Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sadguy]

is the one at hannam dong cheaper?

[whitestboyalive]

The international clinic is not bad. But the doctor there does seem to believe in pill-based 'detox' which, of course, is pseudo-science. But hey, it makes him good money (costs over $100 for a 3 day detox package which equate to a handful of pills and a can of laxative). So there's a bit of a profit-motive there, and in my belief, docs shouldn't take advantage of their patients. But he probably found that so many people were asking for this detox package he figured he'd 'satisfy the customer' and make some awesome money. Win-win I suppose.

[vincentmiser]

And you guys know he drives a Porsche every day right?
My bill there recently was over 250,000.
I wonder what his markup is...

[dharma bum]

do they have an english-speaking dermatologist at the soonchunhyang clinic? i need to get a wart removed and am not sure where to go...

[Capo]

I like the International Clinic at Korea University Hospital in Anam Dong. The doctor was trained and practised in the US for years, so doesn't go over the top with perscriptions. He is very friendly too. IF you need to use the any of the other hospital familities they will provide you with a translater/guide for free.

To the post above they have a deratology department.

I would recomend making an appointment, I've always just called the day i wanted to go and never had a problem. Shame it's a bit far from where i live now, but I guess I hope I don't need the doctor too.

[ed]

dharma bum, just two weeks ago I removed a wart from my hand.

I tried freezing but that didn't work so I googled the net for weeks until I came across a home remedy.

apple vinegar. I applied every day for a week then it fell off.

works for me and very cheap.

[dharma bum]

thanks, ed. i might try that out. would you mind if i asked what method you used? (i found several involving apple vinegar when i did a web search...)

[liveinkorea316]

I have been to the doctor Kim in Itaewon International Clinic and I thought he was professional and the service was good. I recommend him to others.

[Illysook]

To have a wart removed, just pop into any skin clinic. They use a laser and it costs around 10,000 won each.

[ed]

I heard and read that lasering a wart might leave a little scar.

I have a tiny pink spot where my wart used to be. I suspect that will go away eventually.

my method was:

soak a cotton ball in apple vinegar and tape it on the wart just before bed and throw away in the morning and do this for 5 days.

first the wart turned white then black then fell off in the shower.

also, there is a drinkable apple vinegar that is supposed to help with a lot of things.

http://www.earthclinic.com/Remedies/acvinegar.html

[zeppelin]

[MollyBloom]

[bombenhagen]

I have no beef with Dr. Kim at the International Clinic. Like someone said, very professional and he knows what he is doing. His nursing staff is a little iffy though. The only thing I questioned was when I was prescribed some antibiotics they automatically gave me a handful of probiotics to take with them...50$...the antibiotics cost me like 3$. I'm sure I could of refused but at the time I didn't fully know what was going on.

[Milkman Dan]

I've been to Dr. Kim's clinic in Itaewon in addition to a couple other international clinics and smaller regional hospitals in Korea.

In my experience, Dr. Kim has the most inflated cost for evaluation and prescriptions. I won't disclose the meds I was prescribed, but difference between the Itaewon clinic and a general hospital was amazing - I forget the exact amounts, but I remember the price difference was almost doubled.

I also feel it's REALLY shady that the international clinic sells prescription drugs and does diagnoses at the same time. I'm pretty sure that's illegal in most countries, and it definitely creates a potential conflict of interest. Add Dr. Kim's liberal use of meds and insanely inflated price, it's not hard to see that place is exploiting foreigners.

I'll never go back to Dr. Kim, and I recommend other foreigners stop contributing to his Porsche fund as well.

[liveinkorea316]

I would be a little suspect to go to any doctor that didn't drive a nice car.

Would you go to a poor accountant or Lawyer? So why would you trust your life and health to someone who doesn't?

The best idea is to not need to go to the doctor so much in the first place. In that regard I find Dr Kim great. He always takes extra blood tests that I was not aware hed was testing for and let me know what vitamins I need more of and what lifestyle changes I need.

My goal is to go there as little as possible. When I do go, I am happy to pay a good price for a good service.