Have you ever needed to overcome a language barrier while accessing healthcare in Korea? Many of us have, even those who speak Korean somewhat fluently. Language barriers can be challenging but not impossible to navigate. This blog post offers some tips on how to overcome such language barriers that may help.

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Why would I need to have my COVID vaccination certificate printed in English? The vaccination process in South Korea has been picking up speed over the last couple of months, particularly among our expat teacher community. If you completed both doses of the COVID vaccine in South Korea, then you should have received a vaccination certificate similar to the one pictured below. Your vaccination certificate is also available on the COOV app which you have access to if you have a contracted Korean phone number under your name. While you can use this certificate and the COOV app as proof of vaccination within Korea, you CANNOT use it when traveling abroad. Some countries that accept vaccinations completed in Korea require an English version of the certificate. So, how can you get access to your English translated certificate? Read the extremely long and detailed instruction manual below to find out! 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 volunteer with South of Seoul. Please note that the pronunciation of some Korean words may be inaccurate due to AI technology’s limitations. Prerequisites for printing your vaccination certificate via the KDCA website The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) allows residents to access their vaccination certificates directly from their website. Through the KDCA website you can view and print the Korean version as well as the English version of your certificate. HOWEVER, in order to access your certificate, there are a two requirements. NOTE: Accessing anything on Korean websites can be a long, confusing, and frustrating process. Getting to your English COVID vaccination certificate on the KDCA website will require some time and patience. Bare with me. I have done my best to lay out each instruction step by step with screenshots for the entire process. If you don’t want to bother with the roller coaster of Korea’s online platform, skip to the bottom of this blog to see another option for obtaining your English COVID vaccination certificate. 1. You must have a Korean phone number associated with your ARC number These days, in Korea, your alien registration card (ARC) number is attached to EVERYTHING, including your Korean phone plan. If your ARC number is not associated with a contracted Korean phone number, accessing anything online can be difficult. Korea’s online security requires a ton of verifications before allowing access to sensitive personal information. So, if you have a phone that is under someone else’s ARC number, then you will not be able to access your certificate through the KDCA’s website. 2. You must have an accredited certificate of authentication aka a digital certificate of authentication aka official ID certificate (공인닝증서 [gong in injeung seo]) This certificate is referred to by many names in English. I will refer to it as a digital certificate. Most folks, like myself, acquire a digital certificate of authentication through their mobile banking app or bank website. Digital certificates via a banking app/site are free, take only a couple of minutes to set up, and must be renewed every year. Some people purchase digital certificates for a small fee. You can learn how to set up a digital certificate here. This digital certificate can be used across different websites that deal with sensitive personal information, like the KDCA website. You will need to make sure to copy and save your digital certificate on the device you wish to use to access the KDCA website. You can copy and save the digital certificate to multiple devices (i.e. cell phone, desktop, USB). If don’t have a digital certificate saved to the device you want to use for the KDCA website, you won’t have access to your vaccination certificate. How to access the English version of your vaccination certificate Once you have a Korean phone number associated with your ARC number and a digital certificate set up, you can start the process for printing your vaccination certificate in English. Just a little warning, this process may get confusing. Take your time, read the instructions below carefully, and you will have your English vaccination certificate in no time. Step 1: Register for an account on the KDCA Website When you click into the website link, you will see a popup screen. Close this screen. In the top right-hand corner of the screen, you will see a black button that reads 회원가입. Click this button (see image below). Scroll down a bit. Check the boxes labeled 위 이용약관에 동의합니다 and 동의합니다 to accept the website’s terms and conditions for registration. Then click, the grey box at the bottom labeled 동의 as shown in the image below. Verifying your phone number On this page you have a choice between verifying via your cell phone or an i-PIN. I am not sure how the i-PIN works. I have never been able to acquire an i-PIN. However, if you have an i-PIN continue on by clicking the blue button labeled i-PIN. Otherwise, click on 휴대폰 인증 to complete a cell phone verification process. After clicking the cell phone verification button, you will get a pop up screen that looks like the image below. Select your cell phone service provider. Click the “Full Consent” check box. Then, you can either choose to verify via PASS or SMS. Choose whichever works best for you. With PASS, you will need to download the PASS app if you haven’t already done so and verify according to your PASS app instructions. For SMS verification, you will receive a text message with a numeric code to input. I find this to be the easiest option. See below for SMS verification steps. Below is what the SMS verification screen looks like. You will need to enter your name as shown on your Alien Registration Card (ARC) as well as the first 7 digits of your ARC number. Then, enter your phone number, type in the captcha code and click “Confirm.” You will receive a text message to your phone with a six digit code. Enter the code on your verification screen and click “Confirm.” Creating your user name and password After verifying your phone number, you should be redirected to the page shown below. This is where you will create your user name and password. Your user name should be between 6-10 characters. If your user name isn’t accepted, try typing it in all lower case letters. Korean sites often don’t distinguish between capital and lower case letters. Your password should be 9 or more characters long and include alphanumeric (letters and numbers) text as well as a special character. The ACCEPTABLE special characters include !@$%^&* (any other special characters will be rejected. Once you’ve created your user name and password. Re-enter your phone number and click 확인 to confirm. You successfully created an account if you see the below prompt pop up. Click “OK” and you will be redirected back to the main page of the KDCA website to log in. Now you can log into the KDCA website to access your COVID vaccination record. Step 2: Update your personal profile with your digital certificate Now that you have registered an account on the KDCA website and you are logged in, you can access your English COVID vaccination record. Just follow the instructions listed below. First, after logging in, find the button on the top right hand corner of the webpage labeled 회원정보 수정. Click it. Then, on the left hand side of the page, find and click on 회원부가정보 입력. NOTE: Remember the digital certificate (공인증서) we talked about all the way at the top of this blog? You will need that certificate for this next part. So, if you didn’t have a chance to get one set up already, here is another opportunity. Just follow the instructions on this blog post and you will be ready for the next step. Scroll down to the bottom of the KDCA page. Enter your information as shown below. You will upload your digital certificate on the last row of this table where it says 인증서 등록 . Uploading your digital certificate When you click on 인증서 등록, you will get a pop up screen that looks like the image below. You may need to click on a few buttons before you find it, but search for your digital certificate and enter the password associated with your digital certificate. I found my digital certificate listed under the button labeled 하드디스크 (hard disk). Click 확인 when you have finished entering your credentials. If the digital certificate row reads 등록되었습니다, then you can click 회원정보 수정 at the bottom of the page to save your information. You will know it saved correctly if you see the pop up message below. Click OK. Step 3: Access your English COVID vaccination certificate Phew! Are you still with me? If you are, I am proud of you for making it this far. Korea’s online systems require a lot of verifications to ensure that your information remains secure from hackers. It can get super frustrating to navigate this system, but once you get set up, it gets easier. Okay, so you should now be back to the main KDCA page. On the right hand side of the page, you will see a button panel (see image below). Click the top button on the panel labeled 예방접종증명서 신청. Click on 영문 for the English version of your COVID vaccination certificate. Then, click the button next to your name labeled 증명서 신청. Fill out the form with your information as shown below. The digital certificate pop up window will appear. Find your digital certificate. Enter your digital certificate password. Then, click 확인 to confirm. The below message means you are good to go. Click OK. Step 4 (Hallelujah!): Printing your English COVID vaccination certificate Select the dates from when you received your first shot to when you received your second shot. Then, click 검색. Your vaccination certificate will appear in the table below. Click 문서출력. A pop up window will appear with instructions on how to print your COVID vaccination certificate. After skimming through the instructions, close out of the instructions window to view your English COVID vaccination record. Click on the printer button on the top right corner of the page and there you have it! Congratulations if you made it through this crazy long blog on how to print your English COVID vaccination certificate. You are a trooper! If you went through all of these instructions and still weren’t able to get access to your vaccination certificate, there is another way. What if I can’t (or don’t want to) access my COVID vaccination record online? If you couldn’t access your COVID vaccination online after going through the entire process above, you have two other options for getting a COVID vaccination certificate appropriate for travel outside the country. Visit your local health (보건소) or community center (주민센터) Not all health centers and community centers offer this service, so it would be wise to call ahead to double check if yours does. However, some local health centers (보건소) or community centers (주민센터 aka 동사무소) will print an English COVID vaccination certificate for you if you visit in person. Just copy and paste these names (보건소 or 주민센 터 or 동사무소) into Naver or Kakao maps to find a location near you. Make sure you bring your Alien Registration Card (ARC) with you when you visit. Get your Korean certificate apostilled On a call with a 1339 COVID call center representative, I was informed that you can get your Korean COVID vaccination certificate apostilled to verify it for when you travel outside the country. Before starting this process, always check the rules and policies for the country you are traveling to. Make sure that an apostilled copy...

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What is a language barrier? Before we jump into the challenges of language barriers, we need to understand what a language barrier is. There are several definitions for language barriers that essentially say the same thing. For the purpose of this article we will use Google’s Oxford Languages Dictionary. According to Google’s Oxford Languages Dictionary, a language barrier is “a barrier to communication between people who are unable to speak a common language.” This is a pretty simple, standard definition of a language barrier. If you don’t speak the same language as someone else, it can be difficult to communicate. So, to solve this language barrier problem, you can simply learn the other person’s language, right? Well, not exactly. If you break down the definition a bit, you will realize the complexity of language barriers. 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 volunteer with South of Seoul. Please note that the pronunciation of some Korean words may be inaccurate due to AI technology’s limitations. Let’s break it down Common Language Let’s begin at the end. What is “common language?” The term ‘common’ describes something that is “shared by….more than one” [person/group/entity]. The term ‘language’ encompasses “the principal method of communication, consisting of words used in a structured and conventional way and conveyed by speech, writing, or gesture.” Therefore, a ‘common language’ can be defined as a shared method of communication conveyed by speech, writing or gesture. This definition seems pretty straightforward. If you share a language, you should be able to communicate well with one another. At least, that is the overarching assumption. However, if you think a little deeper, I’m sure you can tell me about time when you’ve experienced a miscommunication with someone who shares your language. Here is my experience: I once visited a friend in Tennessee. My friend invited me to go skiing over the weekend… It was the middle of summer with no snow in sight… Thoroughly confused, I agreed to go. When we arrived at the lake, it became clear that he meant WATER skiing. I asked, “if you call water skiing, ‘skiing,’ then what do you call skiing in the mountains?” He replied, “oh, that’s SNOW skiing!” In Utah, which was my place of residence at the time, skiing (without the adjective in front) meant snow skiing. If we were on the water, then, we would specify water skiing. A simple, harmless miscommunication, but a miscommunication nonetheless. Although we spoke the same language and were from the same country, our cultures influenced the way we communicated verbally. Sharing a common language doesn’t exempt us from experiencing language barriers. Communication Communication is defined as “the imparting or exchanging of information or news” or “the successful conveying or sharing of ideas and feelings.” As mentioned above, communication can be conveyed by speech, writing, or gestures. Is it as simple as that? You guessed it… the answer is no. Think about the different ways you communicate with someone. How many did you come up with? If you do a quick Google search on different modes of communication, you will find an array of results. This blog by Team Leverage Edu explains 16 Types of Modes of Communication. Our culture and environment shape how we choose to communicate. Having various communication methods means more ways to experience language barriers. For example, in many countries such as Sweden, China, Japan, Romania and Russia, gift-giving is a form of communication. Gift-giving within each culture communicates different things. Read more about what gift-giving communicates to different cultures here. Korea practices gift-giving as a style of communication as well. When someone invites you to their home in Korea, you should always bring a gift. Bringing a small gift communicates your respect and gratitude for the invitation. Not bringing a gift may make your host feel like they offended you in some way, even if you didn’t mean to. Your host will never voice their opinion out loud, but they will internalize their feelings about the situation which may cause tension in your relationship. Communication mistakes will occur and that’s okay. These types of communication styles won’t necessarily be written in black and white. However, there are ways to learn about and overcome these communication barriers. One way would be to research cultural etiquette. More tips on how to overcome language barriers to come in a future blog! Barrier ‘Barrier’ is a much more straightforward term to define compared with the terminology above. A barrier is simply “a [figurative or literal] fence or other obstacle that prevents movement or access.“ A language barrier consists of various obstacles that you must overcome to gain understanding and access to your community. Language barriers occur not only among those who speak different languages, but also among those who share a common language. Barriers to language and communication are complex. They may be difficult to manage at first. However, we can all overcome barriers if we put in a little effort. Language barriers in Korea Many of us living in Korea have experienced a language barrier at some point in time. I am half Korean and have intermediate to advance level conversational Korean proficiency, and I constantly face language barriers. Below are some examples of my personal experiences with language barriers. “Have you eaten, [insert meal time]?” One night, I met with a Korean friend at 10pm, and they started the conversation with “have you eaten, dinner?” Where I am from, when you ask if someone has eaten, it generally means that the person who is asking is hungry and wants to grab a bite. That is not always the case in Korea. Instead, it is a common greeting to show that your friend cares about your well-being. “Would you like some chips and “Seolsa?” About 8 years ago, I was shopping at Homeplus. I planned to make some crispy black bean tacos for dinner and needed to purchase salsa. I couldn’t find any salsa in the sections that I searched so I flagged down a store worker and asked for help. “Do you, by chance, sell salsa?” I ask in Korean. She gives me the most confused look and asks, “What are you looking for?” I repeat, “Salsa, it’s a sauce you dip tortilla chips in…you know, salsa.” Then, I show her a picture. “OH!” she replies with a look of relief on her face. She directs me to the aisle where I found my salsa. Later that day, I told my Korean friend about this experience. She laughed hysterically. It turns out Korean pronunciation is extremely important. I was apparently asking the store worker for some diarrhea (pronounced Seolsa 설사) rather than salsa (살사). My bad. “Can I [insert request]?” “I don’t know, can you?” I went to the bank to open an account. The teller spoke English, so in English, I asked “Can I open a bank account?” She replied with a smile, “Yes, you can.” Then, the teller sits and stares at me. I ask, “Can you open a bank account for me?” The teller replies, “Yes, I can.” She sits there and stares at me. I was very confused as to why she didn’t start the process to open an account for me. Then, I realized I needed to rephrase my question. “Open a bank account for me, please,” I say. Then, she proceeds with a smile to open a bank account for me. In America, when you ask “Can you [insert request]?” it is implied that you want an action completed. In Korea, if there is no direct request for action, the question is taken simply as a question to gain knowledge. The teller thought I just wanted to know if it was possible for me to open an account. She didn’t realize that I wanted her to actually open the account at that moment. The nuances between the request for “can you” and “will you” are very distinct in Korean. When translated to English and without cultural context, the request can be misunderstood. Putting it all together While words themselves are important to consider when talking about language barriers, culture, environment, and life experience are just as important. All of these things influence the way you communicate. It is important to understand how complex language is in order to overcome barriers to communication. Some language barriers are very obvious and straightforward, like when you don’t understand a Korean vocabulary word or a sentence said with a regional accent. Others are less obvious because they are ingrained in the culture such as the differences between “can you” and “will you.” However, all of these forms of communication matter and are crucial to your understanding of how to overcome the obstacle of language barriers. Now that you understand the complexities of language barriers, you are ready to take the next step to overcoming your language barrier challenges in Korea! Stay tuned for our next blog on tips for overcoming language barriers. Lisa Peck, MPH, CPHMs. Peck graduated from the University of Utah Asia Campus (UAC) in Incheon with a Master’s in Public Health and her Certification in Public Health (CPH). Ms. Peck also holds a Bachelor’s Degrees in Linguistics and one in International Studies with a Global Health emphasis. Ms. Peck is Korean American and speaks both English and Korean. She has moved between the US and Korea since childhood, finally settling in Korea after graduating from UAC. In 2021 Ms. Peck founded the South of Seoul Public Health Program which focuses on research and initiatives regarding the health and wellness of multinational residents in South Korea. Additionally, Ms. Peck oversees the SOS Public Health Graduate Student Practicum Program which provides mentorship and training for Master’s in Public Health students. The program works with two students a semester with a focus on ethical UX research design, survey development, and initiative implementation. www.southofseoul.net

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