[HanCinema's Korea Diaries] "Asan" May 18th-19th

...Well, the plan was for me to go to Asan anyway. Asan is located at the very southern tip of the Seoul subway system. I was working on a route that would take me to Muju in time for the film festival (which starts today). Unfortunately all that time in the city made me ill, and an inability to find proper lodgings in Asan only aggravated my physical condition. So for a little change of place, instead of tourism, I'm going to discuss a topic for which I am unfortunately an expert. Being sick in South Korea.

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South Korea is actually a pretty good place to be sick while traveling, all things considered. Pharmacies (약국) are quite easy to find. For all the trouble I have getting lost in the middle of nowhere I can usually count on a pharmacy being within a few blocks of any inhabited area. The omnipresence of water coolers also means that I can take the medicine at any time, again, provided an inhabited area.

It also helps that farmacies are set up like convenience stores. Most of the time, you can easily have a conversation with whoever's behind the counter. Lines are nonexistent, so it's easy to take time to describe symptoms and have the pharmacist recommend a medicine. When feeling so weak I can barely move, I really do not need to be stuck thinking about which of the myriad available medicine is appropriate for my situation. I can't even understand most medical terminology in English.

An important caveat to the usefulness of South Korean pharmacies is, of course, the degree to which you can make yourself understood. Basic Korean should get the job done, but even basic English is probably good enough if you speak slowly and simply. My throat hurts (points to throat). 목이 아파 (points to throat). If worse comes to worse you can try going to a hospital. It's four times as expensive, though, which isn't as bad as it sounds when you consider a trip to the pharmacy is maybe four dollars.

Traditional medicine (한방악) is also an option. It costs about as much, and surprisingly enough, can also be found at pharmacies. Although you'd probably have to request it specifically, assuming the pharmacy even stocks the stuff at all. They usually but do not always appear in pouch form, and are supposed to be drunk. Traditional medicine does not taste very good, although really, what medicine does?

Way back when I was an English teacher and got sick a few months in, my boss got me traditional medicine, mostly because there was a tradional clinic (한의원) right next to the school. I was skeptical of the stuff at the time, since it didn't really work that well and I ended up having to take conventional medicine instead. But in my most recent outing being sick, symptoms came back after exhausting ten cold pills so I gave traditional medicine three meal cycles and that was enough to allow for a full recovery.

The South Korean medical system isn't just good for when you're traveling either. Right before I left Susaek I felt like my ears were getting plugged up and was surprised to find a local ear specialist who cleaned them up for only a few dollars. This was an office only a few blocks away from my apartment. I was in and out of the facility within twenty minutes, which seems outright insane considering the weeks of pain I had to go through in the United States before I could get an ear infection fixed.

But be warned- language strikes again. I had to be referred an otorhinolaryngolist (이비인후과) from a normal doctor, and I didn't have the slightest idea what that was supposed to be. Attempts to educate me through a Korean-English dictionary were of limited use, since that's pretty obscure latin compared to just saying "ear doctor". Which just goes to show- in a world where it's easy to actually meet an otorhinolaryngolist, people will come up with easier to remember names for them.

...Oh, and here's the only picture I was able to take in Asan- that time I ran into a bunch of people having a party at an obscure riverside while I was trekking several kilometers in search or lodging. In retrospect that's the best way to deal with sickness in being Korea. By being sensible and taking the bus instead.

Also I should note for accuracy's sake one long-winded story a woman told me about her horrible dentist last year. She wanted me to mention it in an article. I have no idea why she thought this would help but just so you know, there is in fact at least one very terrible dentist in Seoul, somewhere.

Article by William Schwartz