Oudication for Ouddicts. read it for fun!
First documented history of agarwood in Korea can be found in ‘The History of The Three Kingdoms(Samguk Sagi, 三國史記, 삼국사기)’ published in 1145, Shilla dynasty.
in the book ‘The history of the three kingdoms’, you can find this quote.
“The king says, Bureaucrats are scrambling to use the imported agarwood as luxury items, they are now strictly prohibited from using it, including the Jingol(Elite or Royal) class.”
we can assume there was very active agarwood trade between other countries(China, Japan, Vietnam, etc...)
soon after that, agarwood became an important part of Buddhism in Korea. in 2005, monks at the old temple(Hae In Temple) found a piece of agarwood in their Buddha statue that made in 883. and there are memorial stones that can be found in several locations. this special memorial stone is called Mae Hyang Bi(埋香碑, 매향비). Buddhist monks buried piece of wood(not agarwood) in the ground and put the Mae Hyang Bi on it, wishing the wood turns into agarwood and hoping it helps them connect with the merciful Buddha.
there are five of Mae Hyang Bi remain in good shape till this day.
agarwood also used as a medicine for the royal family and elite class. traditional Korean medicinal book called Donguibogam(東醫寶鑑, 동의보감. published in 1613) described agarwood
“agarwood has warming property and spicy taste without toxin. it can be used to treat vomit, diarrhea, stomach pain, palsy. it can also bring calm to mind”
there are many traditional medical clinics still uses the same recipe that introduced in Donguibogam called Gong Jin Dan. its main ingredient is agarwood, musk, deer antlers, Angelica, Cornus)
