Healthcare - Korean Style

So healthcare here is pretty awesome too.

After being here a month I finally had my health check. This is required of everyone when starting a new job in Korea, alien or citizen.  Most importantly for me, I need this to get my alien registration card, and subsequently get on payroll, get health insurance, open a bank account, etc.  The hospital we went to was so pretty. The waiting area had these huge purple comfy leather couches, and the beds were all outfitted with colorful blankets and pillows. I am told there is quite a bit of competition between the hospitals so each will spend a considerable amount of money making sure their’s is not only the best medically, but also the most attractive and comfortable, far above American standards.

You don’t make appointments here. For anything.  You just show up when you need their services.  My director lived in Canada for a period of time and even made a comparison about how horrible Canadian healthcare is in comparison.  Having lived in Florida for the last 8 years, I could write a pretty good size list of people that go running for the Canadian border just for healthcare because of how much better it is there than in America.  That by itself should speak pretty clearly about the quality of medical care here.  It rocks, even if I don’t know what they are saying.

We arrived, got signed in, and I was taken back to begin my screening all within about 10 minutes.  During the next twenty minutes the following was done…

blood pressure - 117/79

Height - 168.1 cm

weight - get real, but it was in kg so that made it extra fun!

vision check

hearing test

chest x-ray - and it showed up on the wall immediately!

pee in a cup - I can’t pee on command, sorry…

blood drawn

I didn’t have to change clothes or strategically remove anything. No silly hospital gown, just quickly and politely shuffled from one room to the next. Results come back in a week or so and then I can apply to be an official legal alien in SoKo.  This was such a better experience than most all of my medical history in the States, well, except for Celebration Health… That was pretty fancy.

On a much more fun note, I finally learned how to download American tv!  In the past 48 hours I have downloaded multiple seasons of Two and a Half Men.  I love that show. 

Oh, and tomorrow I have something really cool planned!  Well, really cool for me and that family and close friends will absolutely appreciate for me.  I’m not 100% sure that it will work yet, but I’ll let you know soon enough…  It’s gonna be awesome.