The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim

Jung In-sung, 18 years old. A high school senior.

A tall male student with distinct features.

He had been class president throughout his six years of middle and high school due to his exceptional leadership. He excelled in everything – studies, soccer, gaming – the epitome of a perfect son.

“Oh, my handsome puppy! Have you come to see Grandma?”

With just a bit of Photoshop to touch up his skin…

His features were genuinely handsome.

However, he had never been called handsome by any woman other than his Grandma and mother in his entire life.

There was just one issue – the acne scattered across his face.

“Yes, Grandma. Mother sent me on an errand to bring you some side dishes she made.”

“Why did she make you come all this way when you’re so busy studying? I could have gone myself!”

“I wanted to see you too, Grandma.”

“You should be out with your girlfriend, not visiting your old granny!”

Grandma, girlfriend? 

As if he could have such a thing.

…Though there was a girl he liked.

That girl had never looked him straight in the face.

Even when he had to speak to her as class president, she would avert her eyes.

He wanted to get closer, to confess his feelings, but…

If he ever did confess, she might burst into tears.

“Don’t you have one? Is it because of these pimples?”

She probably knows he’s not actually handsome, right?

Grandma hit the nail on the head.

“Haha, I’m getting treatment, but it’s not improving much.”

“Weren’t you taking that herbal medicine? My back got so much better after I took herbal medicine, but why does your face look the same?”

“I wonder about that too.”

He had tried various treatments.

The first dermatologist he visited was the best. With laser treatments and medication, more than half of his acne cleared up, which made him incredibly happy.

But less than a month after finishing the 5-session treatment and stopping the medication, it all came back.

– It’ll get better after puberty. There’s no use in taking that medicine continuously.

In his young mind, he wanted to take acne medication for the rest of his life if necessary, but his mother refused to extend the treatment sessions.

After that, he begged and pleaded with his mother to at least let him get extractions if medication wasn’t an option. He was currently visiting an aesthetician whenever his acne flared up.

It would improve temporarily, but inevitably relapse within a month. The weekly torture became too much, and he gave up even that after entering his senior year.

– Mom, can’t we try this Korean medicine clinic just once?

It was then that In-sung saw an advertisement for Haneul Korean Medicine Clinic in the subway.

The ultimate acne treatment! We’ll solve your worries with fundamental care!

When he searched online, he found a plausible explanation that the root cause of skin problems was in the intestines.

As he read through columns and case studies, he realized that his digestion and sleep weren’t great either.

‘Could this treatment cure all my ailments?’

His Grandma, who had been hunched over for a long time, straightened her back after receiving acupuncture and taking herbal medicine at a Korean medicine clinic. Perhaps his acne could improve too.

– If you get a grade 1 in math on the September mock exam, I’ll let you go.

His mother made a deal based on his grades.

In-sung achieved the score his mother demanded.

And he received a prescription for medicine.

But his condition…

“Where did you go that left you like this? Let’s go to my Korean medicine clinic!”

Remained the same.

“It’s Haneul Korean Medicine Clinic near the station. They specialize in skincare and beauty treatments, and when I looked them up, they had many successful cases.”

“What are you talking about? Our doctor is the best in the world.”

“Ah… Of course, she’s amazing. She fixed your back so well. But don’t Korean medicine clinics have specialties too?”

“Specialties? Nonsense! Is there anything our doctor can’t do?”

After hearing his Grandma’s words, In-sung asked his mother if they could perhaps try switching to a different Korean medicine clinic.

His mother stared at his forehead for a moment, then said she would go and get a refund.

But… unfortunately, she couldn’t get a refund.

“Just finish what’s left. We’ve tried everything we can, so stop now and focus solely on studying until the college entrance exam. There’s not much time left anyway.”

In-sung thought his mother’s words made sense.

So he told his Grandma that, regrettably, it would be difficult to visit Seongsu Korean Medicine Clinic together.

And the next day…

“Forget it! Why bother with a place that talks like that? How much could that herbal medicine cost? I’ll pay for it, so let’s go together!”

In-sung’s father, despite being a perfect son’s father, was a struggling artist, and his mother was a full-time housewife.

And his Grandma… was a wealthy art collector.

Grandma easily persuaded his mother.

And so, he finally got to meet Dr. Han Yeowon, whom his Grandma praised endlessly.

‘Wow… This is crazy.’

In-sung flinched when an unexpected villain appeared at the clinic.

Being the only male there, he felt a sense of obligation to do something.

But before he could take any action, the doctor suddenly grabbed the villain’s arm from somewhere.

And then, whoosh!

He thought she was going to flip him over? …Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

‘So cool!’

Instead, she completely deflated Villain 1’s spirit and defeated Villain 2 over the phone, which drew involuntary admiration from him.

She was like the protagonist of a medical drama, no, a legal drama. He couldn’t wait to go to school and tell his friends about today’s events.

‘Yikes, I came to get my medicine prescribed, didn’t I?’

In-sung, who had been gaping, snapped back to reality when he heard his name called.

◆◇◆◇◆

Although the patient, In-sung, sat in the front seat, it was his mother who eagerly described the symptoms, as is often the case with underage patients accompanied by guardians.

As I had guessed from looking at his face, the main symptom was indeed acne.

“I think it started appearing like this in middle school. It wasn’t this severe at first, but it kept getting worse. I wanted to do something to help, so we tried hospitals, skin care clinics, and recently even another Korean medicine clinic, but nothing worked. I’m hesitant to keep giving him steroids too.”

“Our In-sung doesn’t have a single flaw, but this damned acne causes him so much stress! The poor boy’s face is a mess, that’s why I brought him here again!”

Both In-sung’s mother and Grandma Heo Soon-nam spoke with great concern.

So this is the grandson who’s always first in his class that Grandma often mentioned.

“How long did you take the medicine from Haneul Korean Medicine Clinic?”

“A little over a month.”

This was the first thing In-sung said since entering the consultation room.

“I asked them what kind of medicine it was, but they wouldn’t tell me. They wouldn’t even refund the medicine that hadn’t been prepared yet!”

His mother’s words quickly followed.

At the time, she seemed to have accepted it, but it appears her resentment was stronger than I thought.

I glossed over the refund issue and only mentioned the composition of the medicine.

“It would be helpful to know, but unfortunately, that’s their clinic policy. Network clinics tend to have particularly strict regulations.”

“Ah, In-sung, don’t you have some left? Can’t we use this as a reference?”

But it seemed she was quite serious about this.

In-sung’s mother rummaged through her son’s bag and suddenly thrust a packet of herbal medicine at me.

‘Is this suddenly a taste test and guessing game?’

Sigh, really. This is too much, isn’t it?

To give such a confident mission.

It might not be easy for ordinary doctors, but for someone like me who studied under the bizarre principle of the Sichuan Tang Family that one must know the taste of all poisons and medicines used, this was as easy as eating cold porridge.

Gulp.

I cut open the packet and swallowed a mouthful of the medicine.

This taste is…

Bupleurum, Cnidium, Saposhnikovia, Aralia, Schizonepeta, Poria, Ginger, Jujube, Atractylodes, Citrus peel, Magnolia bark, Licorice!

Correct! Sibmi Paedok-san with Pyeongwi-san added!

TN: The combination of Sibmi Paedok-san (십미패독산) and Pyeongwi-san (평위산) is used in traditional Korean and Chinese medicine for acne treatment by addressing both internal and external factors. Sibmi Paedok-san detoxifies the body and reduces inflammation, targeting the “heat” and toxins that cause skin issues like acne. Pyeongwi-san supports digestion and expels excess dampness, which is often linked to acne. Together, they harmonize the body, clear skin inflammation, and prevent future outbreaks by treating underlying imbalances in the digestive and detoxification systems.

“How is it? Is there anything strange in it?”

“No, that’s not it. I was surprised that I couldn’t taste the bitterness of Coptis. It’s from the Sibmi Paedok-tang family.”

“Sibmi Paedok-tang?”

In-sung’s mother quickly searched for the medicine I mentioned on her smartphone.

“It’s a prescription that originated in Japan, often considered the first choice for acne treatment. They’ve added Pyeongwi-san, which helps with digestion.”

“Coptis? You’re saying that ingredient is missing?”

“It’s not missing, but the doctor there probably judged it unnecessary. Even Sibmi Paedok-tang alone is sufficient for papule-focused acne, but given how severe the student’s inflammation is, if it were me, I would use a much stronger heat-clearing and dampness-drying medicine. In fact, the inflammation hasn’t subsided at all.”

“That’s right!”

While Sibmi Paedok-san does help cool heat with Angelica, its main role is to clear blocked follicles caused by excess sebum.

When inflammation is severe, calming it should be the priority.

‘Why did they use this?’

It would have been a shame if they hadn’t brought it. Personally, I found this prescription highly questionable.

Although I hadn’t done a full examination yet, even just looking at it, the inflammation was so obvious?

If they had simply used Hwangryeon-haedok-tang or added Coptis to the current Sibmi Paedok-san prescription, it would have been somewhat effective.

TN: Hwangryeon-haedok-tang (황련해독탕 / 黃連解毒湯) is a traditional herbal formula primarily used for detoxification and clearing heat from the body. It is composed of potent herbs like Coptis root (황련, Hwangryeon), Scutellaria root (황금, Hwanggeum), and Phellodendron bark (황백, Hwangbaek. The formula targets “fire” and “heat toxins” in the body, making it effective for conditions like inflammation, high fever, skin eruptions, and severe infections. It is commonly used to treat skin issues, such as acne, that are attributed to excessive internal heat and toxins in traditional medicine.

‘…Could they have prescribed it without knowing its composition?’

Suddenly, I recalled a rumor about some network clinics where even the prescribing Korean medicine doctors don’t know the composition because they receive prescriptions from the head office.

Honestly, it’s quite suspicious, but I can’t say anything that might undermine the credibility of the entire industry in front of a patient.

“Although there’s no visible difference because the inflammation hasn’t subsided, ultimately, we need to improve overall health. There must have been some changes in some way.”

“I see.”

“On my end, I’ll prescribe medicine focused on reducing inflammation. Don’t throw away the other medicine; keep it and take what I prescribe first. Once the inflammation decreases, you can finish the rest.”

“Understood.”

What’s past is past.

Using previous failures as stepping stones, all that matters now is curing him properly this time.

I started a proper examination of In-sung, thinking of it as prescribing from scratch.

“How’s your appetite and digestion?”

“Just okay. I eat when it’s time, and digestion… I don’t get indigestion, but I sometimes have diarrhea.”

“And how about sleep?”

“Well, being a high school student, I often study late into the night, so when I try to sleep early, I find it difficult to fall asleep.”

In-sung listed various symptoms as if he had been waiting for someone to ask him about them.

“It’s not too severe, right? Do you feel like you have a lot of heat in your body?”

“Only my head feels hot. I think this is also because of studying. I get really stressed every time I take a test.”

“Let me see your tongue.”

I was only going to check if his tongue coating was dry, but his tongue was severely swollen and cracked. How severe must his feeling of heat be?

Exam preparation is truly the root of all evil. Even a healthy person like me had aches and pains everywhere during my senior year of high school.

“You also have a dry mouth, right?”

“Yes. I keep drinking water while studying.”

“As for food, do you mainly eat school meals? What about flour-based foods or chocolate…”

“I try not to eat them, but I need coffee and chocolate to concentrate well.”

Hmm.

This is quite difficult. From what he’s saying, he seems to know that chocolate isn’t good for acne, but he can’t quit it, right?

“Well, there’s no helping it then. You can try quitting completely after the college entrance exam.”

“Is it possible to get better without quitting?”

“As you know, flour and caffeine do stimulate sebaceous glands, but even if they build up, there’s no problem as long as they’re excreted well. We’ll use medicine to address that part.”

“I see!”

In-sung’s face brightened at the news that he could still eat chocolate.

If he could quit just because I told him to, he would have done so long ago.

Moreover, if we improve his basic conditions like appetite, digestion, and sleep, his stress will naturally decrease along with his craving for sugar.

“What kind of medicine will he be taking? Something stronger than Sibmi… but not steroids, right?”

In-sung’s mother asked.

The patient had been full of determination for treatment from the start, and Grandma Heo Soon-nam’s trust needed no further mention, so this would be the final boss of this stage.

She seemed extremely wary due to her experience at Haneul Korean Medicine Clinic, so I needed to reassure her even more.

“Don’t worry. Even though it’s potent, it’s still made from natural plants. It’s completely different from hormone treatments.”

I wrote down the composition of Hwangryeon-tang on a piece of paper.

Coptis, Pinellia, Ginseng, Ginger, Cinnamon twig, Jujube, Licorice.

If you remove the cinnamon twig and add Scutellaria, it becomes Banha-sasim-tang, which I had prescribed to Hwang Sang-hoon earlier.

Acne is also a symptom of damp-heat, and since In-sung also complained of mild insomnia and upper heat lower cold, the treatment direction is similar.

Even with similar pathology, symptoms manifest differently in each person.

‘Since his dry mouth is severe, I should add some Ophiopogon and Lily… Coptis alone isn’t enough. I should add Phellodendron and Gardenia too.’

After writing down four more herbs, I began my explanation.

For this type of patient, the kind of explanation I gave to Hwang Sang-hoon wouldn’t be appropriate.

If I start talking about phlegm retention and damp-heat pattern identification to a patient with no basic knowledge of Korean medicine, their expression would obviously become strange.

“The main active ingredient in Coptis is an alkaloid called Berberine, which has excellent effects against various bacteria, fungi, and parasites. It’s an herb often used for acne as well as regulating intestinal microbiota, so it also helps with digestive issues.”

At times like this, it’s time for my secret weapon.

Unleashing pharmacological knowledge.

Sure enough, as Grandma and In-sung became overwhelmed by incomprehensible words, the remaining doubt on his mother’s face disappeared.

“Well, the Doctor knows best and will prescribe everything well~! Please do your best for him!”