How Did Ulleungdo Residents Treat Illnesses Without Doctors?... Exhibition Showcases 54 Traditional Folk Remedies

The Dokdo Museum in Ulleung County, in collaboration with the National Nakdonggang Biological Resource Center, will be holding a joint exhibition titled 'Traditional Medicine of Ulleungdo - Prescription of Mountains and Sea' in the special exhibition hall of the Dokdo Museum Annex from June 1, 2026, to May 30, 2027. The purpose of the exhibition is to shed light on the experiences and wisdom of Ulleungdo residents, who have maintained their health and treated illnesses while coexisting with the island’s natural environment.

Traditional medicine refers to the preventive and medical systems that members of a society have passed down in daily life to cope with diseases and illnesses. Due to its geographical nature as an island, Ulleungdo has long suffered from a lack of professional medical personnel and facilities, leading local residents to monitor their own symptoms and use materials easily found in Ulleungdo’s mountains and sea to prevent and treat diseases. In particular, Ulleungdo’s traditional medicine is characterized by its uniqueness, as it combines inland treatment methods handed down from early settlers with new remedies developed by residents as they adapted to the island’s natural environment.

'Special Exhibition: Traditional Medicine of Ulleungdo - Prescriptions from the Mountains and the Sea'

The exhibition is organized around 54 treatment methods that Ulleungdo residents have used since the past to address nine common illnesses and conditions encountered in daily life, including colds, stomachaches, burns, boils, abrasions and lacerations, skin diseases, fractures, sprains and muscle pain, tooth decay, and frostbite. Treatments that may feel unfamiliar from a modern perspective have been reinterpreted through pictograms to help visitors easily understand the main content, and specimens of key medicinal plants and realistic biological models used in treatments are also on display to offer visitors an immersive experience.

In addition, the exhibition features the medical volunteer activities of the late Dr. Kim Ha-u, a representative practitioner of Korean medicine from Ulleungdo, displaying his medical books and equipment he used during his lifetime. The accomplishments of Pastor Lee Il-seon, who established the first Western-style hospital on Ulleungdo, are also highlighted, along with a semi-documentary film titled ‘Island Doctor’ that chronicles his medical work on the island. Through these displays, visitors can trace the evolution of the island’s medical system over time.

The Dokdo Museum stated, “We hope this exhibition will provide an opportunity to understand the medical culture, which encapsulates the wisdom of Ulleungdo’s ancestors who lived in harmony with nature, at a time when the representative island culture of Ulleungdo is gradually disappearing.” The museum also added, “We will continue to organize various exhibitions that shed light on the history and culture of the region.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.