There are several theories about where eongteori comes from, but the best-known one ties it to the physicians (uiwon) of the Joseon Dynasty. In those days, there were quacks who had never properly studied medicine yet dabbled in prescribing remedies — their pulse readings were unreliable and their prescriptions a mess. Anyone who lacked the fundamentals and merely imitated real skill came to be called an eongteori. Another theory holds that the word combines the root "eong-" from eongseonghada ("flimsy, loosely made") with the suffix "-teori," giving the sense of "something thrown together carelessly." Either way, the core meaning is the same: something with no proper foundation, done all wrong.