Introducing the human story shaped by the face, based on more than 20 years of experience and insight in facial bone reconstruction.

Professor Jee Ho Lee from the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Asan Medical Center includes his own illustrations and webtoons in the book.

“The face is at the center of human identity. I hope this book offers an opportunity to view life anew through the lens of facial bones.”

▲ Professor Jee Ho Lee from the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Asan Medical Center 

A physician who has given new life for more than 20 years to patients who lost their faces has published a medical humanities book exploring human life and identity through facial bones.

Professor Jee Ho Lee from the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Asan Medical Center recently released ‘Facial Bones and Human Stories’, which presents the past and present of facial bones from a humanistic perspective, interwoven with diverse historical events.

The maxillofacial region refers to the facial bones that form the ‘face’ among the cranial bones. Countless stories connected to the face, such as standards of beauty, cosmetic surgery, orthognathic surgery, aging, and disease, originate from these bones.

The author, Professor Jee Ho Lee from the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Asan Medical Center, has spent more than 20 years reconstructing the faces of oral cancer patients and restoring facial bones shattered by accidents. Reflecting deeply on the many meanings of the face both inside and outside the operating room, he captured the humanistic codes and life stories contained within facial bones in this book. By approaching anatomy, often considered difficult and tedious, through a humanistic lens, he explores the social meaning and historical context of facial bones.

The book is composed of three chapters: ▲ The Enigmatic Puzzle Containing the Soul: Facial Bones ▲ What Makes Facial Bones Human ▲ Facial Bones and Human Civilization.

Chapter 1 explores identity and humanity through the most solid and primal structures of the face, namely the facial bones. It highlights the diversity of appearances formed by 22 interlocking pieces of bone like a puzzle, as well as humanity’s efforts to reshape what seems to be a fated face through medical technology.

Chapter 2 examines the elements that make facial bones distinctly human. It delves into how the tongue, mucosa, gums, and nerves that are closely connected to the facial bones interact and function together in intricate ways.

Finally, Chapter 3 addresses the meaning and role of facial bones within civilization. Through the lens of facial anatomy, it narrates the history of the face and its entanglement with human society.

Also active as an illustrator, Professor Jee Ho Lee included his own drawings and webtoons in the book to help general readers easily understand anatomical structures.

Professor Jee Ho Lee from the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Asan Medical Center said, “The face is a crucial element at the center of human identity, yet the facial bones that form its foundation remain little known. This book tells the story of how facial bones have played a role in civilization, drawing on anatomical knowledge and humanistic insight. I hope it provides many people with an opportunity to view their own faces and lives from a new perspective.”

▲ Cover of the ‘Facial Bones and Human Stories’