Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Sector7G]

I have been in Korea since Sept. 2007, and can't believe I have not heard mention of this before, at least on Dave's if no where else.

Anyway, a Korean teacher who I am friends with told me his 12 year old son was recovering from a "minor" operation he had last week. When I asked if he was ok he told me there was nothing to worry about - it was just a "routine" circumcision. Routine? I thought the only time circumcision was routine was when it was done at birth.

Not in Korea! Apparently here it is common to wait until the boy is around 12, supposedly to give the boy the option of choosing for himself. While I certainly applaud the fact that boys are given the choice to determine for themselves, apparently over 95% of boys opt to have it done, societal pressure being what it is in Korea. That has got to hurt. My friend says his son is still walking funny and it has been several days.

Being the useless trivia addict that I am, I had to find out more.

http://www.circumstitions.com/Korea.html

This fact struck me:

Circumcision itself was almost unknown in South Korea before before the US trusteeship, 1945-48.

And this guy makes a pretty good case against the practice:

http://uncutnews1.blogspot.com/2008/12/south-koreas-circumcision-phenomenon.html

Believe me, I know how strong societal pressure can be. But knowing what I know now, if I had the chance to go back in time and choose for myself, I don't think I would have it done. But I really don't have any regrets, and if it had to be done, I am glad it was done when I was an infant.

Any other thoughts? I would be especially interested in what Korean men had to say about the pressure(if any) they felt during that time.

[MollyBloom]

I had a 2nd grader get one last year. The kids said to me, "Teacher, Teddy's pee-pee was bleeding over the weekend. He got cut." Wonderful.

[Gibberish]

Oh god, not a circumcision thread! You'd better close this thread before it becomes a "circumcision is torture!/circumcision stops disease!" s***fest

[Sector7G]

[djsmnc]

[Illysook]

I clicked on the link and read this bit of misinformation:

[SHANE02]

This freaked me out.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/3139627/Four-year-old-hospitalised-after-botched-circumcision

[definitely maybe]

I had a group cancel classes for week in December because one of the members was getting a circumcision.

[andrewchon]

When they get conscripted into the Korean Army,
they get the snip-snip if they still have the tip.
So, it's preferable to have it done early and
also avoid the tight-you-know-what problem.
I've heard that during the 80's, it was fashionable for inductees to ask the
mohel aka army peni-curist to deliberately make a mistake,
so that he'll be in-demand later as a pleasure machine.

[neandergirl]

In the US, general anesethetic (being 'knocked out') isn't commonly used for circumcision in neonates/infants, but there are a number of other anesthetic procedures that are available. In state I live in, the most commonly used are the dorsal penile nerve block (local anesthetic injected at the base of the *beep*), the ring block (a local injected mid-shaft) or a combination of the two. EMLA cream (a topical anesthetic) may be used to deaden the area of injection or for the entire procedure itself (there is some question as to whether this, on it's own, is enough but this may be because the EMLA cream isn't applied for a long enough period prior to the procedure).

Whether or not anesthetic is used depends on parents, the setting, and physicians. National studies going back a number of years indicate that about 70% of pediatricians use some form, whereas GPs and OBs are much less likely to offer/use it. As Illysook pointed out when it's done in a synagogue, no pain relief is given - this might be because the procedure is done slightly differently, with less 'crushing/clamping', and tends to take much less time than hospital/clinc based procedures.

Interestingly (at least to me) there've been studies showing that a sucrose or glucose pacifier given to sooth the baby is extremely effective in control pain response.

[Panda]

Well said, neandergirl.

The new borns are actually very insensitive to pain...the general anesthesia (if used) mainly is to tranquilize the babies...

Up to date, there are still lots of debate as to whether or not should an infant get circumcision done

Yes

No

Review

East Asian people do not have their babies foreskin removed routinely.

In OP's student's case, my guess is his parents might have been worried his foreskin is too long...

From my limited personal experience, I do find circumcised guys are MUCH less sensitive than those who are not...the latter are better IMHO

[Sector7G]

[NovaKart]

So men there are forcibly circumcised when they're conscripted into the army? That's horrible. Being forced to have a syrgical procedure done on the *beep* no less. A serious human rights violation. But is that really true? Why would the parents wait until they're around 12 to make the decision themselves if they'll eventually have it taken off when they're adults.

In Turkey almost everyone is circumcised of course. Maybe the small number of Christians are not. I'm not, and my BF has a couple of times suggested I do it and convert to Islam along with it. I asked if I could have the circumcision ceremony and wear the white clothes and sceptre the little boys use but of course that would be rediculous for an adult. I'll never do it. He actually had it done as a baby and that's become more common now in Turkey.

[NovaKart]

I just looked it up and someone mentioned on another forum that it's no longer a requirement in the army.

[Young FRANKenstein]