Abstract
Background : Mutual understanding between North and South Korea is essential for the engagement of Inter-Korean exchange and cooperation. However, the two Koreas have been divided for 70 years where Korean evolved differently within the two countries. This created a gap in the most basic foundation for mutual understanding, language. Fostering exchange and cooperation in the traditional medicine field requires a higher understanding of the specialized traditional medicine terminologies. Objectives : The purpose of this study is to formulate a future management plan for the "Comparative Terminology of Korean Medicine in South and North Korea," providing a foundation for standardizing Korean medicine terminology of the two Koreas. Methods : The study collected case studies of Korean medicine terminology management and standardization from government and international organization websites and documents. It provided future terminology management strategies based on this data. Results : The project for the standardization of Korean medicine terminology between North and South Korea can be divided into 4 stages according to the level of exchange and cooperation. The first step is to "establish a foundation for terminology standardization." The second step is "term comparison." If the exchanges and cooperation between North and South Korea, the third step will be to promote the "terminology standardization" project through Inter-Korean dialogue. Finally, after incorporating discussion on terminology standardization, the Inter-Korean Medicine Terminology can be published. Conclusions : This requires a system to support and facilitate Inter-Korean medicine exchange and cooperation. It is important to provide a support system that can provide results in a timely fashion by training relevant experts, collecting data and information, communicating with experts in the industry, academia and research institutes. This system will be able to ensure the continuity of the terminology standardization project.