Hangul syllable ddeum

A Korean phrase tells you its use. In medicine, 뜸 means moxibustion: burning mugwort warms the body. 뜸을 들이다 recalls leaving cooked food to rest after the heat is off, then means delaying before speech or action; 발걸음이 뜸하다 describes infrequent visits.

Hangul, the Korean writing system, was created in 1443 to make Korean easier to write than with Chinese characters; a guide followed in 1446. Classical medical writing calls moxibustion 구법 (灸法); royal records document repeated treatment of King Sukjong from 1684 to 1714.