“Before I die, I need to know what I did wrong to suffer like this ... I picked money out of my father’s pocket. I lied to people ...” One day in November 2019, Kim Gyeongil, 67, was walking down a street in Seoul alone, tired and melancholy, at odds with the bustling atmosphere around him.
In a daze, Kim moved with heavy steps as past events swirled in his mind like clouds. Once a famous disc jockey and producer of MBC (Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation), a popular South Korean television network, he had been overwhelmed with praise and glory when his programs became MBC’s signature programs.
However, his life hit a low point when he left the television station at the age of 55 after 30 years. After a series of business failures, the loss of his fortune, and the ensuing extreme mental stress, he suffered from depression, panic attacks, high blood pressure, and diabetes in 2017.
He was also fitted with a pacemaker for cardiovascular abnormalities. Since then, insomnia, palpitation, dizziness, fatigue, irritability, panic, inability to concentrate, and other symptoms have accompanied him every day.
Taking handfuls of pills every day was no relief. After two years, he was tired of living on medicines. Plagued with suicidal thoughts, Kim began to accumulate sleeping pills every day. That day, he had 50.
“Take a walk, it’s good for your health,” the doctor advised him. On this day, Kim developed a rare urge to go for a walk, and unaware, he walked by an exhibition board about Falun Gong.
“Falun Gong? I had heard that Falun Gong was a good form of qigong, that it is a way to achieve physical and spiritual health through meditation and spiritual cultivation.”
“When I saw Falun Gong, I held on to my last hope and wanted to give it a try,” Kim said, recalling the scene.
As he walked home, he noticed that the gloomy sky had become clear and cloudless.
Once he got home, he opened the book he had received from a Falun Gong practitioner, Zhuan Falun (Falun Gong’s main text). That night, he read the entire 472-page book, written in Korean, in one sitting.
“I was so overwhelmed that I cried several times while reading the book,” he said. “I have been a TV writer, commercial music planner, and radio host for 30 years, specializing in writing and music composition, but this is the first time I have seen such a book.”
“This is not an ordinary book that teaches knowledge. I feel it is a guide to my life, not only to teach me the truths of this world but also to open up an unknown world to me.”
“When I learned the second exercise, there is a movement where two palms are facing two ears. At that time, I felt heat in both palms. There was energy flowing from my palms to my ears, and my ears also became hot and slightly painful. It was very powerful. I was surprised. It seemed extraordinary,” he said.
In April 2020, he officially started practicing Falun Gong. After a month, his sleep returned to normal.
In August, miracles happened. Most of Kim’s symptoms disappeared: He was no longer depressed or irritable, and he could concentrate. He used to be afraid to take public transport due to panic attacks, but he could now take buses. He no longer panted when climbing up steps, and his stomach became comfortable.
“I also quit drinking, which accompanied me for over 40 years,” he said cheerfully. “I stopped taking all the drugs as well. I became seven kilos lighter than I was four months ago, and I’m back in my twenties.”
At a routine checkup in August, everything was normal for Kim except for slightly higher blood pressure and glycemic index.
“It seemed incredible that a nurse who was familiar with my condition was asking me what was going on.”
Through the practice of Falun Gong, not only has Kim’s health improved but his personality and outlook on life have also changed dramatically.
“My family was the first to feel the change. They all said that my personality had improved a lot. I’m not irritable anymore. I become gentle and considerate of others.”
Kim has been practicing Falun Gong for almost three years now.
“I have been practicing hard,” he said. “For two years now, all my regular medical examinations have shown normal results. I’m healthy at the moment and I feel like I’ve been transformed. People around me all say that I have become younger and smile more, that I look very comfortable and happy.”
Qigong Reduces Depression
A 2018 meta-analysis of 15 randomized controlled trials found that meditation exercises, including qigong, helped significantly reduce depressive disorder symptoms.According to the study, meditation is critical to the therapeutic effects of treating depression, because it may provide a useful alternative to the current mainstream treatments for depression—medication and psychotherapy. Given the fact that meditation exercises are safe and readily available, clinicians may consider recommending meditation exercises for symptom management in this population.
Qigong Improves the Elderly’s Cognitive Function
A 2020 study examined the effect of qigong exercise on the cognitive function of 74 people over the age of 60 in China who were at risk of cognitive decline. The result showed that one year of qigong exercise was significantly better than one year of stretching—not only preventing the progression of cognitive decline—but also improving a variety of cognitive functions.Qigong Lowers Blood Pressure
A 2021 review and meta-analysis of seven randomized controlled trials involving 370 people showed that qigong can significantly lower blood pressure and can be used as an adjunctive therapy to treat more complex hypertension. The findings were published in BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies.Qigong Prevents Personal Stress
A large randomized controlled trial study in 2020 showed that practicing qigong can reduce stress levels, hypertension, depression, and anxiety—as well as improve the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, immune function, sleep quality, and cognitive function.Falun Gong’s Miraculous Health Benefits
Falun Gong was introduced to the public in 1992 by Li Hongzhi. Due to its miraculous effects of improving practitioners’ health and morals, it had attracted hundreds of millions in China by the time of the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of the practitioners in 1999.
In May 1998, China’s General Administration of Sport conducted a sample survey of Falun Gong practitioners. Of the 12,553 Falun Gong practitioners surveyed, 10,475, or 83.4 percent, suffered from more than one disease before practice. After practicing for a period of two to three months to two to three years, the physical condition of these practitioners improved significantly, with a 77.5 percent recovery and basic rehabilitation rate. Together with the 20.4 percent of those who had improved, the total efficiency rate was 97.9 percent.
Falun Gong also had a significant effect on psychological and emotional well-being, with practitioners’ satisfaction with their health status increasing significantly from 24 percent before practice to 78 percent. Their satisfaction with their ability to perform daily activities increased from 36 percent before practice to 81 percent. In addition, 33 percent of respondents said they tended to feel nervous or depressed before practicing Falun Gong, while less than three percent felt so after practicing.
This academic research survey was conducted on a cluster sampling of Falun Gong practitioners in Taiwan. A total of 1,182 valid questionnaires were collected from one-fifth of the rural and urban areas, and the conclusions were made by statistical analysis.
