Korean Job Discussion Forums

drkalbi · Joined: 06 Aug 2006

I saw on worknplay.co.kr. Just wondering how anonymous it really is.

proustme · Joined: 13 Jun 2009 Location: Nowon-gu

http://www.khap.org/Eng_Html/Main.php. It's totally anonymous. They follow United Nations privacy policies. No one knows who you are. You're given a ticket with a number -- they don't take your name or any personal identifying information. Your mouth is swabbed, and then they run a test on the swab. A nurse invites you into a private room where he or she (most likely she -- we're in Korea of course!) tells your the results. It takes about 15 minutes from the time of testing to the actual revealing of the results. You're out of there in no time. The northern Seoul KHAP is a small nondescript building. The whole office is on the first floor. They speak English.

BoholDiver · Joined: 03 Oct 2009 Location: Canada

I can't believe an HIV test can have results in 15 minutes.

proustme · Joined: 13 Jun 2009 Location: Nowon-gu

Maybe it took more time than that. But it wasn't more than 30 minutes!

Also: http://www.khap.org/Eng_Html/Counsel_023.php

ChilgokBlackHole · Joined: 21 Nov 2009

Octavius Hite · Posted: Sat Dec 19, 2009 11:19 pm Post subject:

Yes, it can. I have been to the one in southern Seoul and they do the rapid mouth swap test. It takes about 20 minutes.

It's a very good place, safe and not scary. They speak English and (at least in the southern one) had free computers to use while you wait. They had an English speaking male counselor who really cared and has been doing this for sometime.

antoniothegreat · Joined: 28 Aug 2005 Location: Yangpyeong

maybe it took only fifteen minutes because instead of testing the saliva, they have a face reader detect if you were a bad person, and therefor probabley had AIDS. It takes the face readers only 10 minutes to do their job.

kabrams · Joined: 15 Mar 2008 Location: your Dad's house

There are rapid-test HIV/AIDS (blood) tests that take 20 minutes in the US. I'm assuming Korea uses the same ones.

eIn07912 · Joined: 06 Dec 2008 Location: seoul

Contrary to what some of these goobers are saying, there are rapid HIV tests. They're about 95% accurate though. Therefor, if you've had a few of those over a series of months, and they come up clean, you're probably good to go. However, if one comes up bad, you should certainly go for the other ones.

I get both when I go in. A rapid one to ease my conscious and then the normals ones that come back with all my other tests results a week or 10 days later.

Rapid or not, be responsible. If you have a sex life, even if you use protection, get tested. I get a full rundown every 6 months, like clockwork. Maybe that's a little extreme by some standards, but do it for yourself and for your partner. Don't spread disease just because you're too chicken to go in and get a test done. If you're brave enough to drop your pants, you're brave enough to learn the damage after.

Octavius Hite · Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 6:36 pm Post subject:

Here, here. Finally some sense on this board. I couldn't agree more. And its not just us saying stuff like this, the Canadian Medical Association CMA states that every sexually active adult should get tested at least once a year as part of your regular physical check up. If you have multiple partners that should go up to every 6-9 months. If you are having unprotected sex with multiple partners (or other risky behaviour) you should be getting tested every 3-6 months.

The last time I was at KHAP (which was like 18 months ago, before I left the Land of K) they told me they were trying to add a rapid syphilis test to the procedure. Hopefully they have done that because having the Syph dramatically increases your risk of catching HIV. Here in Taipei they do both at the same time and all in 20 minutes.