Medicine and Doctors in Korea

I have a persisting cough, so I decided to go get some meds. Unfortunately, this was not going to be as easy as I first though. Pharmacies in Korea are free-standing buildings run by a pharmacist. Beside simple things like ibuprofen, you cannot get any medicine from stores. Very few medicines are over the counter. Pharmacies typically have a green cross sign above them or a mortar and pestle image. So, I was really worried, because I did not have enough knowledge of the Korean language to explain what I needed. It was also the weekend, so I couldn't ask one of the Korean teachers to tell me what to say. So, I bravely set forth to get some meds from the pharmacy down the street. Luckily for me, things went better than expected. I started to act out my symptoms, the pharmacist looked at me and said "Cough medicine?" and I said "YES~!" Then, he browsed his wall-o-meds and gave me a box and then told me "two tablets every day." I thanked him and paid him $2 for the meds. I love Korea. <3

Picture of my cough pills.

Also, doctor offices do not exist as we know them in the US (at least as far as I know). If you need to see a doctor, you have to go to a hospital. If they give you a prescription, you have to go to the pharmacy that is near the hospital. One's local pharmacy will most likely not have any major medications.

I had to go to a nearby hospital (National Police Hospital) to do my visa health check. You have to do a health check before they give you your residency card and you have three months to get your id card. So, I went and did my test which was way more involved than I thought it was going to be. They took my weight and height, checked my blood pressure, did an eye test, hearing test, blood test, urine test, and a chest x-ray. I read that this test was to check for drugs... but apparently it's more than that. This health check cost me about $80.

I thought since I was going to the hospital anyway, I would refill my hyper thyroid medication. However, the internal medicine office was not taking any more patients at that time, so I had to come on another day. So, I came again and was given a hospital id card. There is a bar code on it and when they scan it, all your info comes up. It's very cool. It's hospital specific, so I can't use it at another hospital, but still very cool.

 Sorry the picture is so blurry... I couldn't get a clear close up of my card.

Anyway, I was seen by internal medicine and my check up cost me $14 and my medication refill (90-day supply) came to $21. ^.^v