[By NBC-1TV H. J Yook]The 16th International Congress of Oriental Medicine will be held for three days on September 14 (Friday) ~ 16 (Sunday), 2012 at COEX in Seoul hosted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and organized by the International Society of Oriental Medicine (ISOM) and The Association of Korean Oriental Medicine (AKOM).

As the center of oriental medicine, Korea will establish status of oriental medicine

With the objective of scientifically systematizing traditional medicine and promoting traditional medicine as an evidence-based medicine, the ICOM has been holding its conference every 2~3 years since it held the first conference in 1976 in Seoul with the longest history in the world's traditional medicine area.

In particular, the Korean oriental medicine industry has been steadily developing advanced medical devices, including robot pulsimeter, the first of its kind, as part of its effort to realize scientific systematization of oriental medicine. The congress is expected to provide chances of discussing and sharing information on Korean traditional medicine as well.

The congress, which will be held for 3 days under the theme “The Future of Medicine, Traditional Medicine,” will be attended by over 16,000 medical scientists, including about 1,000 scientists from 50 countries. Programs of the congress include committee meetings under 19 topics, poster session, 6 workshops of scientific societies, welcome reception and gala dinner, government forum, ISOM board meeting, and a tour of Sancheong, where the 2013 World Traditional Medicine Expo will be held.

Arena of exchange for discussing and sharing information

Exhibition halls at the congress consist of three major halls, including the ‘Industry hall’ that introduces oriental medicine-related industry, ‘World traditional medicine hall’ that introduces and provides chances of experiencing traditional medicines of each country, and ‘Future of bio-oriental medicine hall,’ which will provide information on standardization of oriental medicine and its future.

In addition, it will install the ‘Sancheong Expo hall’ to publicize the 2013 World Traditional Medicine Expo in Sancheong, Gyeongsangnam-do Province in Korea. It is expected to provide opportunities to oriental medicine scientists of seeking the role and vision of traditional medicine for promotion of health of mankind.

An executive member of the ISOM said, “I am confident that the congress will provide an opportunity of reevaluating the value of traditional medicines when interest and demand of traditional medicine are increasing across the world, and of identifying the status of traditional medicine in the world healthcare industry.”