[Lee Sang-hoon's Korean History] Ancient Battlefields... Used Magnets on Sword Wounds, Hair on Statues

Sanghoon Lee, Professor of Military Science at the Korea Military Academy

When war breaks out, large-scale casualties occur. There is not enough time to bury the dead one by one or to hospitalize and treat the wounded. The longer the war drags on, the more disrupted the supply of medicines becomes. Therefore, first aid methods and emergency relief supplies are frequently used. The most common injuries on ancient battlefields were caused by enemy weapons. Injuries from being cut by enemy swords, stabbed by spears, or hit by arrows were common.

The Hittites in the ancient Near East knew how to smelt iron ore at high temperatures to extract high-quality iron. Iron manufacturing technology gradually spread across the Eurasian continent, and with the mass production of iron, wars became large-scale. Accordingly, the number of wounded also rapidly increased. Since swords, spears, and arrowheads were mostly made of iron, injuries often resulted in metal wounds (金瘡).

According to the Joseon medical book 'Hyangyakjipseongbang'
Magnet powder used for wound treatment

According to Hyangyakjipseongbang (鄕藥集成方), compiled in the early Joseon period, when injured by metal and in pain, burning horseshoes into powder and mixing it with alcohol to drink was said to be effective. When the body is wounded by weapons, blood flows out from the wounds. Severe bleeding can lead to death from excessive hemorrhage. It is recorded that applying powdered magnet (磁石) relieves pain and stops bleeding. When injured by metal and intestines protrude, first a powder mixture of magnet, whetstone, and iron powder is sprinkled on the intestines. Then, by ingesting magnet powder, the intestines are said to return inside. This shows that in pre-modern times, magnets were widely used as emergency medicine for wound treatment.

In January 669, the Tang Dynasty sent the monk Beopan (法安) to Silla to request magnets. This was the year following the fall of Goguryeo in 668. Due to the large number of casualties during the fall of Goguryeo, the demand for magnets to treat the wounded increased. In May of that year, Silla sent two boxes of magnets to Tang via Geujin San (祇珍山). At first glance, Tang’s request for magnets and Silla’s delivery seem natural.

However, two boxes of magnets were far too few to treat tens of thousands of wounded. Moreover, in Hebei (河北) province of China, there was a specialized magnet production area called 'Cizhou' (磁州). It is unlikely that Tang requested magnets from Silla due to a shortage. The year 669 was just before the outbreak of the Silla-Tang War. A subtle tension persisted between Silla and Tang. Although Beopan of Tang and Geujin San of Silla were basically diplomatic envoys, they used the magnet request as a pretext to spy on each other’s situations.

Many injuries caused by seasonal factors as well
Susceptible to dysentery and infectious diseases in summer
Frostbite common in winter

Besides injuries directly caused by enemy weapons, environmental and seasonal factors also accounted for a significant portion of injuries. Soldiers were vulnerable to dysentery and infectious diseases in summer, and frostbite was common in winter. During the Korean War in June 1950, over 7,000 casualties occurred in the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, half of whom were frostbite patients. In ancient times, the lack of modern cold-weather clothing and equipment led to even more frostbite cases. Records related to frostbite in the 7th century are well documented in the Samguk Sagi - Volume 7 - Reply to Xue Rengui (答薛仁貴書).

"(In the 2nd year of King Munmu) In January, General Liu (劉摠管) transported military provisions toward Pyongyang with Silla’s Yanghado Commander Kim Yushin and others. During this time, continuous rain and snowstorms brought extreme cold, causing people and horses to freeze to death. The military provisions being transported were not fully delivered, and the Tang army attempted to retreat. Silla’s troops, having run out of food, also retreated, but many soldiers died on the road from hunger, cold, and frostbite."

After Baekje’s fall in 660, Tang sent So Jeongbang (蘇定方) in 661 to besiege Pyongyang to conquer Goguryeo. However, Pyongyang Fortress did not fall easily. As Tang’s provisions dwindled, severe winter cold struck. So Jeongbang had no choice but to request military provisions from Silla. Veteran general Kim Yushin volunteered to transport the provisions. In January 662, Kim Yushin headed to Pyongyang with 4,000 carts carrying 20,000 seok (石) of provisions.

At that time, Kim Yushin delivered not only provisions to So Jeongbang but also 5,700 pun of silver, 30 rolls of fine cloth, 30 ryang of hair, and 19 ryang of bezoar. The silver and cloth were personal gifts to So Jeongbang. The hair and bezoar were medicinal supplies. Bezoar is well known as a nerve sedative, but the presence of hair is intriguing.

Goryeo medical book 'Hyangyak Hyeminbang' introduces
Frostbite treatment using hair
Sometimes made into ointment like pig fat

Hyangyak Hyeminbang (鄕藥惠民方), compiled during the Goryeo period, introduces a frostbite treatment using hair. If symptoms such as cracked or split heels or feet appear in winter, a handful of hair and a bowl of paulownia seed oil are boiled thoroughly. After the paulownia seed oil dries and the hair melts, the mixture is cooled and stored in an earthenware pot. Applying this to cracked or split heels brings relief and can eliminate the root of the disease. This suggests that hair was useful for soldiers suffering frostbite from winter battles.

Animal fats were also widely used for frostbite treatment. The Goryeo medical book Hyangyak Gugupbang (鄕藥救急方) records the use of 'jeogo' (猪膏), pig fat, made into an ointment. When animal fat is heated with alcohol, fatty acids react with alcohol to form esters. These esters are the basis for cosmetics, ointments, and soaps. In modern times, the whaling industry developed, leading to overhunting of whales.

On September 29, 1904, Nakai Yozaburo (中井養三郞), a fisherman from Shimane Prefecture (島根縣), Japan, petitioned for the incorporation of Dokdo and mentioned the usefulness of sea lions. "If the skin is salted, it can substitute for cowhide, increasing demand considerably, and oil extracted from fresh fat is comparable in quality and price to whale oil. The residue, when sufficiently pressed, can be used as glue raw material, and the meat, when powdered, can be a valuable fertilizer along with bones. Considering these, sea lion hunting on this island has promising prospects."

Sea lions around Dokdo rapidly declined around the Japanese colonial period and became extinct shortly after liberation. At that time, fishermen from Shimane Prefecture sailed to Dokdo to catch sea lions, making products from their skins and ointments from their oil. Ointments made from sea lion oil were mainly used for wounds, burns, and chapped hands and feet in winter. Sea lion oil contains various beneficial fatty acids for the human body, with Omega-3 accounting for 20-25%. It is effective for improving blood circulation and skin diseases and is quickly assimilated by the body. Meanwhile, the main component of hair is keratin, composed of 18 types of amino acids. Keratin is a protein forming the basic structure of epithelial tissues such as hair, nails, and skin, and is rapidly assimilated by the body.

In fact, treatments using magnets or hair were unlikely to be fundamental cures. Before the development of modern medicine, wounds often worsened or became infected with bacteria. However, the mention of the usefulness of these medicinal materials in various Eastern medical texts indicates that they had some effect. Perhaps the psychological effect, like a placebo, was even greater.

The treatment of a nation’s war dead and wounded is directly related to soldiers’ morale. Morale rises when soldiers believe that their country will surely save them even if they die or are injured. When they feel that their country protects them and their families, they are willing to risk their lives for their country. Although records of wound treatment in ancient times are scarce, it is certain that it was valued considering soldiers’ morale.

Lee Sang-hoon, Professor of Military Studies, Korea Military Academy

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.