Korean Job Discussion Forums

[crazylemongirl]

[Tigerlilly]

Hi, I really need to get a pelvic exam/smear test/std check done. Is the Dr listed in this thread the way to go? Is she still there (this thread is kind of old).. Also do I just ring and ask for all that or something else( don't know how it works in Korea)?
Thank you so much for your help in advance.

[Tigerlilly]

can anyone help? Thanks!!

[becks888]

I know this is an old topic, but can anyone still recommend Dr Sung's clinic in Hannam. Do you know the opening hours?

[Ruthdes]

Dr Sung is still good. I went there last September for a full raft of tests. I haven't had a smear test here, and I hear it's a little expensive (paradoxically, National Health doesn't cover smear tests until we're 32 - or so I've been told - go figure).

It cost me about 120,000 to get ALL the other tests, including HPV, which really bumps up the cost. Without HPV it's about 70 or 80 if I remember correctly. They are really upfront about costs, though they do try to pressure you to get a breast ultrasound too, which they don't do routinely in Australia so I told them I didn't want it. The cost for the consultation is neglible compared to the test costs.

A couple of concerns:

- One of the receptionists interviews you IN the waiting room before you go in, asking you why you are there, if you have any symptoms, etc! Not the sort of conversation you want to be having in a public room. They do speak quietly, but still, you'd NEVER see this in the west.

- Both times I've been there, while doing the exam, they've put a pessary in my vagina without asking or explaining what it is. When I asked what it was, I didn't get an adequate response. Like most korean docs, I feel that both Dr Sung (and Dr Kim who I saw the first time), tend to overprescibe.

Having said that, I was very happy with the service in general, their helpfulness and knowledge, and I will continue to use their services while I'm in Korea.

They are in the same spot as the last directions posted, their number is

02-790-0802

[smileyjkl]

I want to see a doctor soon and get a checkup and some tests done. I hear that Dr. Sung is good, but is expencive and is pushy about getting unnecessary exams. Is there anyone else that speaks english that is open to talk to, AND speaks good english?

[anniegoestoseoul]

I went to Dr. Sung a while back and was unsatisfied with the treatment there. I was early for my appointment and still had to wait about 20-30 minutes.

Recently, I visited a gyno in my neighborhood and I had a wonderful experience. There is only one woman who speaks English, but she made me feel very comfortable and secure. They treated me like a VIP, and though I had just wanted to make an appointment for ASAP, they gave me
a check up right then.

Here's the address:

La Mere Women's Clinic
160-14 Sin Gil Dong
Yeong Deung Po Gu
Seoul
www.ilamere.com
Telephone: 82-2-847-1001

[miss tofu]

I really didn't like Dr. Sung's. I went to her b/c my friend recommended her as did most people on this site. My pelvic exam was done by Dr. Kim, I think. It was quite painful. She kinda just stuck the speculum up there hard and fast and left it in there for quite a while. I've been to gyno's back at home and they don't open a speculum that fast usually. I was in pain for a while afterward.

Doctor Kim said that I had some minor cervical erosion but instead of explaining it to me she basically gave me a piece of paper about it. I asked her if it could be from a UTI that I had about a week ago and she was really vague about it saying that its possible.

They also gave me a lot of unnecessary paper to read up on including pamphlets for plastic surgery. Plastic surgery? Really? And the exam was pricey. All together, I paid 209,000 won for the smear and STD test.

The good thing about Dr Sung's is that everyone spoke English there and the facilities were clean but that's not gonna entice me to go back.

[Ruthdes]

I'm not in any way saying people SHOULD go to Dr Sung's clinic, and it's a shame you guys had a bad experience, but I just want to point out a couple of things.

I'm pretty sure that cost of 209,000 is pretty normal for a smear test and STD check in Korea. Apparently health insurance doesn't cover a pap smear until you're 32 or 33 (go figure), so that is over 100,000 won I believe. The STD tests are around 90,000, depending on what you get tested for, so that sounds about right. If anyone knows where to get a full raft of STD tests and a pap smear for cheaper than that, by a female doc, who speaks English, I'd love to hear it. The actual consultation cost is really cheap - maybe 6,000won or less.

Yeah, the docs here aren't so good at explaining things, but that's health care in Korea. Koreans just do what the doc says. So few (as far as I've observed) do their own research on the internet or dare to question their doc. Unfortunately docs Kim and Sung are Korean in that way. As I posted early, I declined to get the breast ultrasound, and she didn't push me. They are very upfront about costs, and when you say you don't want something done, they don't continue to push you (or didn't me anyway).

About doc Kim's manner, I've had several exams with her, and never found her to be any more rough that any other doc I've seen. I'm sorry that miss tofu had that experience, but I haven't experienced that myself with doc Kim.

The last few times I've been to the clinic, I've gone without an appointment, and waited less that 30 minutes each time to see Dr Kim (sometimes only 10 or 15 mins).

Dr Sung's clinic is hardly a Western Gyno experience, but I'm not unhappy with the service in general. I posted my concerns above (mainly the privacy issues), but am happy enough that I will continue to go to that clinic while I live in Seoul

[celiac chick]

Dr. Kwon at Severance Hospital (Yonsei University) is amazing! She speaks English very well and explains everything in detail. What I really appreciated was that she didn't dumb things down when she realized that I was familiar with the medical terminology.

You can make an appointment through the international clinic at (02) 2228-5800.

[yellow111]

I recently went to Dr.Sung and had a horrible experience. Don't go. She barely seemed qualified. She was in a hurry and didn't explain anything, she just handed me stacks of papers with questionable medical advice on them. She offered to give me a prescription without waiting for the results of the tests. She gave me a pamphlet about how aromatherapy can cure diseases. Also, the clinic does all kinds of plastic surgeries- including vaginoplasty. Scary. Avoid this place at all cost.

[teacher_james]

does anyone know if Dr Sung's or the other places mentioned on this post clinic carry out abortions?

[Ruthdes]

I still don't think that Dr Sung is as bad as some people have said. As I have stated before, she's definitely not perfect, but in general, it's not an "avoid at all costs" type of situation. I'm not saying that there aren't individual bad experiences, but our options as non-Korean speakers in this country are limited, so sometimes we have to put up with a less than perfect experience.

I have tried another gyno since my last post. Dr Seo, at Miz Medi in Daechi-dong studied in the US and speaks English really well. She also seems to have a more Western outlook than Dr Sung. I have seen her twice, once for a birth control prescription and once for a regular STD screening, and she seemed much less likely to just automatically reach for the antibiotics. This is only a small amount of experience, so I'd be interested to hear from anyone else who has used her.

Miz Medi is located very close to Eunma Apartment Junction in Daechi-dong and their number is 02 3467 3800. The person answering will either speak English or get an English speaker for you. The two times I've been the wait time has been very short, though I have had appointments, unlike Dr Sung where I pretty much never bothered to make an appointment.

[mmstyle]

I'll second Dr Kwon at Severance for standard exams. (I haven't seen her for anything else, so I can't speak to that). I had a pap here when I was 33 or 34 and it wasn't covered by insurance, it was somewhere around 79,000. Korea doesn't seem to have specialists, though. Kinda frustrating.

[mmstyle]

I'll second Dr Kwon at Severance for standard exams. (I haven't seen her for anything else, so I can't speak to that). I had a pap here when I was 33 or 34 and it wasn't covered by insurance, it was somewhere around 79,000.