Clinics and Hospitals

Clinics and Hospitals

One thing we didn’t know when we moved to Korea was the distinction between the price of visiting a clinic versus a larger hospital. In the United States, visiting a private specialists’ clinic is often times more expensive than being seen at the hospital, but it’s the other way around in Korea generally.

For awhile we were attending a large University Hospital simply because it was near our home and we knew some doctors who spoke English. However, as we have a young son who caught colds quite often through the winter, the cost of doctors visits and prescriptions added up. One month, when all of us were sick, we spent nearly 300,000 won in doctors’ fees and prescriptions for all three of us!

It was after all this that we found out about visiting clinics. They are everywhere. It helps to know the names of different medical specialties:

내과 (ne-gwa): Internal Medicine

이비인후과 (i-bi-in-hu-gwa): Ear, Nose & Throat

산부인과 (san-bu-in-gwa): OBGYN

소아과 (so-a-gwa): pediatrics

의원 (e-won): clinic

 

The following is a picture of a building in our neighborhood that’s full of different clinics of various specialties. We see our ENT doctor here. It costs roughly 3,000 for a basic visit, and pharmaceuticals are pretty cheap, too. The name of the clinic is Somang ENT (소망이비인후과) and it’s on the 4^th floor. The doctor speaks some English, but not much.

 

Here’s the front of the building:

 

Here’s the sign on the side of the building (it’s the blue one):

 

The following is a picture of the directory outside the building where we take our son to see the pediatrician. The name of the clinic is Seran Clinic (세란 의원) and both of the doctors speak excellent English. One of the doctors specializes in family medicine and the other in pediatrics. Visits for my son cost less than 2,000 won and for my husband and I about 3,000 won. Pharmaceuticals are also fairly cheap, depending on the illness. Their clinic is located on the 3^rd floor. The name of the building is Hyundai World Tower (현대월드타워).

 

Here’s a picture of Hyundai World Tower from the side: