1964.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Kim Bong-han in 1963

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{Birth date text|1916}}

| birth_place =

| disappeared_date = 1966 (aged 49–50)

| disappeared_place =

| disappeared_status = Missing

| nationality = North Korea

| other_names =

| occupation =

| years_active = 1946–1966

| known_for =

| notable_works =

| awards = People's Prize

| alma_mater = Seoul National University

| party = Korea Democratic Party (former)

| module = {{Infobox Korean name

| hangul = 김봉한

| hanja =

| rr = Gim Bonghan

| mr = Kim Ponghan

| koreanipa =

| context = north

| child = yes

}}

Kim Bong-han ({{Korean|hangul=김봉한|context=north}}; born 1916) was a North Korean medical surgeon at Pyongyang Medical University and Kyung-Rak institute (KRI). He is primarily known for his research on a proposed mechanism for acupuncture that was not accepted by the mainstream medical community,{{cite journal|last1=Li|first1=Q.|title=Vicissitude and enlightenment of Bonghan theory|journal=Zhongguo Zhen Jiu|date=Mar 2011|volume=31|issue=3|pages=263–8|pmid=21644320}} the primo-vascular system. He received the People's Prize for his research. The primo-vascular system was claimed to be scientifically confirmed in 2002,{{cite journal|last1=Chikly|first1=Bruno|last2=Roberts|first2=Paul|last3=Quaghebeur|first3=Jörgen|title=Primo Vascular System: A Unique Biological System Shifting a Medical Paradigm|journal=The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association|date=1 January 2016|volume=116|issue=1|pages=12–21|doi=10.7556/jaoa.2016.002|pmid=26745560|language=en|issn=0098-6151|doi-access=free}} but the matter remains controversial. In 1966, the Kyung-Rak institute was closed and Kim disappeared.

Early life and education

Kim Bong-han was born in 1916.{{cite book|author1=Kwang-Sup Soh|author2=Kyung A. Kang|author3=David K. Harrison|title=The Primo Vascular System: Its Role in Cancer and Regeneration|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H2vzeIkg-jcC&pg=PA4|date=4 November 2011|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-1-4614-0601-3|pages=3–5}} He obtained his medical degree from Seoul National University in 1946. After the Korean War broke out, Kim, who was a physiologist based in South Korea, crossed over to North Korea,{{cite journal|last=Kim|first=Hoon-Gi|title=Formative Research on the Primo Vascular System and Acceptance by the Korean Scientific Community: The Gap Between Creative Basic Science and Practical Convergence Technology|journal=Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies|volume=6|issue=6|pages=319–30|date=2013|doi=10.1016/j.jams.2013.04.001|pmid=24290796|doi-access=free}} leaving his family behind.{{cite journal|last=Kang|first=Kyung Aih|title=Historical Observations on the Half-Century Freeze in Research between the Bonghan System and the Primo Vascular System|journal=Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies|volume=6|issue=6|pages=285–92|date=2013|doi=10.1016/j.jams.2013.07.004|pmid=24290792|doi-access=free}} Prior to his arrival in North Korea, Kim was affiliated with the Korea Democratic Party.

Primo-vascular system

Kim claimed the existence of the Chin-Lo, Kyungrak, or Bonghan system, a system of pathways which he proposed form a basis for acupuncture points and meridians. In 2010, South Korean researchers recognized the same system as the "primo-vascular system".{{cite book|author=Johannes Bischko|title=An introduction to acupuncture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=24k4AQAAIAAJ|date=1 January 1978|publisher=Haug|isbn=978-3-7760-0506-6|page=24}} There is credible scientific evidence that these structures exist.{{Cite web |url=https://ocm.auburn.edu/newsroom/news_articles/2016/12/auburn-scientist-discovers-microstructure-of-primo-vascular-system.php |title=Auburn scientist discovers microstructure of primo-vascular system, revealing possible foundation of how acupuncture works |website=Auburn University |date=December 2016 |language=en-US |access-date=2024-02-29}}

While working as director of North Korea's Kyung-Rak institute (KRI) from 1962 to 1965, Kim published five articles in the Journal of Jo Sun Medicine, about acupuncture, the Kyungrak system, and the "Sanal" theory. These articles form the basis of the proposed primo-vascular system, which attracted some interest as late as in the early 2010s.{{cite book|author1=Kwang-Sup Soh|author2=Kyung A. Kang|author3=David K. Harrison|title=The Primo Vascular System: Its Role in Cancer and Regeneration: proceedings from the first International Symposium on Primo Vascular System 2010 (ISPS 2010), with special topics on cancer and regeneration, which was held in Jecheon, Korea during September 17 to 18, 2010. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H2vzeIkg-jcC&pg=PA4|date=4 November 2011|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-1-4614-0601-3|pages=7–17}}

The North Korean government supported Kim's research by supplying his team with various analytical instruments such as microscopes and radioactive tracers, most of which were imported from Eastern Europe. He was awarded the People's Prize for his work on 2 February 1962.{{cite book|last=Kim|first=Bong-han|chapter=Editor's Note|title=Great Discovery in Biology and Medicine: Substance of Kyungrak|year=1962|publisher=Foreign Languages Publishing House|location=Pyongyang|page=4}} Kim's book On the Kyungrak system was originally simultaneously published in Korean and Chinese languages in 1963.{{cite book|author1=Gwei-Djen Lu|author2=Joseph Needham|title=Celestial Lancets: A History and Rationale of Acupuncture and Moxa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WOcLBtm0NHcC&pg=PA364|date=12 November 2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-61255-8|page=364}}

Disappearance

In 1966, the Kyung-Rak research institute was shut down. {{As of|2011}}, Kim's whereabouts thereafter remain unknown.

Works

{{cite book|last=Kim|first=Bong-han|title=Great discovery in biology and medicine : substance of Kyungrak.|year=1962|publisher=Foreign Languages Publishing House|location=Pyongyang|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/34665618?selectedversion=NBD8845171|oclc=500017964}}
{{cite book|last=Kim|first=Bong-han|author-mask=1|title=On the Kyungrak system.|year=1964|publisher=Foreign Languages Publishing House|location=Pyongyang|url=https://archive.org/details/HanKimBong.OnTheKyungrakSystem1964|oclc=299812660}}
{{cite book|last=Kim|first=Pon-han|author-mask=1|title=Kyungrak System and Theory of Sanal|year=1965|publisher=Medical Science Press|location=Pyongyang|oclc=1136998725}}
{{cite journal|last1=Kim|first1=Bong-Han|author-mask=1|title=Developmental and Comparative Biological Study of Primo Vascular System|journal=Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies|volume=5|issue=5|year=2012|pages=248–255|issn=2005-2901|doi=10.1016/j.jams.2012.07.016|pmid=23040106 |doi-access=free}}

Kim Bong-han

Early life and education

Primo-vascular system

Disappearance

Works

See also

References

Further reading