It is that time again!

K-Pop time!

First off is Big Bang rehearsing a song by G-Dragon, the founder of the group. I am told that Big Bang is supposed to be the Korean version of the Wu Tang Clan. Well, I’m sorry to say they aren’t. But I don’t think this rap is half bad. And I think G-Dragon is adorable.

Next up is SNSD, otherwise known as Girl’s Generation. You will remember them from the previous post. This time they are edgier. Like the alter egos of Girl’s Generation. This don’t, Run Devil Run, has an opposite meaning from Oh!. The lyrics of Oh! are about how much they would like a boy to notice them because they have changed from the past, and the lyrics of Run Devil Run is how they want a boy to get lost because he has a wandering eye. And has to many females in his phonebook.

And finally, the all boy super group SHINee. I’m not sure what is up with the wings. Or the awesome English lyrics. Ring ding dong. Elastic. Fantastic. Enjoy.

Cherry Blossom

Winter has hit Korea especially hard this year. And it won’t go away. Winter is clinging on even though summer months are right around the corner. Korea touts its self as having four distinct seasons. Well, this year it is the land of 3 seasons. Spring weather could barely be called that. Nearly every day, I have experienced below or near freezing temperatures. Which is really hard for a girl used to a place where no more than a light jacket is required in the winter.

bare branches, gray sky.

While Winter holds on to the Korean peninsula, there has been signs that the weather is letting up. In April, there has been a few warm days. Days where I felt the warmth of the sun through my double layers of tights instead of bitter cold.  And for this entire month there have been blossoms.

The cherry blossoms are beautiful, the palest pink and delicate. The trees appear to be blanketed by snow, an April fools day joke played on us by mother nature.

Today, cherry blossom petals have been raining from the sky (a nice break from the wet kind of rain) and they have been replaced by bright green leaves. As the blossoms disappear, so does this bitter cold. This weekend will be warm. All my fingers and toes are crossed in hopes of the warm weather having arrived for good.

This desert girl is welcoming summer with open arms.

K-Pop Friday

In Korea, pop music is king. It sells new trends, TV shows, cell phones. And sometimes even laundry detergent. There is no concept of entertainers “selling out” like there is in the US. The top K-Pop songs are played everywhere and are known by everyone. The dance moves are simple, so that everyone can repeat them while walking down the street. The old man that manages the sewing shop I take classes at listens to the most popular girl bands while all the women stitch away. The grandfather sitting next to me on the subway watches music videos on his own portable media player while the train makes its many stops on the way to his destination.

I’ve decided to share K-pop videos every Friday. So sit down and turn up the volume, because you are in for a wild experience. No description of that crazyness that is K-pop can fill in for the actual thing.

First off is Girl’s Generation (also known as SNSD) with their song “Oh!” I’ve heard this song in my yoga studio, outside on a pedestrian only street near my house, in Homeplus (department store) and coming out of peoples cell phones. This is the most popular song in Korea. By watching this video, you can get a good sense of how Korean girls dress and do their hair. And yes, they do wear heels like that. All. The. Time.

Next is 2NE1. There name can be said “twenty-one” or “to any one”. They are edgier than Girl’s Generation, like a girl band of 20 Lady Gaga’s. I think their style is their strong point. Check out the crazy hair-dos and wicked shoes.

Bringing up the rear is an old song. The kids at my school hate it because it is sooo last year, but I can not help but dance a little (or a lot) every time I hear it. Here is Super Junior with Sorry Sorry Sorry.

Sick in Korea

One of my favorite episodes of the PBS show Frontline is titled “Sick Around the World”. It delves into what work, and what doesn’t work, in the health care systems of 5 capitalist democracies around the world. I find it really interesting to see how other countries deliver health care, since I strongly believe American health care is backwards. You can watch the full episode by clicking here.

Today, I experienced how health care is delivered in Korea.

Last Friday I had a fever and soar throat and general “oh hey I am in a new country with new germs” cold. The worst symptoms only lasted a day, thank goodness. However, for the past few days I have been getting massively dizzy. Like- focus on breathing so you don’t lose the contents of your breakfast on the person sleeping next to you on the bus- dizzy. This resulted in the experience of the nurses office, oh so wonderful and warm and cozy. Well, today I decided I needed medicine to get better because I can’t put up with feeling dizzy and congested for another week. I asked one of my Korean coworkers to take me to the doctor.

I was slightly concerned about how much it would cost, since I haven’t filled out any paperwork for health insurance yet. Do they turn away uninsured patients like they do in the states? I didn’t even have an acceptable form of ID, since my passport was at the immigration office being processed so I can have an alien registration card. It was a stressful thought, because if they turned me away from the doctors office I would have to deal with being dizzy for the next eternity.

So, what happens in Korea if you don’t have insurance? The doctors visit will be, in the words of my coworker, expensive. 10,000 – 20,000 won, or 8-18 USD. Without insurance. And, I didn’t even have to pay that much, because the doctor I went to is generous. He only charged me 3,200 won. Did I mention I don’t have health insurance?

What about the wait to see the doctor? It must be horrible, right? Because it costs so little to see him? Wrong. To quote my coworker again, the wait is very long because the doctor is very busy right now. Translation, there were 4 other people waiting to see the doctor, and I had to wait fifteen minutes until it was my turn. Also, a minor detail, you don’t wait in an exam room. You wait in the waiting room, then go to the doctors office when it is your turn. This way, the amount of space the doctors practice takes up is much less than in America. I suspect there are exam rooms and rooms with more specialized purposes, but for a quick visit to the doctor you just go to his office.

It was a much more thorough visit than the time I have gone to the doctor in the US with similar symptoms. The doctor spoke to my coworker. She explained my symptoms in Korea, and then he turned to me and started asking more questions about my condition in English. He did regular doctor things, looked in my nose and throat, and even took pictures of my ear canal so I could see what was going on. When he sat at his desk, he drew a diagram for me to explain why my ears are inflamed. I have never gotten such a clear explanation about how things are working in my body. He took his time explaining so that I understood every medical term through his heavily accented English. He wasn’t in a rush to dismiss me, and that made me feel extremely comforted. Now, this probably isn’t due to the way Korean health care is run so much as this particular doctors way of doing business

That is an important point. Every doctor is in competition with every other doctor because insurance in Korea does not limit what doctors office a person can visit. The doctors here try to make their offices as nice as possible. Tea and coffee is provided in waiting rooms, and waiting times are kept short to keep the patients happy. And doctors take time with their patients, because it makes the patient more comfortable and more likely to return. I am sure there are doctors offices like this in the US. I just haven’t been to them.

Ok, so the doctors visit was cheap and fast (but not too fast). What about the pharmacy? The pharmacy was just as good! When we walked in, we were both given free vitamin C drinks in small brown bottles. My coworker handed over my prescription and we sat and drank our vitamin C while my prescription was filled. It took a total of five minutes. I received 2 bottles of cough syrup, antibiotics, and 5 other assorted types of pills. Everything is wrapped up in single dose amounts, so all I have to do is rip open a little bag and take the contents after every meal. I got enough pills to last 5 days.

Amazingly, this large amount of prescription drugs cost me a little more than 6,000 won. And have I mentioned that this is without medical insurance?

My verdict: the health care system in Korea is more concerned with my health rather than my money, and it restores my faith in humanity knowing a system like this is in existence.

It may only be 7:30pm, but my meds are kicking in and making me drowsy. Goodnight Korea, thank you for taking care of me.