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Humiliating HIV Test Story
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Benicio



Joined: 25 May 2006
Location: Down South- where it's hot & wet

PostPosted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 5:54 am    Post subject: Humiliating HIV Test Story Reply with quote

In light of reading new stories about foreigners actually standing up and challenging the HIV tests for foreigners as they are used not to promote public health, but to stigmatize foreigners as a danger to Korean society:
http://rokdrop.com/2009/10/26/more-on-aids-testing-of-foreigners-in-korea/comment-page-1/#comment-370963

also, I finally read the extensive and scarily informative summation �Who is Anti-English Spectrum�:
http://2009hunma358.blogspot.com/2009/09/1.html
it details how this group is really a racist/hate group that wishes to paint all foreign teachers as an evil danger to Korean society and the scary part is that their smear campaigns are becoming quite effective in influencing media reports and now even influencing government policy as some politicians/committees are using this hate group�s leader as a consultant.

Anyway, it is becoming clear that the drugs & HIV tests campaigns are succeeding in stigmatizing all foreign teachers as diseased criminals- exactly what Anti-English Spectrum wants.

I thought I would finally share the humiliating story of my Korean HIV test that happened several months ago.

Our school�s teachers were notified that drugs & HIV tests were required to renew our visas. Only specially designated hospitals were able to do the tests acceptable for the immigration office. I made sure to get exactly what was needed written down on paper in Korean. My Korean is okay, but I needed it exactly spelled out, so there were no screw ups.

A co-worker and I went to one hospital that others had gone to and found the department we were looking for. We went up to the nurse�s station which was situated right in front of a large waiting room with at least 50 Korean people in it.

I gave the paper to the nurses and they didn�t seem to understand what we needed- the note was written in Korean with the exact tests we needed. They didn�t understand.

I got a pen and wrote the letters H-I-V and said �testuh�. They still didn�t get it.

Finally, I said where only they could hear it �AIDS testuh�.

They got it then. One nurse was so pleased with herself that she finally understood that she blurted in a very loud voice which the whole room could hear �AIDSuh�.

A sudden hush went over the whole room as the two nurses said again to each other, very loudly, �AIDSuh�.

Then, one nurse called over to another nurse across the large room and yelled �AIDSuh� while pointing at my co-worker and me.

I was desperately giving her the STFU gesture, but she didn�t get it at all. It was too late- everyone in the crowded room was now under the impression that they were in a room with two dirty foreigners with AIDS. It was humiliating!

Thank goodness she did not announce to the crowd where we work like some idiots cops did to me once!

I let the nurse know that I wasn�t happy with what she did, but I don�t think she understood why.

I thought about attempting to lodge a formal complaint with the hospital over their behavior, but I eventually thought it was more hassle than it was worth.

Patient confidentiality is just not a concept that the Korean medical profession really understands and some people will just never learn tact.

That is my story of how I was stigmatized and humiliated having to go through the HIV test.


Last edited by Benicio on Tue Oct 27, 2009 6:44 am; edited 1 time in total
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proustme



Joined: 13 Jun 2009
Location: Nowon-gu

PostPosted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 5:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm sorry to hear about your experience at the hospital. Idiots, just idiots. Dumb donkeys.
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aishiii



Joined: 24 Apr 2009

PostPosted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 6:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I had the same experience as the OP. What's the point of filing a complaint? They'll never understand what they did wrong. I'm sure it happens everywhere, all the time.
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Kryten



Joined: 10 Nov 2008

PostPosted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 8:41 am    Post subject: Re: Humiliating HIV Test Story Reply with quote

Benicio wrote:
A sudden hush went over the whole room as the two nurses said again to each other, very loudly, �AIDSuh�.

Then, one nurse called over to another nurse across the large room and yelled �AIDSuh� while pointing at my co-worker and me.
Dude, I'm really sorry to hear about that and it would have been really terrible to experience, but DAMN I couldn't help but laugh at this part. It sounds like it belongs as a sketch on some comedy show. Gawd,[Mod Edit] morons. Really sorry that happened to you.
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shamham



Joined: 29 Jul 2009

PostPosted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 10:35 am    Post subject: Re: Humiliating HIV Test Story Reply with quote

Kryten wrote:
Benicio wrote:
A sudden hush went over the whole room as the two nurses said again to each other, very loudly, �AIDSuh�.

Then, one nurse called over to another nurse across the large room and yelled �AIDSuh� while pointing at my co-worker and me.
Dude, I'm really sorry to hear about that and it would have been really terrible to experience, but DAMN I couldn't help but laugh at this part. It sounds like it belongs as a sketch on some comedy show. Gawd, [Mod Edit]morons. Really sorry that happened to you.


Excellent summation re: anti-english spectrum. These guys are on the same level of ridiculous but scary as hardcore white supremacist groups in the US.

Be nice if this kind of thing could be made known to media outside Korea.
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TL



Joined: 30 Mar 2008

PostPosted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 11:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

What a horrible nurse. They would never do that to a Korean.

I also laughed. Sorry.
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jlb



Joined: 18 Sep 2003

PostPosted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 3:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Same thing happened to me when I went to get an STD at the local woman's hospital. It was all good until I had to pay and then the nurses and administrators were talking, in loud voices amongst themselves about how much it costs. "STD testu......STD......testu....STD" On and on and on, while I stood at the desk and waited and everyone in the waiting room watched.
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sigmundsmith



Joined: 22 Nov 2007

PostPosted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 3:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

OP, I don't know where you are located in Korea but I have always gone to the international clinic at Yonsei. Yes, you pay a bit more at any international clinic but they conduct themselves the way medical professionals should conduct themselves.

Was talking about this kind of issue the other day with a group of people. A lady in the group went to her local clinic for a pregnancy test. She went to the waiting area where it was full of women and the nurse came out and in a loud voice and in English: No Pregnant.

Well, the poor lady was extremely embarrassed.

I find that privacy and tactfullness is a trait that many Koreans lack.

And the fear mongering perpetrated by some Koreans comes down to ignorance,xenaphobia and insecurities of themselves and their country. Someone says this equates to white extremists and I agree totally.
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redaxe



Joined: 01 Dec 2008

PostPosted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 4:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The concept of privacy doesn't really exist in this country. It's kind of hard when you have like a hundred people per square meter.
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cdninkorea



Joined: 27 Jan 2006
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 4:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Reminds me of my last job: before I started working there, everyone was required to get a medical check-up (it was free though). A week later the results came in and were given to the receptionists: in an envelope, unsealed, were the results. Of course the receptionists read all of them and told my co-worker when she asked for it "oh, you're obese." Yeah, real tactful. Shouldn't the envelopes have been sealed?
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DWAEJIMORIGUKBAP



Joined: 28 May 2009
Location: Electron cloud

PostPosted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 4:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

None of this suprises me.

Years ago I started at a new hakwan and after a few reckless one night stands I decided to get a general std test at the local clinic.

One of my co-workers, let's call him 'Georgie' had hypochondria and a panchant for visiting anmas. The two combined as you would imagine made sure he had a LOT of hiv and std tests....

SO I go in the clinic and tell them what I want and they ask for my alien card and health card etc.

They see the name of the hakwan - let's call it 'abc' - and shout out

'Oh! ABC! Georgie teachah ha ha ha, many many std tests ha ha ha...'
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fermentation



Joined: 22 Jun 2009

PostPosted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 5:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That sucks. I haven't observed foreigners in hospitals much but I haven't seen anything of the sort happen to a Korean.
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Benicio



Joined: 25 May 2006
Location: Down South- where it's hot & wet

PostPosted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 5:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

No one has to apologize for laughing about this story as I, the OP, laughed about it after a few drinks.

However, it does not change the fact that there is a huge problem with medical "professionals" broadcasting private, personal information to anyone around and doing so in a way that makes the doctor/nurse seem more like a child who understands nothing of tact.

I am reminded of a story that was posted here a long time ago:
a foreign teacher was taking medicine for mild bipolar disorder and the doctor prescribing the pills told his co-teacher all about it. The co-teacher told everyone in the school and suddenly everyone at his school thought he was "crazy".

The reason doctors/nurses don't respect privacy is that they have never been sued nor severely punished for breaching it.
Not sure it is even possible here.

I would like anyone to share their stories of being embarassed by medical "professionals" revealing private, personal information to 3rd parties.


Last edited by Benicio on Wed Oct 28, 2009 1:09 am; edited 1 time in total
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fermentation



Joined: 22 Jun 2009

PostPosted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 5:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't have any stories like that but it is making me think I should go visit a foreigner if I ever go see a counselor/shrink.
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redaxe



Joined: 01 Dec 2008

PostPosted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 5:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

fermentation wrote:
I don't have any stories like that but it is making me think I should go visit a foreigner if I ever go see a counselor/shrink.


That's too bad because you have to have Korean citizenship to be licensed to practice medicine in Korea! Ha-ha! Laughing
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