Pill Identification

I recently found this very helpful.  Yesterday I went to the doctor to do something about my cold.  Normally if I'm not feeling like I'm on the verge of death, I let whatever it is that I have run its course.  A big exception, however, is when I have a cold.  Being a teacher, working with a stuffy nose and phlegmy cough is not so great.  I'd rather treat my symptoms than be miserable for a few days.

In Korea, the pharmacist puts your pills in little paper packets.  Instead of having a bottle of pill A and a bottle of pill B, the pharmacist puts one of each pill in the packet.  Each packet is your dose of all your meds.  This time it's a 3 a day regiment.  My after lunch pills have a check on the packet.  Easy, right?

One thing I always forget to do is look at my prescription and see what kind of meds i'm on.  Pretty dumb.  These pill packets get put in a big envelope that doesn't have the name of the medicine or any information other than the dosage schedule.  A great resource I found was the Korean Pill Identifier.  The first two blanks are for what is stamped on one side of the pill.  The middle is for the brand stamp.  The third section is for the shape of the pill, and the last is the color.  I usually just do the first and last sections.  Imprint and color.  You'll get a list of pills with pictures and you can just find what you have.

It helps to know a little bit of hangeul in order to read the name of the pill.  If not, don't worry.  The last column of the results is the drug name in English.  From there just search what the drug is/what it's for/side effects.

Double Up

Exciting news!  Maybe not real news, but it's new to me.  I just found out that I am eligible for dual citizenship!  I can be a citizen of both the United States and Korea.  Previously (before 2010? I'm not sure exactly when this happened.  I have to research the timeline more) dual citizenship wasn't an option for anyone.  There were and are visa options for ethnic Koreans that were adopted in America, foreign spouses of Korean nationals, and children with Korean and foreign parents.  Those options still exist, but now does the option of dual citizenship.

Previously, if an ethnic Korean or foreign spouse wanted Korean citizenship, they had to renounce their original citizenship.  Not something I'd be interested in doing.  Now, as part of the process, you have to take an oath saying that while in Korea, you give up your rights as a foreigner.  Basically, if you get in trouble with the law, you can't go to your embassy for help because you are being counted as Korean while in Korea.  While outside of Korea, you can be counted as a citizen of your home country again.

Dual citizenship has some perks.  As a foreign teacher here, these are not so relevant.  As a foreign spouse who is looking to do something other than teach, they are nicer.

• Taking out loans and owning property will be easier if you were a citizen.
• 2 passports(!) and the visa privileges that go with them.  Cheaper Chinese visas for Korean citizens as opposed to more expensive ones for US citizens.
• Getting to use the short immigration line at the airport(!!!)
• Other things made easier by not having the "foreigner" label attached to you.

There are some drawbacks, too.  While gaining the perks of being a Korean, you'd also lose some perks of being a foreigner.

• Some scholarships to study in Korea are only available to foreigners.  
• If you are in trouble, you can't go to your original country's embassy for help.
• Since you are not a foreigner, any children you have in Korea won't be eligible for an international school.

Then there's the big drawback if you're planning on being an English teacher:  All of the bonuses perks that you'd get for being a foreign teacher can go away.  Housing allowance: gone.  High salary: gone.  Re-signing bonus: gone.  NOTE: I'm not 100% sure of this, but it seems very possible that it could happen.  Most of it would depend on if you are working at a public school or an academy.  You might not even be eligible for some jobs because you are technically not a foreigner anymore.  

Dual citizenship sounds like a cool thing but it is more than just having two passports.  You get the rights of citizens in either country, but also have to bear the responsibilities.  In Korea's case there is a mandatory military service requirement for all able bodied male citizens.  Dual citizenship can complicate this for many people.  For my situation being a foreign spouse, I would not need to enter military service.  For a male with dual nationality who tries to renounce Korean citizenship in order to dodge military service, the rules are stricter.  Now, a male citizen who is trying to renounce his Korean citizenship after the age of 18 cannot unless he has fulfilled his duty.   

I think maybe in the future If we decide to stay in Korea long(er) term and I work somewhere other than a school, dual citizenship might be for me.  As for now, I have the benefits of the mighty F-6 spousal visa and am content with that.  I can even use a short line at the airport, just not the citizens line.  Visas like the spousal visa, long term resident visa, and ethnic Korean adopted to another country visa give many of the conveniences but not as many of the responsibilities of being a full fledged citizen.  They are a happy medium.

Movie Monday

I haven't seen too many Korean movies but what I have seen, I've liked.  Hopefully with movies like Snowpiercer and Stoker that feature Korean directors, they will become more widely known.  This past weekend I saw 숨바꼭질 (soom ba gok jil).  Hide and Seek in English.  Sidenote: I watched it without subtitles.  I got the general gist of the movie but Victoria had to fill me in on some of the dialogue.

Image: Asianwiki

Hide and seek is one of those movies that you watch and think "holy shit, that could totally happen to me."  Have you ever felt like there was someone in your house when you know there wasn't?  Have you ever felt like you were being watched?  If so, this movie will give you chills.  

Hide and Seek follows the story of Sung-Soo, a cafe owner who investigates the disappearance of his estranged older brother.  His investigation leads him to discover a code written by the doors of the apartments in his brother's building.  Sung-Soo discovers the meaning of the code, only to find it written on his own door.  

I couldn't find out how to insert the trailer directly onto the page, and youtube doesn't have a version with
English subs.  Check here and scroll down the page and click on the English subtitled version.  

Happy watching!