Medical & Health
- The following blogs address specific needs expressed by our international community living in South Korea. We have surveyed over a hundred individuals living across nine different provinces to understand the needs of the community. Our team researches the challenges the international community in Korea face and works to find solutions to these challenges.
- We HIGHLY recommend reading each of these blogs more than once as they will provide you with a great deal of insight into the Korean healthcare system. Health policies constantly change and our team does their best to keep our blogs up-to-date with the latest information and resources.
- If you have public health-related concerns that need to be added to this list, feel free to let us know in the comments or message us at publichealth@southofseoul.net
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How to take care of our mental health during COVID-19
With all the changes and uncertainty in our lives at the moment, taking care of our mental health is more important than ever. Luckily, the internet can provide us with a wide range of resources that can help us keep our motivation and focus on what we have power over. But sometimes it can be difficult to know where to begin. Many of the world-renowned specialists, counselors, life coaches and doctors have their own websites where they upload books, videos, and information on how to deal with difficult times. Especially…
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How to combat a low mood during COVID-19
As the number of COVID-19 infections rises across the globe, it is hardly surprising that our mental health has also increasingly taken a toll. Anxieties are elevated as there are many uncertainties at this point, and life as we know it has seemed to change indefinitely in recent months. Here in South Korea, people have had to wear masks when out in public, schools have been closed, and students have had to switch to online learning. Businesses and companies have also had to implement work-from-home policies in order to slow…
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The therapist’s office: The place where we are judged the least
South of Seoul: We would like to welcome Adaptable Human Solutions to the South of Seoul Blog. AHS is an English speaking counseling service with offices in Pyeongtaek and Seoul, South Korea. AHS will be blogging about mental health related issues in expat life. An expat mental health journey: My name is Irina and I am an inquiry coordinator at Adaptable Human Solutions (AHS). Before working here, I’ve been in therapy for several years for depression and generalized anxiety. I’ve changed therapists several times until I found the ones who…
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Masks: Function Meets Fashion
Embracing masks as fashion and function in Pyeongtaek, South Korea.
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Culture & Community, Culture Shock Tips, Education, Home Life & Maintenance Tips, Physical & Mental Wellness, Public Health
Managing the Korean Emergency Alerts
Updated: 2024/12 South Korea has a Public Alert Service for notifying citizens of important information. The following blog post explores more about the system and offers support for dealing with the smartphone sounds and the language barrier. Listen to the BlogCast Don’t want to read? Listen to the South of Seoul BlogCast which provides accessible content through the use of AI technology. We don’t have time to read each article but we do our best to make more of our content accessible. If you would like to join our Accessibility Team apply to…
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Embracing Community In Times of Isolation & Crisis
For the last month, South of Seoul volunteers have been asking questions and working quietly but consistently to support our community during Coronavirus. Within our organization, we do not lead from a place of fear. Instead, we lean into the power of our community and the people that live in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. Our unique community includes strong and: 1) resilient Koreans, 2) confident US military community, 3) scrappy ex-pats. We are grateful to face this economic and health crisis (Coronavirus) with a group that understands the value of sacrifice…
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Therapy Options for Expats
Updated: November, 2019 Living abroad is filled with all kinds of stress. There is no way around it and there is no shame it it. Instead of turning to online forums that only feed the insanity, may I recommend therapy as a far more productive option. As a former Social Worker and a current teacher, I wish everyone spent more time in therapy. Mental health is a critical part of well being; like going to the gym or getting a haircut. It’s something to embrace and enjoy on a day…
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3 English Speaking Dentists in Pyeongtaek
Looking for an English-speaking dentist in or near Pyeongtaek? We have a few options to try About Visiting the Dentist in Korea There is rarely a point where going to the dentist is fun, however, it can be downright terrifying in a country where you can’t speak the language. We are extremely lucky in Pyeongtaek because we have a variety of excellent choices. This isn’t even a comprehensive list, it’s simply a list of dentists that our different volunteers have known and liked over the last few years. They are…
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Culture & Community, Emergency Support Service, ESL/EFL Educators Welcome Packet, International Student Welcome Packet, New Arrival Information, Physical & Mental Wellness, Tourist and Traveler Welcome Packet, USA Military Welcome Packet
Important Numbers: 119 Emergency Services
Before you have an emergency, you need to know 119 which is emergency services in South Korea. About 119 One of THE most important numbers you need to know while living in South Korea is 119. This is THE number to call in emergencies. In a medical emergency, 119 may automatically detect a caller’s location on either a landline or a cell phone. Then, 119 dispatches ambulances quickly. 119 For Those with No Korean Language Ability In theory, foreigners who contact 119 become directed to a translator from the Korea National…
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Culture & Community, Culture Shock Tips, Education, New Arrival Information, Physical & Mental Wellness
5 Tips for Conquering Culture Shock
Culture Shock isn’t just an English punk band. It’s also a very real thing we all deal with while living abroad. It’s part of the territory and it’s something everyone needs to be very aware of in order to live their best life. It starts out small and builds over time, sometimes ripping through our lives with very painful consequences and other times hiding in the shadows waiting to knock us off course when we least expect it. It can even cause intense depression, destruction of relationships, uuncharacteristic bigotry and racism,…
