This study was to develop an issue-centered small-group competing-debate program for the Introduction to Traditional Korean Medicine curriculum in School of Korean Medicine, Pusan National University. This debate program has student-, process- and depth-focused characteristics with critical-thinking perspectives. We employed random assignment of the position, submission of the presentation data prior to the debate, and individual result report to assess debate quality and participation of the students. This program was effective educational program for the understanding of traditional Korean medicine-related subjects. 56.7% of the students showed "Yes (>7 out of 10)" to the achievements of the program objectives, and 62.2% reported "much helpful (>7 out of 10)" to the usefulness of this program. We also found that this debate program would be specifically useful for critical reviewing of subjects which students have known superficially. This study will contribute to the development and improvement of efficacious educational curriculum for Korean Medicine by providing practical reference and template with self-directed group debate program.