Annyeonghaseyo! Yes, all those syllables mean ‘hello’ in Korean. Literally translates to something like; ‘I politely wish peace to you’. One main reason I chose to move to Korea is the healthcare system (which I pay into monthly). I just got back from the doctor, and the experience was so great I had to write about it.
Experience #1) The Dentist. This one went about exactly as I expected. Background: ~6 months ago I went to a dentist in USA who after taking a full set of x rays recommended a root canal on a rear molar. I did some research and decided I don’t want a root canal. He said basically oh you’re one of them, ok and recommended another alternative dentist that can do high quality implants too. I was so disturbed by the alternative dentist I never even showed up to the consultation. Went back to the original dentist he said oh yea we can do an extraction and implant for you, it’ll just be titanium instead of the super new cutting edge stuff. I said ok cool, but too late, moving to Korea soon.
In Daegu where I’m living now, I resaerched a lot of different dentists. I decided on SMART dental; they specialize in all the new high tech stuff, including 3D image technology. The main reason I went in was to get a 3D scan of this molar, not just a 2D x ray. They refused. They took another x ray and told me the same thing. Their dogma is worse though; after the dentist who saw me talked to the director they said even if you were in extreme pain we would not do an extraction, must be root canal first.
HOWEVER; it was still an excellent experience. I paid nothing. The evaluation was comprehensive; not just an x ray. Also took HD camera pics. Everything was super clean, super fast, the people were all helpful and polite. I have zero bad feelings.
Experience #2) The Ortho. My left shoulder been feeling funny for a few days, lots of bruising, feels deformed compared to the right one, maybe it’s dislocated? So that’s what I went to learn about today. Most hospitals close by 2pm on Saturday. I arrived right around 2pm to the closest hospital in walking distance I could find by a quick search. Talked to a pharmacist, she helped me find one 2 subway stops away that closes at 4, so I went there. Got there around 2:30 and I was out by 3pm. Registration, waiting, multiple consultations, x-rays, steroid injection, all that took 30 minutes. The total cost was 66k won ($48 USD). My monthly tax/payment to the national health insurance plan is 100k won ($72.5). Went downstairs to the pharmacy and paid 5k won ($3.5) to get a few pills; 2x ant-acid and 1x anti-inflammatory. Painkillers cause stomach trouble but I’ve never had a doctor prescribe stomach-fixers to go along with the painkillers.
No bone problems or dislocation with my shoulder. He couldn’t explain why one shoulder is a bit deformed/more bony than the other one. Could be just how it’s been for years, maybe since birth. The slight pain I am feeling is either arthritis or tendonitis.
Conclusions: Considering how unbelievably fast and cheap and high quality these 2 experiences have been I will not hesitate to go back even for small things if I can. One thing that was different here than most other Asian countries is that the male doctor spoke the best English while the female receptionists spoke the worst English. This is typically the exact opposite of most Asian countries I go too.
Ethos is alive and well in Korea. They are seriously lacking Ananda, as expected. We’ll see how things go on planet Earth before the next planDemic comes… until then, God Bless You.