Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jcm87]

I'm sure that at least 5 people will come on here and tell me to use the 'search feature' on this topic but I've been doing that for hours and haven't been able to come to a conclusion. Everyone gives contradictory information (including the links from the FAQ page) and a lot of people seem to disagree on this matter. So I was wondering if there is an accepted answer to this and if someone could answer it or provide a link to the answer. Which is best, national health insurance, some sort of private insurance, travel insurance, using the insurance in your home country, or something else?

Here's my story: my contract says "The employee shall be covered by medical benefits under the Travel Insurance. Half of the premium shall be paid by the employer with the other half paid by the employer." At the very bottom of the contract, it says: "Additional matter : This school doesn�t pay into pension for the Employees. However, the Employee will be covered by medical benefits under the Private Medical Insurance Company. The cost of this coverage will be borne 50% by employer."

So I ask my recruiter to get the national health insurance (and pension plan), to which she says no, that part of the contract is unchangeable. So I ask the guy working at the hagwon about it and he said the private insurance was fine and not worth worrying about. Then he talked to the hagwon boss who apparently said that if I wanted to I could opt for the national health insurance, but that it's more expensive and that the private insurance is better. The boss is very good and trustworthy according to the guy working there. I just sent an email to the recruiter asking for specifics about the private health insurance but haven't heard back yet.

I am covered by my parents' insurance here in the states (I'm under 25) but apparently that probably won't work in Korea. A lot of people say to never accept a contract without national health insurance and are very adamant about how important it is, but always without saying why specifically. I've heard other people say on some threads that they recommend travel insurance over the Korean national health insurance because it's much cheaper. Someone else though said travel insurance is not good if you're working in Korea because it requires you to leave the country for serious treatment. I've heard mixed reviews about Korean national health insurance. Some say it's great, others say it's too expensive...some say it doesn't cover you well enough. I also remember reading a post that said if you have a medical issue you should go to Thailand for treatment because it'll be much better than Korea. I've also heard some people question the quality of Korean health care.

Basically there's just a bunch of contradictory information out there and the same questions keep getting asked over and over again because there's not really a clear answer. Any help would be greatly appreciated by everyone here so that people don't have to keep asking the same questions.

[J.D.]

National insurance is the best, don't sign a contract that weasels out of enrolling you in the system.

[David Gerrington]

[sojusucks]

You should always make sure you have health insurance. You never know what will happen. If you are a full-time teacher you''re supposed to be covered by Korean law. You can visit the health insurance office and ask about your status.

[nathanrutledge]

How sick or injured are you planning to get?

The National Insurance plan only covers illnesses, and it doesn't even cover every illness. There was an article a while back in the Joongang Ilbo about Koreans buying cancer insurance because the national plan does not cover it.

It really comes down to personal choice. You get hurt, you're paying for it yourself. You get cancer, you're paying for it yourself. You travel overseas, you pay for it yourself. The National plan is really very sparse.

That being said, you get a worldwide accident/major medical policy, in addition to the national plan, you'll have coverage for pretty much any situation that arises. Travel insurance is risky, you really have to check on the policies because you are NOT traveling, you are living in Korea. Most US policies don't cover stuff outside of the US, so you have to check that, too.

Long story short, read the fine print, get the coverage you are comfortable with.

[NYC_Gal]

[RMNC]

The government health insurance is also tied to the pension. Anyone who gets anything else is cheating themselves, in my opinion.

[hogwonguy1979]

if i recall wasnt there something in the immig law that said if a company sponsered somebody on an e2 visa etc they were SUPPOSED to enroll them in the nhic in order to get the visa?

emphasis is on SUPPOSED, remember there were ways around it as we all know in the Bill Kapoun incident.

IMHO I wouldnt take a job that didnt enroll you in the nhic. remember accidents happen, heck you could step off a kurb wrong and break a leg, tear an acl etc you need coverage for those things

[jcm87]

Well since I'm young the only thing I'm worried about is getting injured playing soccer or getting hit by a car...or perhaps contracting some sort of disease. So if I go for a Korean insurance plus some sort of international insurance as nathanrutledge suggested, do I go for private insurance plus this insurance of NHIC plus this insurance? The private insurance is much cheaper, and would the international insurance cover all the important stuff? RMNC suggests the NHIC because of the pension plan, but other than that what are the differences in coverage between private insurance and the NHIC?

My biggest question though is why would the recruiter lie to me? Upon receiving the contract I ask to get the insurance changed to the NHIC and she responds and says that that part of the contract is unchangeable. I've heard people say that they are legally obligated to provide this insurance (but from what I understand this depends on how many staff are at the hagwon), so it was a red flag for me. But then the guy working at the hagwon talks to the director, who says he'd be willing to do the NHIC if I wanted (though he said it was worse and more expensive). So to me it sounds like the recruiter didn't even ask the hagwon guy about this. Why? She was willing to change some other details about the contract (although very small). What does she have to gain by not getting me in the NHIC?

[jcm87]

oops