What to Expect in Korean Hospitals

When you check into the Korean hospital you'll need all of your basic information. You'll need your ID card as well as your insurance card, National Health Insurance is tied to your ID card so you don't need to bring it in. Also, unless you are at a very large international hospital you will probably need someone who can speak Korean and help you translate.

There are three options for hospital rooms in this country. You can book a single, which at a big hospital will run you close to $500/night, a semi-private with two beds, and that was about $200/night even with insurance, and the dorm style that has 6 beds, which cost me about $12/night. You also have options for meals. You can choose the Korean style food, where it is $3/meal and you can choose juk or rice, or you can choose western style food, which costs over $36/meal. I suggest the cheaper Korean food because it's not bad and the western style food wasn't very good.

Now, there are some major differences between hospitals here and the ones back home. Since Korea is such a family oriented place, it is expected that your family will be there to take care of you. The nursing staff is only there to push pills and take vitals. It's your family's job to help with the food trays, adjust the beds, help go to the bathroom, help shower, change your scrubs and sheets, and basically do everything for you. There is always a cot provided for a member of your family to sleep on. In Korea there are no visiting hours, so there will always be a ton of people in your room at all times. The Koreans were very helpful to my mom and offered her a lot of fruit and snacks. But, they were also very curious and loved to come and stare at me. If you are alone in the hospital and had surgery, I would recommend convincing a friend of yours to be there at all times to help you. However, if you're not so ill and can do things for yourself then it's not really necessary.

Now, it's not uncommon to see Koreans wheel in a small suitcase while they're staying in the hospital for a while. I recommend you do the same. What you really need are the following:

• NEED:
• ID
• Insurance card
• Slippers
• Toiletries
• Towel
• Something to do (dorms don't have TV)
• Water bottle
• Tissues
• SUGGESTED:
• Some mat or blanket to put on your bed because they're hard as rocks.
• Pillow and blanket for the person staying with you.
• Snacks and drinks
• More things to do!
• Food from the outside world
• A neck pillow

You won't need extra blankets for yourself, since my room was kept at a balmy 90 degrees. I had to roll up my scrub pants and roll up my shirt sleeves just to prevent myself from sweating through the bed. Also, don't be scared to tell the nurse to use hand sanitizer or double check what they're doing. My nurses never washed their hands and made so many mistakes. They even tried to give me an IV they had just taken out of another patient. Be vigilant and aware of what's happening. Also, ask tons of questions. 

No one likes to stay in the hospital but in Korea it's fairly normal to stay in. That's because insurance covers more if they're an in-patient and their work will excuse them. So, some of them don't mind spending time there. That means, if you feel that you are well enough to go home then ask your doctor if you can be released. This worked for me. It never hurts to try.