Traditional Medicine in China, Korea, and Japan: A Brief Introduction and Comparison

Table 2

Formal education system of traditional medicine in China (including the Taiwan region), Korea, and Japan.

Country	Are there schools teaching TM?	Program duration	Composition	Degree	Specialization	License
Mainland; China	Yes	5-year course	Basic medicine + clinical theory (3.5 years); clinical training; (1.5 years)^a	Bachelor’s	TCM; IM	DCM; DIM
		7-year course	Basic medicine + clinical theory; (5 years); clinical training (1.5 years); thesis (0.5 years)	Bachelor’s; and master’s	TCM; IM	DCM; DIM
Taiwan; region	Yes	8-year course	Basic medicine + clinical theory; (6 years); clinical training (2 years)^b	Bachelor’s	TCM and CM	DCM and MD
		Postbaccalaureate program; (5 years)^c	Basic medicine + clinical theory; (4 years); clinical training (1 year)	Master’s	TCM	DCM
Korea	Yes	6-year course	Basic medicine + clinical theory; (5 years); clinical training (1 year)	Bachelor’s	TKM	DKM
		Postbaccalaureate program; (4 years)^c	Basic medicine + clinical theory; (3 years); clinical training (1 year)	Master’s	TKM	DKM
Japan	No (for MD)	—	—	Bachelor’s	CM^d	MD^d
	Yes (for acupuncturists,; moxibustion therapists,; Anma-massage-Shiatsu; therapists, and Judo therapists)	University; (4 years)	Basic medicine + clinical theory; clinical training; (years not specifiable)	Bachelor’s	Acupuncture, moxibustion,; and Judo therapy; (Anma-massage-Shiatsu; in one university)	Licensed acupuncturist, moxibustion therapist,; Anma-massage-Shiatsu therapist,; and/or Judo therapist
		Professional school or school for the blind; (3 years)	Basic medicine + clinical theory; clinical training (years not specifiable)		Acupuncture, moxibustion,; Anma-massage-Shiatsu,; and Judo therapy	Licensed acupuncturist, moxibustion therapist,; Anma-massage-Shiatsu therapist, and/or Judo therapist

CM: conventional medicine; D: doctor of; IM: integrative medicine; MD: doctor of medicine; OM: oriental medicine; TCM: traditional Chinese medicine; TKM: traditional Korean medicine; TM: traditional medicine
^aIn the 5-year course offered in China, students should complete an additional 1 year of clinical training to obtain a national license.
^bClinical training in the 8-year course offered in the Taiwan region consists of 1 year of training in TCM and another year of training in CM.
^cStudents in the Taiwan region and Korea can enter a postbaccalaureate program after finishing a 4-year Bachelor’s Degree program in another specialization and should write a Master’s thesis to earn a Master’s Degree.
^dPartial education about Kampo is included in CM education.