Seoul National University Hospital

"Going to Seoul National University Hospital is a nightmare. My loved one had to go to the A&E as she had an allergy attack. This could be dangerous as there was very bad swelling around the ENT, and could result in choking and suffocating if not seen to quickly. If the situation wasn't so dire, we would definitely have sat down, take some time to find the hospital that is best for foreigners and even take a longer time to travel to that preferred hospital. However, the situation was dire, Seoul National University Hospital being the known top hospital in Seoul and 10 mins away from us, was, at that time, the best choice. The nurses were ok, they were very friendly, patient and willing to help us, they even spoke English to us immediately after knowing we're foreigners. However, this wasnt the case when we spoke to the doctor (Lee Si Hyoung), he was extremely rude and unprofessional. When we entered the room, I asked "Sorry, can you speak English?" and he simply replied "Korean". The room then just went silent for 2 minutes while my loved one is suffering. The doctor then sighed many times letting us know his frustration, and spoke to us in full Korean, as though we were Korean natives. We tried to reply in our limited Korean words. This is when the doctor finally started to spoke in English, and we were wildly surprised as he actually seemed to be able to speak in decent English because dude was actually grammatically sound. We then finally got our treatment and he did resolve our issue. But it was so traumatic as an experience to reach this point of resolution. We do not understand why we were treated unfairly, despite the Hippocratic Oath. It's not as if we were rude to him, we went in the consultation room when the body language and attitude that we needed help. My loved one's eyes were so swollen that she could not open her eyes, and her cheeks were swelled up so badly. We didn't need a very complex level of English, just a basic understanding like the nurses when they were assessing our condition, and we would have been fine. But the experience made us feel so helpless and we needed to be treated like dirt in order receive the medication that we needed. Lee Si Hyoung is such a rude and arrogant doctor, which doesn't seem to be keen to help patients IN AN EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT. Shame on you."

"Awful emergency room experience as a foreigner; one star is generous. Horrendous wait, only to have my concerns utterly dismissed by the rudest doctor I have ever spoken to, and that says a lot coming from the United States. I made the mistake of going back, and they refused to admit me as I wasn’t actively dying, despite having a referral for suspected pulmonary embolism following a 15-hour flight and elevated D-dimer levels. Don’t make the same mistake as me. Go to the nearby Seoul Red Cross Hospital instead - far quicker, cheaper, and has doctors who genuinely care about your health."

"Very nice hospital. My brother was born here and everyone was so nice. They treated my mom very well and she said it was a good hospital which she was nervous about since we’re American and have never been to a hospital in another country."

"I don't want to be part of your research and you are supposed to clarify the doctor's specialty before entering for chest pain only and she didnt help she wanted evrey thing for her to start her Her research and she was recoding and She was recording and violating a patient's right. and I also asked for payment in dollars before entering but you want to use me for your research without my permission!? By what right do you have to get out of my life? I do not want and I did not allow and I will not allow until the day I die to be used as a medical research tool or experiments. Do not put your pharmaceutical experiments in my medications or even my food or vitamins. Stay away from me and my life. Where is the patient privacy right in this hospital"

"One Sunday, I went to the nearby Seoul National University Hospital because I had had a bladder infection for 2 days, which unfortunately got worse, so I was peeing pure blood every 10 minutes. I was sent to the emergency room, where the first thing I was given was a letter. In it, I was informed that the admission alone would cost me 700,000 won (approx. 500$) and further stab dart treatments another 1,000,000 won (approx. 700$)!!!! This is an absolute rip-off and exploitation of foreigners!!! Since my life didn't depend on it, I left the hospital again, endured the pain and waited for Monday until everything was open again. I then went to a specialist. There I paid a total of about 20$ for the examination AND the medication! That bears no relation to what the hospital charged! If your life doesn't depend on it, don't go to this hospital and don't support this discrimination."