Korean Job Discussion Forums

Dylan · Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Location: Changwon

I'm just finishing up my first year here but I remember that for the first 6 months or so, I was sick almost all the time. Nothing serious, ever, but just constant colds, flus and the like. I just chalked it up to my body not being used to the germs here (as has been said before in this thread). I think that everybody, or almost everybody, gets sick here for a while after they come simply due to your lack of immunity to the common bugs that are floating around. And constant contact with children, of course, doesn't help. It's funny though.... my gf always tells me whenever I'm sick "oh, you're so weak! You get sick all the time!" and my answer is always "Wait 'til we head back to Canada and then you'll see... oh, yes, you'll see....." Twisted Evil

OiGirl · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Location: Hoke-y-gun

paperbag princess · Joined: 07 Mar 2004 Location: veggie hell

also, get a humidifier in you apt. that helps a bit as well. the korean style heating dries out the air a lot.

try to eat a balanced diet with lots of different coloured veggies and fruit. that keeps your vitamins/minerals balanced.

i was here for a year, then i went home for a month (didn't get sick in canada) returned here and was promptly sick a week after arriving. the air is bad here.

Clutch Cargo · Joined: 28 Feb 2003 Location: Sim City 2005

I'm bringing a supply of echinacea with me this time as I seemed to have a cold every 2nd week during my 1st stint. Apparently this stuff boosts the immune system if taken when the 1st symptoms of a cold appear.
Is this available in K? The root of the plant is sposed to be much more powerful than the other bits. My friends swear by it (and I don't mean they say "jeez, what the bloody hell is this?")

OiGirl · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Location: Hoke-y-gun

Garlic, green tea, and ginseng are also good immune-boosters easily found in Korea.

peppermint · Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2005 6:51 pm Post subject:

I use echinacea at the first sign of a cold and it rarely develops beyond the sniffles. I don't think it's available here though- I have friends mail it to me.

Wangja · Joined: 17 May 2004 Location: Seoul, Yongsan

mindmetoo · Joined: 02 Feb 2004

eamo · Joined: 08 Mar 2003 Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.

Do Koreans traveling abroad get a lot of colds? Curious.

I'm very proud of my bodies immune system. I get a cold (and I don't mean sniffles! That's not a cold) about once every two-three years. About 5 days is all they last.

My secret?

A strict regime of cigarettes and alcohol as well not going spastic if I forget to wash my hands after a pee.

Too much hygiene out there. It's ruining your anti-bodies. "Get Dirty To Stay Healthy!!" That's my new book.

rawiri · Joined: 01 Jun 2003 Location: Lovely day for a fire drill.

It's all about the chigae...get into some sundubu chigae (clam and tofu soup) or yuk gae chung (spicy beef soup)...i have both of these at least 3 times a week...i'm feeling absolutely fantastic...lost about 7kg's...am fighting fit and ready to go...(aside from mondays where the weekends have consisted of more than 40 hours continuous boozing...then im an utter wreck).

Yu_Bum_suk · Joined: 25 Dec 2004

Hogwans must be one of the worst environments for catching airborne illnesses. The kids come from every school in the community and bring any illness that's circulating around the city. And of course almost no one stays home if sick.

igotthisguitar · Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2005 4:46 am Post subject:

>. Good thread ...

Lots of insight & input. Don`t think anobody mentioned the AIR yet though did they ??? Friggin: traffic congestion ... fumes ... cough / hack ... industrial disease.

Yah, Hagwons are great environments for breeding & containing germs ( e.g. virtually ALL the kids have to be TAUGHT something as basic as covering up when they cough ).

Be sure wherever you go to wash your hands ... religiously.

Was diagnosed with bronchitis when i first got here just at the tail end of world cup. After 15 years i stopped smoking 7 months ago ( the day after Buddha`s birthday ), symptoms are less severe, although i was sicker than a dog 2 months ago for close to 5 weeks !!!

Chills, night sweats, fevers, headaches, coughing up fleghm, lethargy etc.

Feel pretty good now - make a habit of wearing a MASK whenever i go outside.

Good luck & be sure to take care of yourself.

teachingld2004 · Joined: 29 Mar 2004

My first year here I was almost constantly sick. Now I rarely am.
Korean parents send their children to school unless they are half dead. (oops, they even send them when they are half dead). By our water cooler there are 6 plastic cups, and all the kids use them, whether they are sick or not. I have my own coffee cup that no one touches. I have one solution, sort of. When the kids come in sick, I have a seperate table, or section of the room I call "hospital". I try and stay away from them, and I keep them away from the other kids, if I can. I do not lend them pencils, or touch their books. (really). I wash my hands after every class. I take 500mg of "C" each day. When I am really sick and need the doctor, I get him to give me meds for 7 days. I told him my body is not the same as a Koreans. (they are given meds for 3 days). I don't drink or smoke. Hsven't a clue if anything I do works, all I know is I am hardly sick now. But that first year.................oh man

Ilsanman · Joined: 15 Aug 2003 Location: Bucheon, Korea

I had a case of bronchitis for 2 months, in Jan and Feb 2004. Since then, I have had a 'half cold', meaning I had half the normal symptoms and it lasted half as long as a normal cold.

That's it. Super healthy since then, and I don't work out.

rawiri · Joined: 01 Jun 2003 Location: Lovely day for a fire drill.

[quote="Ilsanman"].

That's it. Super healthy since then, and I don't work out.[/quote]

uuummm....reallly ....nothing?...you don't walk a bit for a couple of hours a week or tae kwon do or anything?...if i didn't do some form of exercise over here i'd go mad...how do i know?...because i stopped exercising for a bit...and i did go through a stage of temporary insanity culminating in a 10 day booze fest in itaewon....but thats another story.