The Hospital (병원)...

So it's not as terrible as it sounds, nothing bad happened to me. In Korea their medical system is a bit different. Instead of going to a family doctor or a drop in clinic to see a doctor, like in Vancouver, here if you are sick you go to the hospital to visit the doctor.

The last two semesters I had regular colds so I just took my cold medicine and was fine. However, this semester my cold was a bit worse than usual and I actually needed to seek medical attention from a doctor at the hospital. I didn't visit the little clinic here at SCH because I knew they would just tell me to go to the hospital if it's serious.

So off I went to Onyang's Hyundae Hospital. I didn't have a Korean friend available to go with me so Kristen and I went to the office and Sue Jung helped us translate my symptoms into Korean. Plus Soonoh was able to give me a photocopy of my passport and alien card. I only had photocopies at this point because we were extending our Alien Card period and the Immigration Office had my real passport and alien card.

Kristen who visited the hospital last year told me that the doctor kind of spoke English, but he can definitely read English, so it shouldn't be too big a deal if we went on our own.

It turned out to be pretty easy.

When I walked in a person greeted me at the counter and asked (in Korean) how he could help me. I just passed him my papers saying I had a cold and needed to see a doctor. My Korean level is passable so I wasn't too afraid of going to the hospital alone, but if you are not that confident in your Korean level I would highly suggest finding a Korean person to go with you. Also SoonOh and Sue Jung (workers in the international student office) gave their numbers to me in case I ran into any trouble. So if I did run into a language barrier the hospital can give them a call.

There they had me fill out a few things. My name, number and signature + date. They filled out everything else. I sat in the waiting area, and then they called me into the doctors office. I don't know how many different doctors they had at this hospital. I passed him the paper with my translated symptoms and he actually asked me a few questions in English. He also gave me my diagnosis in English and told me what type of medication I needed.

I had bronchitis and the flu. That's why my throat was killing me and I lost my voice =(. I also received a shot and they still give you the shot on your butt. Hahahaha. Plus they have a pharmacy right behind the hospital to fill my prescription.

The hospital visit was about 15 000 won ($15 Cad) and the medicine was about 15 000 won. I had enough medicine for 3 days worth (Breakfast, lunch and dinner).

The people working in the pharmacy doesn't speak any English, but you just pass them your prescription. When they are finished they will call your name and tell you the price. If you don't understand Korea they will type it out on a calculator. So it's pretty straight forward.

Everything took less than half an hour! I was very pleased and the medicine did help. Especially the disgusting cough medicine...ICK but it did help with my cough. I had to take that 3 times a day, it taste so gross. Good thing I usually saved part of my meals so it can help wash out the taste.

I had a pleasant first experience, but I am hoping I wouldn't have to go again. It's never fun being sick while away from home.