The Kyonggi University Health Service Center works on many health campaigns and is the place for physical checkups for Korean and foreign students. However, it is having difficulty providing services to many people because of foreign students who have worries about using the Health Service Center and Korean students who don’t know about it well. Because of the Pharos interviewed Kim Young-eun, who is a team member of the Health Service Center, and questioned her about health service center.

Q. To what degree can students be cured in the Health Service Center and what medicines are available in the center?

In the center, we check students' symptoms and judge whether the students must go to a hospital. Also, we not only check a symptom's seriousness but also diagnose medical problems like sprains and fractures more accurately than ordinary persons because the people working in the center worked in a general hospital for over 3 years. And we have household medicine like Tylenol, so students can be treated effectively.

Q. Recently, the weather has been changing extremely rapidly. So, what diseases do we have to be careful about and how can we prevent contracting them?

Because of the change of seasons, colds can break out nowadays. Students must be concerned about personal hygiene. For example, they should clean their hands frequently and wear a mask when they go out. The Health Service Center will start a campaign of flu vaccination as the weather becomes more chilly, so we hope students will get an injection. Also, students who have an allergy should have household medicine. But if not, visit the Health Service Center!

Q. What medical services are provided to foreign students?

We give information in order to help foreign students be inoculated inexpensively. We provide not only information about injections that Korean students usually get, but also injections that foreign students must receive to live in Korea. However, the school center doesn't provide the vaccines, so students must be inoculated in nearby hospitals that have made an agreement with Kyonggi University. Those hospitals are cheaper than their own countries' hospitals, so we hope students will live a healthy school life by using the center's assistance as soon as possible.

Q. Have you had problems caused by difficulty communicating with foreign students that are poor at Korean?

When we have communicated with foreign students, we have been helped by staff of the International Affairs Team and work-study students. However, as it is difficult to communicate with all students, we hope more Korean students will help them- not only English-speaking but also non-English-speaking students, especially for Chinese students. Also, we don’t conduct health campaigns in English, because it can give students wrong information through errors in translation, so we need the help of more Korean students in many ways.

Q. Do students have an responsibilities when they use the Health Service Center?

First, because there’s no one who is good at foreign languages, when we can’t communicate with foreign students well, rather than be angry with us, please speak slowly. Second, if you visit the Health Service Center and we send you to a hospital, you must call us back quickly and tell us the name of the disease you have. It’s very important. Sometimes, we have sent students to a hospital because of infectious diseases; however, the students often do not tell the name of the disease to us. If students have infectious diseases, we must follow up on the progress of the disease quickly. But hospitals never tell us the names of students’ diseases, because it’s personal information. Therefore, we want students to call us back, not only foreign students but also Korean students.

Q. Is there anything you’d like to say to KGU students?

Many students dislike visiting the Health Service Center because it is too far away or they don’t know where it is. However, never mind that and come to the Health Service Center often when you are hurt or sick. In addition, we want to know about students’ inconvenience regarding using the center as we wish to solve any problems that may exist. To do so, I hope students will often visit the center. And in the case of foreign students who have difficulty in communication, they can be cared for more easily if they come with a Korean student. Some foreign students who visited the Health Service Center once have used it on and on, so if there are foreign students who have never visited the center, I hope they will visit many times in the future.

Kyonggi University's Health Service Center works for students’ convenience. For example, students are treated at the center cheaply and receive first-aid treatment quickly in a clean environment. We hope students will use the Health Service Center frequently and actively participate in their campaigns. And we hope they will take care of their whole body and receive all the services the school has to offer.

Kyonggi University Health Service Center

•Health Service Center: Building 3, 2nd floor

•Service hours: 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. (Lunchtime: 12:00 - 13:00)

•Telephone: 031-249-8941(~3)