A Study on the Metaphorical Aspects of Disease Vocabulary : Focusing on Applications in Non-Medical Fields

This study aims to systematically categorize the metaphorical uses of disease-naming vocabulary in non-medical contexts and to examine the discursive characteristics and cognitive functions of each category. Disease metaphors exhibit a bidirectional structure in which medical concepts are used to understand non-medical phenomena, or vice versa. Focusing on the latter, this study analyzes how disease-related terms are metaphorically employed to describe various socio-political and cultural phenomena. This approach is grounded in the idea that disease metaphors function not merely as rhetorical devices but as cognitive tools that shape social perception, evaluation, and interpretation of reality. Unlike previous studies that focused on specific high-impact diseases, this study aims to explore a broader range of metaphorical uses of disease vocabulary. To this end, metaphorical expressions listed in the Standard Korean Language Dictionary and commonly used in everyday language were collected. Then, actual examples from news articles were analyzed and categorized according to the Korean Standard Classification of Diseases (KCD). As a result, the collected metaphorical disease terms were classified into seven categories: infectious diseases, mental and behavioral disorders, endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases, circulatory system diseases, musculoskeletal and connective tissue diseases, skin diseases, and others. The metaphorical terms within each disease category revealed distinct layers of meaning and function in non-medical discourse, shaped by the pathological characteristics and cognitive imagery associated with the original diseases. This suggests that disease metaphors operate as cognitive schemata deeply involved in the construction of social meaning and perception.