Asian Medicine Helps Swimmer to Gold

Park Tae-hwan (pictured), 17, of Kyeonggi High School, who became a national hero by winning three gold medals in swimming at the 2006 Doha Asian Games, has one physical weakness.

Corns of different sizes continually grow back on the soles of his foot. A surgery may get rid of them, but the one month of necessary post-surgery rest has made Park hesitant since he is aiming to win the Melbourne World Swimming Championships in March of next year.

Then, he found an alternative treatment through Oriental medicine. He received moxibustion, a treatment using mugwort, at an acupuncture clinic in Cheongnyangni on December 21. Yoo Kyeong-seon, an aide to Health and Care Committee member Kim Chun-jin, introduced Kim Nam-soo, 91, an expert in acupuncture and moxibustion, to him.

A dermatologist diagnosed the ailment as a wart, but Kim said it is actually a big corn. A wart does not cause pain. Since moxibustion does not require him to avoid swimming, Park will be able to continue his training for the upcoming championships.

jeon@donga.com