Korea’s
120 doctors of chiropractic are opposed not only by the medical
profession but also oriental MDs, and still face prosecutions and
fines for practicing their profession. From June 4-7, the World Federation of Chiropractic held their Annual Council meeting in Seoul, to give support to the Korean Chiropractic
Association (KCA) which is fighting for legislation to recognize and
regulate chiropractic practice in Korea.
Another problem that chiropractors are facing in Korea is that many
other healers claim to provide chiropractic services after completing
short technique courses. Korea and Taiwan are the last two countries
in which DCs face daily threat of police action against them.
However
real progress is now being made in Korea. The 13 members of the WFC
Council, representing all world regions and 90 national member
associations:
-
met
with Congressman Choon-Jin Kim, a dental surgeon by training, who is
leading the campaign for chiropractic legislation, and who reported
on positive findings for chiropractic in a new government-funded
survey of patients released April 30. -
visited
Hanseo University just south of Seoul, which has Korea’s first
government-approved school of chiropractic, where Council members
met with students and faculty and then joined Hanseo University
President Dr Kee-Sun Ham for a formal dinner. Hanseo’s
chiropractic program is being delivered in partnership with the
University of Bridgeport College of Chiropractic in Connecticut and
is partway through the accreditation process. -
met
with KCA members and their leaders, including President Dr Taeg Su
Choi of Masan City, a graduate of Life University, Dr Joon-Han Song
(Palmer) and Dr Nari Hong (RMIT University, Australia), both of
Seoul, to plan future strategy. -
met
with Dr Martin Kollasch, Director of International Operations, US
National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE), one of many guests
at the WFC Council meeting. Dr Kollasch reported that Hanseo was
now an official testing site for NBCE examinations in Asia.
“We
are most grateful to the WFC”, says Dr Choi. “Its delegations to
Korea in each of the past 4 years have been extremely helpful to our
cause – we have many opponents in Korea, but with our patients and
the WFC supporting us we will win in the end.”
Other
events associated with the WFC Council meeting were technique
seminars for KCA members and Hanseo students by Dr. Mark Charrette,
sponsored by Foot Levelers, and Dr John Downes, sponsored by Life
University, and a meeting of the Asian Pacific Chiropractic Doctors’
Federation, representing WFC member associations in Asia and the
Pacific (Australia and New Zealand).
The profession in China
Next,
in one of the most significant developments, the WFC organized a
special meeting of Chinese chiropractic leaders who voted to form the
first Chiropractors’ Association of China (CAC). Leaders at this
historic meeting in Seoul on Friday June 6 represented 125 DCs in
China. Most practice in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Hong Kong and
Macau. Chairman of the Committee finalizing bylaws for the CAC,
which is already legally registered, is Dr Anli Dong of Beijing, a
Sherman College graduate.
Under
contract with the World Health Organization, the WFC and the new CAC
are now preparing a Chinese edition of WHO’s Guidelines on Basic
Training and Safety in Chiropractic. These Guidelines may be seen and
downloaded at www.wfc.org
under Newsroom.
“This
WHO document”, says newly elected WFC President Dr Stathis
Papadopoulos of Cyprus, “will provide a strong basis for further
development of chiropractic education and practice in China since it
supports the CCE-based international standard for chiropractic
education and defines chiropractic clearly as a separate and distinct
profession.”
Formation
of the CAC now is vital since the World Health Organization has asked
the WFC to host a Symposium on Manual Methods of Health Care as part
of a WHO Congress on TM/CAM to be held in Beijing November 7-9, 2008.
“This
demonstrates the chiropractic profession’s international leadership
in this field of healthcare,” notes WFC Secretary General David
Chapman-Smith, “and it is important that there is a strong presence
of DCs from China and internationally.” For information on this
event visit www.wfc.org/WHOBeijingSymposium.
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