A glance at the medicine in DPRK mass media is likely to leave the impression that North Koreans live in a medieval society.

The monthly magazine Korea Today, special journal Koryo Medicine (고려 의학) and other publications tirelessly extol herbs, moxibustion, acupuncture and all manner of traditional medicine as panaceas for disease. Some of these products suspiciously resemble basic herbal refreshments found in every convenience store in South Korea.

Such traditional medicine, know as “Koryoyak” in the North and “hanyak” in the South, hasn’t always enjoyed such a spotlight. North Korean propagandists only began to promote such