Study on Priorities of South-North Korea Traditional Medicine Cooperation Project

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to draw priorities for candidate projects so that future inter-Korean traditional medicine cooperation can be promoted efficiently and effectively.Methods: This study used the Delphi-AHP method to derive priorities for the inter-Korean traditional medicine cooperation project. First, 33 candidate projects were selected through a data survey. In addition, the priority importance score was calculated through a 2-round mini-Delphi survey of 20 experts. The importance of 33 candidate projects was calculated by three evaluation criteria, and the weights for these three evaluation criteria were derived through the AHP method.Results: As for the weight by item, 'feasibility' was the highest with 0.6749 points, followed by 'social ripple effect' (0.1811) and 'instrumentality' (0.1439). As a result of calculating the importance score by reflecting the weight of the evaluation criteria for each project, the South's sole project, "Understanding the Status of North Korea's Korean Medicine," was the top priority, followed by the "Establishment of Strategy for Inter-Korean Traditional Medicine and Cooperation.”Conclusions: As a result of this study, experts now believe that it is important to prioritize the highly feasible South Korean independent project in the field of traditional medicine between the two Koreas. This will serve as the basis for promoting cooperative projects in the event of future changes in the inter-Korean situation.