After the opening of Korean ports in the late 19th century, the movement of goods and passengers became more frequent, which meant that people in Korea were threatened by infectious diseases. Preventive measures against infectious diseases were made, and in this process, many medicines, including westernized drugs, were imported. This article examines the process of regulating medicines and regulatory measures in modern Japan and also explores how Japanese patent medicines had an influence on the expansion of the pharmaceutical market in modern Korea. I will look into the establishment of regulations for medicine, including the situation of the Japanese pharmaceutical market in Meiji Japan. According to the regulation, patent medicines had to provide certain information, such as the manufacturer, ingredients, etc. on the package or container.
Although regulations for medicine were promulgated at the time of the Korean Empire, they were for controlling drug sellers, not for supporting for the growing market. At that time, wholesale and retail dealers for Japanese medications and medical supplies, such as Arai Shokai and Yamagishi Shokai, opened their stores in Incheon and they actively advertised their sales items through the Incheon-published newspaper Chosensimpo (renamed as Chosensimbun after 1908). In their advertisements, it is possible to observe a certain format for promoting patent medicines. It is shown in a formal, unified way, and contains information on ingredients, manufacturer, price, etc.
The way of presenting information for Japanese patent medicines influenced the advertisement format of Korean patent medicines and the growing Korean pharmaceutical market. The format was borrowed by the Korean drug sellers who actively manufactured new types of patent medicines, which combined traditional and westernized medicinal ingredients.
The Governor-General of Korea applied the Japanese regulations on the manufacturing and sales of medicines to colonial Korea in 1912, and the format of presenting information on medicine continued in the colonial Korea.