Koreans like to visit doctors and hospitals

I've mentioned before and thought for a long time that (paid for) health care here is good. You certainly get a lot for your moneys worth here. I've got pills, had injections, x-rays, acupuncture, heat treatment, endoscopies and more in my time in Korea. All quite cheap and all very quickly. Even though there is often a language barrier things are dealt with very easily and I always seem to feel assured. In short, I like the health care here.

However, I don't like going to see a doctor unless I must but it would appear that others here view things differently. I do feel that Koreans have a tendency to stray close to the line of hypochondria. Often they go to the doctor or the 'hospital' when it would appear that what they have is not so serious. When I hear the word hospital back home it means something is badly wrong and often an emergency but here some people go or send their children there a lot more freely and for less serious ailments.

I come from the land of the National Health Service, which is free. People tend not to abuse the system which is always heaving with people. We value the doctors and nurses who work in it and when we look around at other countries we count ourselves as lucky. My take on health is different I know. If you're paying through insurance maybe you feel that you have the right to take advantage of it.

I know people work hard here and taking time off work is a faux pas. It's 'just not cricket' to take a sick day unless you are really in a bad state so I understand why Koreans try their best to stay healthy. I think the 'you don't come in you don't get paid' aspect of things might have a bearing on this though.

I wonder if it is the people themselves or the doctors that encourage patients to come and see them. I would never go to the doctor if I had a cold in England, never, but here it is commonplace and accepted. There is an industry built around treatment and care for things that I feel you would naturally just feel better/shake off given time. I think some people are being ripped off or taken advantage of. I find some treatment, care and aids here a bit over the top and a little at odds to a country that has had so many wars and gone through tough times. Perhaps that is an old fashioned and outdated viewpoint.

Pictured is one of my students - this device I have seen several times in my years here. From what I can gather he injured it playing sport of some kind. His mother took him to the doctors/hospital and there you go, he now has a metal finger. It's important to mention that his finger was not broken and according to him he was in no noticeable pain. I don't deny the injury, just question the treatment.

What's this?

Yes, it's a metal 'case' to make you pay more protect your finger.

Perhaps my favourite is the plaster cast. The magic plaster cast. The one that is here one day and magically disappears after one or two weeks, well under the usual six week period needed to heal properly.

I have also seen dozens of kids and adults with eye patches and wonder if they are to protect the eye or to hide their problem from people. I sometimes wonder, are people ashamed of being ill/sick? There are other examples too but inconveniently they slip my mind as I write this.

I suppose if the treatment is available then why not use it. Korea certainly has come a long way since the 50's in many regards, health care being one of them.

Check up at a Korean hospital

Today I went to a local hospital - right across from where I work, less than ten minutes away from my apartment - for a mandatory health check. Every year or so you have a check-up as part of your health insurance and today was the day.

The whole thing took about an hour. This including blood and urine tests as well as weight checks, blood pressure checks, chest x-ray (I think), an eye test and a hearing test. Pretty extensive for an hour and I shudder to think of how long this would take back home in England. I anticipate the results will come in the next few weeks.

I couldn't opt out of the check-up because I have to pay for health insurance here. This costs me around £40-45 a month which sounds expensive but really its not too bad. It's been very useful and gives a deal of peace of mind in the event of something major happening to you. God bless the National Health Service but this healthcare is good.

Back home I have spent time in hospitals but this has been largely visiting very sick people but one experience I remember vividly was in my last year of school where I had an accident involving glass and my foot and lost what looked like, but probably wasn't, a lot of blood. I arrived at the local Accidents and Emergency ward and was left waiting for four hours before being able to leave. During that time I had one x-ray and just two stitches in my foot.

I've been to the doctor here many times and even to hospitals but it struck me today how different they are here to back home. Here they are well lit, are literally hospitable places with bizarrely to me a lot of smiling, helpful people. I'm not saying I want to go back but it's not as bleak as I find in England.

Casting my mind back to my experiences of back home where hospitals are sterile, depressing death cages I know where I would rather be now IF I was sick. Of course there is the language barrier but overall they are much better from my limited experiences. Even though I've been here for over four years I continue to see differences in culture every day.