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About

"So I guess this is where I'm supposed to introduce myself. I'm a Canadian male teaching ESL in Seoul, Republic of Korea. This will be my second stint teaching ESL, only this time I'll be teaching at a High School, using my actual teaching experience to use. If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me - no question's too small. Take care, and enjoy the ride."

Other Blogs of Note

  • Student in Korea
  • Seoul Man
  • The Daily Kimchi
  • Surviving South Korea
  • Books I'm Reading

  • "Colossus: The Rise and Fall of the American Empire" by Niall Ferguson
  • "Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World" by Haruki Murakami
  • "The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order" by Samuel P. Huntington
  • "The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth" by Benjamin M Friedman
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  • The Hospital's long reach...

    This is for all of those of you who hate waiting in Ontario hospital waiting rooms, for our free health care.
    So today I went to Samsung Medical Center, to talk to my friendly neighbourhood ENT specialist, Dr. Hoon. While there, I was fitted for a new tube to try and clear up the fluid that's been there for, well, a really long time, and never gone away. After convincing him that I'm okay with doing it in his hospital waiting room (outfitted with all the necessary instruments ofcourse), we set about for the twenty second procedure of outfitting my ear for a tube. (for those of you curious as to what an ear tube looks like, click here) After all was said and done, I was in and out of his office in less than ten minutes (after twenty minutes in the waiting room), which included the photographs of the before and after "surgery". At first, I thought this to be unnecessary; why would I need proof that he had done what he said? The proof was in my bill.
    129,920 Won. In today's Canadian dollar, that worked out to 152.27. And how much did insurance cover of my bill? 48,522 Won, or nearly the EXACTLY amount that I pay every single month for my monthly insurance bill. I felt a great deal poorer after walking out of the hospital, and had a slight greater appreciation for the Ontario Healthcare system; for those of you who preach a two-tiered health-care system, be careful what you wish for. Yes, I waited only two weeks for my hospital visit, and once inside, got treated like a real hospital patient, with complimentary tea (self-service) and plenty of people willing to help me (call it the foreigners curse - they assume because I'm surrounded by Koreans, I'll want extra help; bless they're hearts, but it gets a little annoying), but for all that I got, I couldn't help but feel slightly taken to the cleaners (3200 Won for an electronic scheduling of my next appt? Is that really necessary?)
    Call me cured, in more ways than one, with hearing that's much better than before - and I'm certainly happy, because fortunately for me, money is absolutely no problem. However, before we go preaching on how to fix our own health-care system, a reality check might be suggested before we take drastic measures.
    By the way, how did Health-care become almost a mute-issue in the past election, being overtaken by everything military? Shouldn't we worry more about our problems right upfront as opposed to more "optional" ventures?
    just a thought...

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