***If you are interested in finding and english speaking doctor the korean tourism website has a chart of location, kind of medicine and language spoken at each spot, it is very helpful and can be located here:
http://english.busan.go.kr/data/main/medical_services_for_foreigners.pdf
If you have ever asked on a busan discussion forum on where to see a doctor you will see people praising Nurse Lee of Dong Eui medical centre and if you are still unconvinced, let me try.
First off Nurse Lee is the community liaison for the the medical center. Her job is to make sure that english speakers get the care that they need. In addition she is an RN so she is knowledgeable in both healthcare, and english.
My timetable went like this:
9:00 AM : Called her number
Nurse Lee “ Hello Ms. Lee speaking”
Fiona “ Do you speak english?”
Nurse Lee “ Of course I speak english, you called the english number”
Fiona laughing now “ well I would like to make an appointment”
*insert going through the process of making an appointment for later on that day*
I thought that the best part was that she was an RN, so felt ok telling her exactly what I wanted to see the doctor for and she was able to make an appointment with the right doctor.
She then gives me directions on how to get to the medical center (which I will post below)
She also told me to call her when I got there and she would help me find everything that I needed.
I arrived at the center about 10 minutes after my appointment but Nurse Lee did not mind and met me in the lobby. She then took me to the section that has the correct doctor in it. I discussed everything with her that I wanted to see the doctor about, and when I got to see the doctor Nurse Lee was there helping translate and filling in things I forgot.
After the appointment Nurse Lee told me that the medical center had all departments except for vision which was very helpful. She also advised me that if I want things don’t for a medical examination or need to get shots for traveling then I should come to her with exactly what I want done.
She helped me pay, gave me her card, walked me out and sent me straight to the pharmacy.
The whole time while we were talking, it was so nice that I could not help but laughing a little on how simple and like home this all felt I was completely comfortable and was able to joke with her like I did with the nurses back home.
Nurse Lee has a great sense of humor but she is easygoing and very knowledgeable about health problems that westerns experience. Her job may be to help us, but I can really tell its something that she enjoys doing. She loves speaking english and is able to help with medical problems, which is nice when you are living so far away from home.
As far as medical clinics go, Nurse Lee was able to take the guess work out of much of what was happening, she is a great woman and I can see why so many ex-pats sing her praises.
If you would like to reach Nurse Lee her phone number is : 82 51 850 8941 and her e-mail isimc8941@demc.or.kr
How to get to Dong Eui Medical center
Take Orange line Subway to stop 121, Yangjeong. From there go out exit 4. There will be a blue shuttle bus on your left hand side. That bus takes you to the center front doors.
If the shuttle bus is not there and you do not want to wait, then the small bus number 8 will also take you there.
Getting a taxi is always an option too.
You can walk, but the route is mostly uphill and the shuttle bus is free.
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