The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim

Even though Kim Chun-sik and I had taken a liking to each other, we had just met today.

I wasn’t sure if I could help him yet. I decided to listen to his story first.

“It’s been almost a year since I opened my practice, but there have been more months in the red than not. Hah… I was truly a frog in a well, staying only in academia.”

“So that’s why you’re considering joining a network?”

“Mm. While I was racking my brain, Jo Ho-young, this fellow’s thesis advisor, suggested joining Haneul Korean Medicine Clinic. Thinking about it, joining a network seemed like a good idea. But…”

“But Haneul Korean Medicine Clinic didn’t appeal to you.”

“Hmm, it seemed like too much for me to handle.”

In a gathering of Korean medicine doctors, he didn’t explicitly criticize, but I could understand what he meant.

He probably wouldn’t like the lack of respect for a doctor’s judgment and autonomy, not to mention the focus on cosmetic treatments.

Perhaps he’s an old-school style that prescribes in the traditional way.

“So I looked into networks specializing in digestive disorders or rhinitis, but hmm… Being in Songpa, I was rejected because there were already many branches nearby, and the young folks just starting to expand were wary of my age.”

“I see.”

I nodded.

Networks vary, from those that just share marketing, to those that combine marketing and academic exchanges, to those where the central office controls the entire system.

But he wants help with management while disliking control over prescriptions.

“So you’re confident in your treatment skills and want autonomy guaranteed?”

“That’s right. I’d like help on the business side.”

His wishes were clear.

I could adjust to some extent, being able to flexibly change the system.

As Lee Min-seok said, it could be quite a good deal.

‘But why isn’t it working? There’s definitely demand for a kindly grandfather-like Korean medicine doctor.’

I pondered briefly before accepting the proposal.

Traditional style treatment might not fit in the heart of the city. If so, consulting would be needed to upgrade the interior and incorporate more modern terminology in consultations.

But what if his skills aren’t as good as he thinks?

“Would it be alright if I observe at your clinic next Tuesday? I’ll see what the issues are, if there’s anything I can help with, and we’ll proceed if it seems feasible.”

If I can’t solve that part, there’s nothing I can do.

Chu Mi-young had enough willingness to learn, but if someone lacks ability and is just stubborn, they won’t do as they’re told.

“Oh, that would be very helpful!”

From Kim Chun-sik’s perspective, there’s no reason to refuse free consulting. He readily agreed.

‘I hope it’s just a slight lack of business skills… We’ll see?’

◆◇◆◇◆

After the after-party ended and I spent the evening with friends, I returned to Busan.

I had to see patients on Monday.

Then early Tuesday morning, I took the first flight back to Seoul.

My destination was, of course, Kim Chun-sik’s clinic.

The location was excellent, not just in front of the station but also adjacent to a large apartment complex. The interior seemed quite luxurious, clearly having had a lot of money invested. The signage was sufficiently eye-catching too.

‘Is it really a marketing problem?’

It seems they’re doing basic blog management through an agency. Is that not enough? If so, I’m not really an expert in that.

I finished preparing while looking around.

“You can observe from here. Make yourself comfortable.”

“Yes, Director.”

I politely observed from a corner of the consultation room, just as Chu Mi-young and Hwang Sang-hoon had done before.

And I quickly discovered the cause of the poor business performance.

“HEY!!!!”

Kim Chun-sik’s thunderous shout shook the clinic.

…I nearly lost consciousness.

When the first patient came in, it seemed somewhat normal.

“How was your weekend? You didn’t overdo it, right?”

Even considering his age, I thought maybe the casual speech should be corrected.

“Haha, I wanted to take a break from golf too, but the director insisted on a round twice, so I had no choice…”

But I soon realized that the 60-something Korean medicine doctor speaking informally was not the problem at all.

When the patient made an excuse, a lion’s roar erupted from his mouth.

“Enough with the excuses! Do you want to get better or not! Didn’t I clearly warn you that it would be too much strain? How could someone with an elbow injury play golf!”

“…I’m sorry.”

It was an impressive display of force I hadn’t seen since returning to Korea.

I thought an evil Sect Leader had invaded Wudang’s Sword-Releasing Pool with a sword!

The Sword-Releasing Pool is a small pond at the entrance of Wudang Mountain, where one must disarm as a sign of respect to their founding patriarch, Zhang Sanfeng, before entering.

Kim Chun-sik’s aura just now was like the thunderous command of a Wudang elder whose sacred ground had been trampled.

Even people like Professor Lee Min-seok or Park Young-gil had considerable charisma, but it was nothing compared to Kim Chun-sik.

The difference was like that between an elder and a second-generation disciple.

‘Wow…’

Unable to bear the dizziness, I clutched the back of my neck.

What’s the opposite of ‘friendly consultation’?

The answer is ‘scolding consultation’.

It literally means consulting while scolding patients.

It encompasses both the practice of scolding patients who don’t follow instructions for therapeutic purposes, as Kim Chun-sik just did, and cases where doctors simply have terrible personalities and lose their temper.

In truth, there were many such clinics in Murim.

…To be honest, I was like that too.

But it couldn’t be helped. Martial artists treated doctors’ words like dog food, so sometimes scolding and even violence were necessary.

It was fine there.

Why? Because I was Han Yeowon, the Divine Physician. If you don’t like it, go somewhere else!

Of course, even if you weren’t a divine physician, it didn’t matter. What are you going to do when I’m the only doctor in the entire village? Probably one per tens of thousands of people?

But that’s just in Murim.

Kim Chun-sik’s clinic was located in an urban office district, with two other Korean medicine clinics in the very next building.

In modern South Korea, friendly consultation is the absolute basics.

Needless to say, scolding consultation is very, very, very bad for business!

‘It might have been okay in Korea a few decades ago.’

There are those who haven’t adapted to the times and haven’t shed habits from when doctors were at the top of the hierarchy, with professors being the worst. Their salaries remain unaffected by hospital revenue.

This tradition continues in some medically underserved areas with no competition locally… but in Songpa?

No matter how skilled, it can’t possibly succeed.

‘With such a kindly appearance… he was so friendly to Professor Lee Min-seok and me too…’

It was truly mind-boggling.

Kim Chun-sik shouted not just at the first elbow patient, but at everyone who didn’t follow his instructions or advice.

“It seems to be healing a bit slowly.”

“That’s why I said from the start we should do pharmacopuncture!!!!”

I know pharmacopuncture is good. But if they say it’s too expensive, you should just do acupuncture multiple times!

That patient won’t come back tomorrow. Even I would go to the neighboring clinic that says, “Oh, it must be hard for you.”

Observing throughout, it was clear there was absolutely no problem with his skills.

His diagnoses were flawless, and the needles went precisely where intended.

The one herbal medicine patient who came today seemed to follow the director’s words, so the consultation went smoothly, and the prescription didn’t deviate from what I would have thought.

“Ho ho, how was it? I don’t think there’s any particular problem with the location. I paid 200 million won in key money, and the previous director saw at least 30 patients a day. I think advertising might be the issue… Or should I diversify non-covered services? The revisit rate is too low, perhaps because treatment is quick, should I raise the unit price?”

After the observation, Kim Chun-sik asked for my opinion.

You think patients aren’t coming back because they’re all cured?

“Professor, the unit price isn’t the problem.”

He showed no signs of embarrassment. It wasn’t an anger management issue.

Kim Chun-sik truly didn’t know.

“How can you yell at patients? Patients aren’t students!”

I opened my mouth to speak the truth.

“Yelling is the problem?”

The face of someone receiving criticism for the first time.

“Yes! Do you know how shocked I was when you exploded at the very first patient?”

“The first patient, you mean the elbow case? But if they keep playing golf, no matter how well I treat them, it won’t heal.”

I understand that feeling.

I once threw a patient who was doing horse stance in the hospital room when their hamstring was torn.

“I’m only doing it for the patient’s sake…”

But there’s something as important as intention.

It’s the method of delivery.

“HEY!!!!! You can say it politely too. These are just excuses!”

I infused my voice with internal energy and let out a lion’s roar.

Boom.

Momentarily feeling as if the earth was shaking, Kim Chun-sik staggered in shock.

Oh, that went well just now. Almost like the leader of the martial arts alliance?

“How do you feel when I shout at you like this? Will the patient stop playing golf after hearing you, or will they change clinics?”

“Ch-change clinics…”

“They’ll change. Or go to an orthopedic clinic. It’s better to just do mindless physical therapy than pay money to be scolded.”

Of course, this delivery method is effective in some cases.

Like star instructors in online lectures, or self-improvement YouTube channels where people pay to hear harsh truths.

Or the shock therapy consulting I’m doing right now.

But it’s certainly not what an elbow patient expects at a Korean medicine clinic.

“If you don’t fix this, joining a network won’t help at all. No matter how much you advertise, people will come once or twice and never return, and once someone leaves a review about rudeness, even that will stop. Unless you’re aiming to jack up prices unreasonably, bully patients into buying overpriced medicine, and use methods that can’t even treat them, you need to stop this immediately.”

“……”

Kim Chun-sik fell silent, seemingly deep in thought.

“In this state, you can’t even be an employee, let alone run your own practice. It’s only because of the good location that you even get ten patients a day. Either change your consultation style, or quickly wrap things up and look for a night shift position.”

I deliberately spoke harshly.

I sincerely hoped Kim Chun-sik would change his consultation style, given his good skills.

I wanted his abilities to be well-utilized, not just for his sake but for the patients he would meet.

At least for him, directly pointing out the problem would be better than gently coaxing and persuading.

“Ah, aah…”

Seeming to realize something, Kim Chun-sik kept opening and closing his mouth.

“Your words… seem to be right. I…”

But he didn’t seem to have fully sorted out his thoughts yet.

“It won’t be easy to change immediately, given your longstanding methods. Contact me when you’ve made up your mind. I’ll do my best to help you.”

I decided to give him time.

There was potential for change.

He’s not a bad person. If he had been venting his frustrations on patients with meaningless personality issues all this time, he would have hidden it in front of me.

He truly believed the scolding was necessary, so if he realizes it’s not, he might be able to change.

The fact that he sought help from someone much younger shows he’s open-minded.

The observation that started warmly ended on a somewhat solemn note.

I flew back to Busan on the evening flight for the next day’s consultations.

◆◇◆◇◆

Three days later.

Kim Chun-sik contacted me. It was much sooner than I expected.

– How can I get patients to actively engage in treatment?

It was a question laden with his recent contemplation.

“Your sincere desire to heal them needs to reach them.”

– I’m not sure how to express that specifically. Would it be alright if I came to observe at your clinic?

So he wants to see for himself.

Observation itself isn’t difficult. I had Chu Mi-young and Hwang Sang-hoon do it too.

But there’s no reason to reveal trade secrets to someone I barely know, right?

“If you decide to sign a franchise agreement, I’ll teach you everything from A to Z.”

I played the ’empty mouth’ card.

– Of course. I’ll do everything you say, so let’s work well together from now on.

“I’ll send you a preliminary contract first for review, then come down on the weekend. You can observe me and our vice-director. Then we’ll slowly correct your consultation style.”

– Sounds good.

Kim Chun-sik seemed to have made up his mind completely.

His resolute determination came through over the phone.