Korean Job Discussion Forums

[pangaea]

Ok, kind of a long story. I was living in Korea, met my fiance there, and I am now pregnant with our first child. He is from Cameroon but is living in Korea and is studying for his PH.D. there. I had to leave Korea on July 1st when I was 8 weeks pregnant because my visa expired and at the time we thought it was best for me to come home and prepare a home for us here. We tried to get married before I left, but because of the complete incompetence/indifference of the staff at the Cameroon consulate, we were not able to. My fiance was supposed to come visit in August but he was denied a tourist visa because the person who interviewed him said he didn't have enough social ties in Korea. I will be filing the paperwork for a fiance visa within the next two weeks, but I now realize it will probably be 6 months to a year before we will see each other again. Our baby is due in February and it is breaking my heart that he probably won't be able to be here for the birth. I'm now beginning to consider moving back to Korea with the baby, whether on a tourist visa or finding a way for my fiance and I to get married so we can stay on his visa, until our paperwork is finished.

Anyway, just wondering, from those of you who have children, how do you feel about their safety, the standard of healthcare there, the quality of childcare you were able to find, etc? Our child will be biracial, which raises even more concerns for me. Any advice would be helpful. Thanks.

[eamo]

You'll be up against it with neither you or your fiance being Korean.

You or him speak much Korean?

As for the baby being biracial.....that won't mean much until school age....and hopefully won't even be an issue then.


Your fiance was denied a tourist visa to your home country because he didn't have enough social ties in Korea? Have you got that right?

[northway]

[pangaea]

eamo wrote:

[Landros]

my wife is Korean but we had our 2 children here in Korea. I was very satisfied with the care she got during both births. both were C-sections. Our son was born at Samsung Cheil Hospital and daughter at a different hospital near Buchon since we were living at a different apartment by then. I'm sure the health care is much cheaper than the States and that the little Korean you need is of no relevance. Doctors and Nurses use English rather well or at least have someone on that would help.

The fact that your baby will be non Korean really makes no difference. Korean caregivers will give care.

Some weird things though. You can share a hospital room with a bunch of other women and the husband usually sleeps over. so with relatives visiting rooms can get pretty chaotic. We sprung for a private room.

Good luck getting all your paper work sorted.

[Quack Addict]

My wife and I had our baby at the Hangang University hospital in Guri. It was top notch. Child care is outrageously expensive from what I've heard. My Canadian buddy had his daughter in a child care place and she was sick 24/7/365.

Koreans have a little different idea of what 'child care' entails. Remember you are coming to a country that allows babies to sit in their mothers lap in the front seat of a car. Good luck with that.

[Unposter]

Yes, you should be okay in Korea.

The only thing I would be concerned about is that you cannot get Korean health insurance without a job and without Korean insurance Korean health care can be quite expensive. I've read one story where they charged a U.S. businessman 6 figures (dollars) for some basic care with the explanation that he would have had to pay that much in the U.S.

But, if you have Korean health insurance, then yes, you should be able to get good care. And, with a little money, life in Korea is just fine. I don't think you would have much in the way of problems.

[alice_w]

There is a forum for expat parents in Korea. Perhaps try it:
http://expatparents.50.forumer.com/

[Lolimahro]

[freddy teacher]

please dont wear a baby backpack..despite what koreans think, it's never a good idea to wear a human as a backpack and let their head hit poles and passing people on the subway...