Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Lekker]

I just moved to a new neighborhood. For sometime, I have had some problems with the skin on my feet, I will not go into details.

So I found a local Pi Bo Kwa and walked in with my insurance card. The women at the desk start giggling, tee hee hee, ha ha, blah. I guess to them, I looked like a jack in the box. Then they take my insurance card and stamped it all up and scribbled all over it, then one of them notions me to sit down and wait for the doctor.

I am waiting in the room with 2 women, both who obviously had some kind of reconstructive facial surgery, as well as a really old Hailmony with brown moles all over her face, and a man and his screaming daughter. Then another woman comes out and looks at me, the odd one in the bunch, then looks at them and back at me again. Then she starts bitching about me (I could understand her saying something, questioning why a foreigner was in their office, etc.), whining and moaning then picks up my insurance info, makes a phone call, carries on a conversation about a foreigner and his insurance, then she hangs up and leaves.

A few minutes later, she comes out, calls my name, then I go into the doctor's office. He is a middle aged man, glasses, Republican Comb over hair cut, looks at me like I am some kind of freak, then says "I am sorry, we can not help you here. Go to Yonsei University hospital where they deal with foreigners like yourself. I can not speak English."

I tell him that I can understand Korean. He says again "I am sorry, we can not help you here. I can not speak English."

This was in Hongdae. He was very polite to me, but *beep* that. If this was elsewhere he would have his license taken away for turning someone away because they weren't the same race as every other patient who came in the door. I pay into the system here, I am here legally, I am insured, but I am refused service because I am not Korean?

Needless to say I shook my head at him and said I was sorry to have walked into his office and bothered him on a Saturday morning. I didn't shake his outstretched hand and walked out. As I was walking out, the woman who was fussing before I went in stopped me, and said something to me as in I had to pay something for the consultation or something. I shook my head, took my insurance info back from them, apologized and walked out.

I took a cab to Yonsei University Severance Hospital International Residence Clinic, where I was greeted by a Kyopo from Boston. He was very polite, he was there volunteering on a Saturday morning in the International Clinic. He was very nice to me. Everyone else there was very nice to me as well. Even if they didn't speak English to me, they were still very helpful. If you must know, I had a few plantar warts cryogenically frozen off my feet and now I am in excruciating pain and I can't walk, but it was worth it not having to be disrespected by some as swipe in a white lab coat with a circumcised *beep* for a haircut.

First off, I call BS on the "I can not speak English" nonsense. Because he told me in perfect English that he was not capable of speaking English. Secondly, he is a licensed medical practitioner. Every single doctor I have met in Seoul speaks and understands English because they have all studied out of western textbooks in order to obtain a license to practice westernized medicine.

So there you have it. I don't think it was a "I can't speak your language so I am sorry that I can not help you" kind of thing.

It was more of a "I can speak your language but I am automatically going to assume you can't speak mine, as well as I can't be Fn assed to get off my lazy ass to help you. Additionally you aren't one of us, so I will not be assisting you" kind of thing.

I don't expect to walk in and have everyone speak to me in English. I don't expect people to bend over backwards to help me. I know I am not superior than the rest of the people here. I know that I am not Korean, and I will accept that I am not the doctors number one priority, but I am a human being. Why is it like this here? This happened in Southern California when a man walked his mother into an Emergency Room because of heart palpitations and because she could only speak Spanish and very little English, the doctors and nurses on duty refused to help her. She ended up falling on the floor. They were still walking over her as her son was on the floor with her calling out for someone to help her. Nobody would lift a finger. A few moments passed and she was pronounced dead. The hospital was shut down shortly afterwards.

Nothing here is going to change. This is why Korea, as well equipped with well educated scientists, doctors, and engineers as it is, maybe even over saturated, will forever remain second class in the global scheme of things. As much as I like it here, this is NOT the hub of Asia.

[Stormy]

I understand you being pissed. If that happened to me I'd not be a happy chappy. But I've been to the local hospital in my region of Korea once & they could not have been more helpful if they'd tried. Plus the doctor spoke excellent English & looked like a god.

One experience does not a gospel make.

[crescent]

I'd just like to know why dermatology clinics are almost always partnered with urology clinics.

[Kimchi Cha Cha]

That sucks. I guess I've been really lucky here going to doctors, clinics and medical centers, I often get the tee-hee-hee routine from the girls on the counter or nurses or folk around the place, but I can't think of a bad experience I've had with a doctor here. They've always been polite, helpful and concerned about my condition at the time. That said, I've experienced some rude service at various drugstores from time to time, for whatever reason.

Experiences like that can be really draining and make you angry. It was good that experience at Yonsei was much better than what you experienced at the first place.

[cornholio1]

Hey Man similar experience here. The only difference was it wasn't plantars warts on my feet it was something different on something else if you know what I mean. Same dirty looks and all. The problem is not that that they can't speak English but they don't treat skin problems persay, the plantars wart thing would have been just as easily removed at a beauty shop. the problem is that with most pibu clinics is that they are for asthetics only in other words just to make people look better. In a big university hospital they practice real medicine. therefore they help you. also the thing he was saying sounds more like a poorly worded excuse for" I am sorry I cannot help you I would like to but I don't know how to explain that I am not a real doctor anymore to you so, sorry and thank you for your patronage please pay my beautiful young assistant (with whom I am cheating on my wife) on your way out.

[Bibbitybop]

[jackson7]

To answer the whole "why are urology clinics tagged onto dermatology clinics" question...

A Korean friend of mine is a professor at a medical university, and I asked her the same question. She said that everyone wants to be in dermatology, and it is extremely profitable in Korea (thank God for vanity), but it takes a client base to stay in business. She said most doctors specialize in both, and then drop the urology part of their practice after they are profitable. I imagine the massage parlors are enough to keep the urology part of the practice going. I had to go to one last year for being stupid with a K-girlfriend of mine (read old posts) and saw a bunch of K-soldiers in the waiting room. I imagine it WASN'T for a skin problem.

[smedini]

[Imbroglio]

OP, don't tell me you actually paid that consultation fee.

Please tell me you didn't pay them.


Please.

[RJjr]

[Atavistic]

[Lekker]

[Imbroglio]

Thank you for not paying them. THANK YOU

[Hootsmon]

[crescent]