On Pins And Needles: Koreans and Acupuncture

Feature Story, Michelle Woo , Posted: Feb 24, 2008

For everything from headaches to acne to depression, more Korean Americans are testing the healing powers of acupuncture. One curious first-timer dares to get to the point of it all.

I remember the day I walked in on my mother. She was laying on a long fold-out table that had been set up in our den. Thin needles protruded from her forehead.

Today, more than 15 million Americans have used it to treat everything from arthritis and nausea to anxiety and addictions. Western doctors and scientists are taking notice. And so are many Korean American patients.

So as a reporter always willing to get to the point of a story, I find myself walking into Los Angeles

Dongguk Royal University, one of the leading teaching and clinical centers of acupuncture and Oriental medicine. It is affiliated with Dongguk University, the largest Buddhist university in Korea. Having made its way to Korea during the Silla Dynasty, acupuncture now thrives in the country as an inexpensive, easily portable and reportedly effective medical treatment. At the American institution, more than half of the student body is Korean.

Working the front desk of the school-run clinic is Charles Yu, a third-year intern. He first became a believer in ancient Asian healing practices as a child in Korea. At the age of 12, he experienced daily nosebleeds. Doctors didn

There are more than 2,000 acupuncture points on the body.

While sitting in the waiting room, my name is called and a practitioner walks me into a small office. She invites me to take a seat at her desk and begins asking me questions about my health history. With a pencil in hand, she asks the basic stuff, whether I smoke, when my last period was, whether I have a family history of diabetes. But then her questions turn more specific: Do I have a good appetite? Do I sigh often? Do I prefer hot or cold drinks? My regular doctor never went into such detail.

I explain to her that I

She then asks me to lie on my back on a paper-lined hospital bed. I watch as she prepares the needles. To my relief, they look nothing like the frightening injectors at the hospital. Thinner than fine hairs, these sterile, single-use needles do not cut into the tissue but instead glide through the spaces between the individual cells of the body. When inserted by a skilled practitioner, patients feel little or no sensation at all. The most common side effect is occasional light bruising on the treated area.

My body tenses as one needle is inserted into the middle of my arm. I feel a prick and then a slight tingle that quickly goes away. She inserts 15 more

My body slowly relaxes. Palms open, I lay still and stare at the ceiling above.

The practitioner points a heat lamp toward my body, turns off the lights and tells me to try to sleep.

***

Eun Young Kim had been struggling to conceive for more than five years. She tried everything from tracking her cycle to painful shots. Finally, a couple of her friends recommended acupuncture. It worked for them, they said.

Skeptical, but desperate, Kim took a visit to Dr. Ai Ja Lee, a renowned acupuncture practitioner in New York City. Lee has helped more than 200 patients conceive.

For women with infertility problems, Lee says she helps

After going in for treatments every 10 days for three months, at the age of 38, Kim conceived naturally. Now 42, she has two young boys.

For fertility treatments, Lee charges $1,200 to $1,500 per month, which includes four or five acupuncture sessions, as well as a supply of herbal medicine.

Jina Lee, 25, of Torrance, Calif., says she didn

But there was none of that when she walked into the offices of Peter Yoon, a practitioner in Garden Grove, Calif. He practices a complex type of acupuncture called Eight-Constitution Medicine, developed in Korea more than 60 years ago by Dr. Kwon Do Won.

Before performing the treatment, Yoon takes a blood sample from patients to determine their

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