Korean Job Discussion Forums

[plasticmustache]

Hello everyone,


Does anyone recommend getting an STD check here in Korea? If so, is it annonymous?

If the worst case scenario happens and you have something, will you be sent back to your home country?

How confidential are these hospital visits? Do they get back to the schools, korean government, etc..?



Thanks.

[essexboy]

If its the same rigmarole as the UK, they will stick a cotton bud down your japs eye (urethra) and have a good old scrape, followed by a blood test, urine test and a patronizing talk about contraception. I have definitely had better days.
I imagine you will get a long telling-off and a slapped wrist, but I really dont see how you could be deported for having crabs

[antoniothegreat]

i did hear a story on this message board about a teacher that got a test, and had immi knocking on his door a week later to tell him he had 48 hours to leave Korea, oh, and by the way, to tell him he has aids too. nice day...

but that was just a story i heard here, of course, it made me think twice about getting tested.

[mole]

[mole]

HOWEVER. this should have been an edit.
A friend got the clap or chlamydia or something, and just got some meds. Totally private.

[Bibbitybop]

If you are in Seoul, got to the International Clinic at Severance hospital. They are about as Western as you can get, and I don't think having AIDS is a deportable offence. I doubt Severance hospital would allow anyone else to our records.

Also, unless you have symptoms of an STD, most tests are a simple blood test and urine test. You can ask and pay for more, but unless you have reason to beleive you are at risk, even the docs think it's a waste of money. No swabbing involved, thank good ness.

[Gwangjuboy]

[Real Reality]

[Octavius Hite]

OK there are places for anonymous HIV testing. The three I know of are as follows:

1. Itaewom, UNAIDS clinic near the army base. It is free and and totally private they speak English and the results take 3 days.

2. Jongno-sam Ga. for gay men, although all men can go, its called iShap and its free but they don't speak English so you need a K to go with you. Its also completly confidential and the results take 20 minutes.

3. Ansan, there is a new foriegners only clinic here. The test is free and confidential and in English.

However none of these places do any other tests, only HIV. SO there you go. Good luck.

And its only HIV that gets you deported, all the others are ok.

[Bibbitybop]

Thanks Real Reality. And thanks Octavius Hite.

[Pyongshin Sangja]

[kermo]

I had a bizarre experience at a Women's Health clinic in Yongin last week.
I mentioned the first visit in its own thread about a doctor so talented that he could tell I was in perfect health with a mere glance.

There was a follow-up visit, prompted by a phone-call from a nurse's sister-in-law (they invited her in to translate.)
We sat in the the doctor's office as he showed me the results of the cervical cancer test. I hadn't asked for one in the first place, but I was interested to see what he had to say.

Two nurses stood at the doctor's desk, silently observing, listening to the whole conversation without my consent, for no medical reason (curiosity, maybe?)

I asked the ersatz translator if the doctor could recommend a clinic that *actually* did STD tests, as I had requested. The doctor replied "Of course, we CAN do those tests here, but I just didn't see the need. I'm an expert."

I explained that even without obvious symptoms, a clean bill of health is a useful thing to have, but he protested that it wasn't a normal thing for a Korean woman to ask for, and laughed nervously.

It's awkward for me to talk about this, of course, but (1) I thought that foreign women should know that this sort of barrier exists, and they might need to insist (or find a more reasonable doctor), and (2) guys with Korean partners need to take active responsibility for their sexual health because their partners might be whistling in the dark.

[Ekuboko]

[kermo]

I should add this re: confidentiality.

You can walk into a doctor's office without a health card, simply giving your name and maybe your birthday. If you've got a condition you don't want your employer to hear about, I'd recommend this option, even if you've got a health plan.

Some doctor's offices will call your work in order to talk to a Korean person, and so you'll hear the results from your boss or co-worker, possibly resulting in an awkward situation. Expectations of doctor-patient confidentiality just aren't as stringent here.

[Junior]