Korean Job Discussion Forums

[br1027]

How does the quality of healthcare in Korea compare with Western countries and Japan? If you had to have surgery done there, would you fly home or would feel comfortable having it done there?

My family is freaking out a bit and worried that if anything happened to me the hospitals there aren't up to Western standards and they'd fly me home. Seems like they're overreacting a bit, but I did make me start to think about it.

Any experiences, good or bad withh the Korean healthcare system?

[Senior]

I certainly wouldn't want to need intense medical care in a Korean hospital. But I don't want that to happen anywhere!

I don't know where you are from, but compared to the states, at least a serious illness won't bankrupt you. And you can get treatment straight away. No waiting list, like you will have in the commonwealth countries.

If you are a healthy person, I would say you don't have anything to worry about. The level of care I have received has been comparable or better to NZ. Insurance makes it cheap as well. Less than a few dollars for prescriptions, and consultations cost a few dollars also. If you have specific needs, or any mental health issues at all, I would say stay away.

Korea has a higher national product than a many of our home countries, and if you include the untaxed/unmeasured economy (as high as 30% of the total, according to some estimates), it is much bigger than all except the States. So is it a surprise that it would have a decent level of health care? We are in a developed modern economy, not Somalia.

[Unposter]

Just my opinion but if I were to have any kind of "serious" surgery, I would go to a big hospital in Seoul (or possibly - I am really not sure - another big city) and not in a local hospital in the countryside.

From my personal experience, which includes major surgery, the care I got at the large hospitals in Seoul were first-rate.

I have not had major surgery, thankfully, at a local hospital but I have used them and my experience has been surprisingly bad. Just my personal experience - but there can be huge differences in the quality of care in Korea.

If you are from the U.S., you will find costs much cheaper in Korea. If you come from a country that has good, socialized medicine, you may not, though I have never experienced a waiting list in Korea.

I have never met a doctor from a large hospital in Seoul (and I would assume all do) that has not spent at least one year practicing medicine in a Western country.

[Senior]

Agreed.

I had an acquaintance who had a hernia operation at Samsung Hospital in Busan and he couldn't stop raving about the quality and value. He went in complaining of pain on Monday and had the operation on Wednesday at a total cost of one million won.

On a holistic level, I don't think the Korean system is perfect. I understand it acts on free market principles, but still has to be periodically baled out by the govt. Completely off topic, but interesting to me, at least.

[pangaea]

I agree with the other posters. For anything serious I would go to a hospital in Seoul. There is also a foreigner clinic at one of the university hospitals that is headed by a doctor who is either American or Canadian. Can't remember which but other posters can probably help me out. I know his name is Dr. Linton.

If you are really worried about it, you should consider getting travel insurance that would cover a medical evacuation in case of a serious illness or injury. I was looking into it before I left but just didn't have the cash available.

As far as routine medical care, I have found it is much quicker, more convenient, and more accessible here than in the U.S. Still unsure about the quality. I was extremely sick for about 6 weeks when I first got to Korea. Sinuses completely blocked, chest congestion, felt like I was walking around in a fog, completely miserable. I finally broke down and went to the doctor. He talked to me for about 3 minutes and I'm not sure if he even bothered to look in my ears or down my throat before diagnosing me with a cold and allergies. No cultures, no bloodwork. I was prescribed some medicine that knocked out the worst of it, but it was another month and a half before I had whatever it was completely worked out of my system. I guess it could have been a serious reaction to all the new allergens I was hit with in the spring, but I'm still not convinced I didn't have something a lot more serious that I was just fortunate enough to fight off.

One thing I do like here is that you don't have to as* around getting a referral to a specialist when you know what you need. I sprained my ankle and went straight to an orthopedist. I got an x-ray, a splint, and a shot at a total cost of about 25,000 won. I had 2 weeks of physical therapy at around 3,000 won per visit. I went for one follow up visit that I think was less than 10,000 won. So, total cost of treatment for my sprained ankle was about 65,000 won. It would have cost me at least 4 times that at home.

So, yes, you will have access to decent medical care for routine things, but I would definitely consider medical travel insurance just to cover you in case of a serious medical emergency.

[Senior]

One thing I love here is how you can go straight to a specialist without a referral. I have shit box skin which flairs up during the Korean spring (also sensitive to heat and cool, wind and rain and solar anomalies )and my GF got me into an A class dermatologist with a simple phone call.

On a side note, my criticism of doctors (the world over) will always be this. A good DR. can treat your symptoms but is likely clueless about how to treat the cause. I think I have some idea about cause and effect in my own body, but I find Drs anywhere in the world don't want to hear about it.

I asked the sub DR I had last time I went there, if the acne on my back was caused by the meds for the dermatitis on my back. He ignored, when I pressed he shrugged. This isn't a Korean thing. I've had NZ Drs shrug or ignore as well. I hate that attitude Drs have. You can't possibly know anything about the subject of your own health. As if they even do?

Anyways, massive side rant. Don't get sick, and you should be fine.

[Y.RL.C]

Always go to a University hospital unless it's simple stuff like stomache pains or flu. Some clinics can be a little dodgy, and could be overpriced, especially if the doctor speak English well.

You should get a private travelors insurance even if your school pays half the national medical insurance just in case. Most of the stuff are covered, but it doesn't cover for things that are involved in surgical procedures and stuff like MRI scans.

AIG has a pretty decent insurance plan for around 250,000won a year.

Oh, and FYI, I heard that some medications like painkillers we have here are pretty useless to someone who was brought up on Western medication. You might want to pack up some off the counter drugs like pain killers, flu pills and so on.

[Milkman Dan]

[hari seldon]

[laguna]

[Unposter]

I'm pretty sure MRIs are covered. I think I paid about 250,000 won for the last MRI I had but that is off the top of my head.

[InDaGu]

I just got out of the hospital yesterday after 2 weeks. I was in a motorcycle accident that resulted in my shoulder being pretty torn up.

I can't speak too much on cost, since the offending taxi driver's insurance covered everything, but the level of care I received was superb. One piece of advice I can give to anyone is not to assume you should go to such and such hospital because it is the biggest and best. Many Korean hospitals have specialties, as was the case for me. My hospital was not the biggest in Daegu, but they specialize in bone and joint surgeries. So it would be worthwhile to do a little research.

Aside from the actual medical care, everything was pretty no-frills compared to what I was used to. I was put into a room with 5 other men, and was initially very put off by this idea. However, I am glad that I didn't opt to pay for a private room. Our room was like it's own little community (even though none of them spoke any English). Everyone and their visitors were helping each other out. The first couple days my roomies were helping me get out of bed, and one guy even tucked me into bed the first couple nights! I got to know them and their families pretty well, and the guys who got discharged before me actually came back to visit us later. They even had a little soju party in the room.

In regards to the staff, I felt like they doted on me a little as the only foreigner in the entire hospital. It seemed like everyone got a kick out of me being there. At night, there was only one nurse on the whole floor, and she had a cot that she slept on at the nurses' station.

Another piece of advice would be to brush up on some medically-related Korean before going to the hospital. Only one of my nurses spoke any English, and that was beginner-level. Fortunately I had a little situational phrasebook with a chapter called "With the Doctor" that I was able to reference. Oh, and expect to be very bored. Try to bring something to entertain yourself. My medications made it difficult for me to focus enough to read, but the hospital had wireless internet.

[br1027]

Thanks all for the very helpful replies.

I'll be teaching in the public school. Does anyone know if the insurance you get in Korea covers you when you're abroad when you go to Japan, China or if you go home for a couple of weeks back in the States?