Being sick in a foreign country is hard, especially if you have to go hospitals that don't speak English. Korea has been promoting its medical tourism industry recently and here is a link to help you find English-speaking (and also Chinese, Japanese) hospitals in Seoul:
Medical Tourism in Korea
The first hospital I went to was St. Mary's Hospital in Gangnam, near the Express Bus Terminal station. The hospital is very modern, with good facilities, clean rooms, and up-to-date medical equipment. There is an International Center at the first floor. They were pretty helpful and assisted me with all I need, accompanying me to the doctors and translating. The only problem is, the center only provides assistance to those who don't have the Korean National Insurance, and I didn't have that when I had my surgery. A few months after, I was able to get the insurance through my employer. Unfortunately, the center told me they cannot assist me anymore. Since I have the Korean National Insurance, I should go through the process as a normal Korean would. That was a problem. I decided I would change hospitals since St. Mary's is far from where I live anyway.
So the next hospital I went to was Soonchunhyang Hospital in Yongsan, close to Itaewon. The hospital is not as big as St. Mary's and it obviously doesn't look as new. Their International Center is also a lot smaller but I find their staff friendlier. They accompanied me to the doctor's office but didn't stay with me. The doctors can speak English too. The nurse who's in-charge with my case (her name is Nurse Nam if I remember correctly) is very nice and friendly and helped me settle the bills etc. However, my situation requires taking a radiation therapy which they didn't have the equipment for at the Yongsan hospital, so they told me I had to go to their Bucheon hospital, which is quite a trip from me. So I looked into more hospitals and decided to check out Yonsei Severance Hospital in Sinchon, a good 15-minute bus ride from where I live.
Yonsei Severance is pretty impressive. Huge buildings (and more construction underway), awesome food court, top-notch facilities and fantastic staff. The staff at the International Center spoke really good English and the whole process was so much easier. Best of all, they have clinic hours on Saturday! There are volunteers who accompany you to the department that you have to see the doctor at (that is if you need more than family doctor) and translate for you. Mine required me to go to the Department of Nuclear Medicine and the doctor spoke really, really good English. They told me a lot of information and a bunch of papers in Korean. The nurse at the International Center explained everything thoroughly and even made another chart for me in English, to organize my schedule and the important reminders. So thanks Nurse JiYeon Lee!
Yonsei Severance Hospital is accessible either via Sinchon Station or Ehwa Women's University Station.
From Sinchon Station, Exit 3, keep walking straight until see the overhead tracks of the railway. Take the tunnel and cross the street.
________________________________________________
Facebook: www.facebook.com/koreatourism
Twitter: www.twitter.com/koreantravel
Youtube: www.youtube.com/visitkorea
Official site: www.visitkorea.or.kr
Medical Tourism in Korea
The first hospital I went to was St. Mary's Hospital in Gangnam, near the Express Bus Terminal station. The hospital is very modern, with good facilities, clean rooms, and up-to-date medical equipment. There is an International Center at the first floor. They were pretty helpful and assisted me with all I need, accompanying me to the doctors and translating. The only problem is, the center only provides assistance to those who don't have the Korean National Insurance, and I didn't have that when I had my surgery. A few months after, I was able to get the insurance through my employer. Unfortunately, the center told me they cannot assist me anymore. Since I have the Korean National Insurance, I should go through the process as a normal Korean would. That was a problem. I decided I would change hospitals since St. Mary's is far from where I live anyway.
So the next hospital I went to was Soonchunhyang Hospital in Yongsan, close to Itaewon. The hospital is not as big as St. Mary's and it obviously doesn't look as new. Their International Center is also a lot smaller but I find their staff friendlier. They accompanied me to the doctor's office but didn't stay with me. The doctors can speak English too. The nurse who's in-charge with my case (her name is Nurse Nam if I remember correctly) is very nice and friendly and helped me settle the bills etc. However, my situation requires taking a radiation therapy which they didn't have the equipment for at the Yongsan hospital, so they told me I had to go to their Bucheon hospital, which is quite a trip from me. So I looked into more hospitals and decided to check out Yonsei Severance Hospital in Sinchon, a good 15-minute bus ride from where I live.
Yonsei Severance is pretty impressive. Huge buildings (and more construction underway), awesome food court, top-notch facilities and fantastic staff. The staff at the International Center spoke really good English and the whole process was so much easier. Best of all, they have clinic hours on Saturday! There are volunteers who accompany you to the department that you have to see the doctor at (that is if you need more than family doctor) and translate for you. Mine required me to go to the Department of Nuclear Medicine and the doctor spoke really, really good English. They told me a lot of information and a bunch of papers in Korean. The nurse at the International Center explained everything thoroughly and even made another chart for me in English, to organize my schedule and the important reminders. So thanks Nurse JiYeon Lee!
Yonsei Severance Hospital is accessible either via Sinchon Station or Ehwa Women's University Station.
From Sinchon Station, Exit 3, keep walking straight until see the overhead tracks of the railway. Take the tunnel and cross the street.
________________________________________________
Facebook: www.facebook.com/koreatourism
Twitter: www.twitter.com/koreantravel
Youtube: www.youtube.com/visitkorea
Official site: www.visitkorea.or.kr
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