Yay, Korea! Dermatologist

This is the second in a series I'm calling "Yay, Korea!" There are a lot of things here that are just so brilliant, you don't know how you ever lived without them.

I have what you might call problem skin. Despite my repeated insistence that I'm a grown up, I get breakouts with all the frequency and vigor of a 13 year old. Usually they come and go, but sometimes they decide to camp out for a bit.

Due to a combination of factors, in the last 6 weeks or so my skin has become considerably less visually appealing than I would like.

Enter: Korean skin care.

Koreans are OBSESSED with cosmetics . There's a whole district of town dedicated to plastic surgery clinics.

I could launch into a (flawed, unqualified) analysis about the Korean obsession with appearance and its implications for the society as a whole, but I'll spare us all. Plus it's not like America isn't guilty of the exact same thing.

Anyway, this morning as I stared sullenly at my blotchy reflection, I decided enough was enough. With 5 minutes before I had to leave for school, I did a quick search for English speaking dermatologists in Seoul.  It wasn't hard to find one. I emailed the first one I found that was moderately close to me to inquire about appointments this week. By the time I got to school, I had a reply saying I could come in at 5:30 today.

I love Korean promptness.

Cut to 5:30. I walked in the door of the clinic and was greeted by the friendly, English speaking receptionist. I filled out my info and sat down. I waited for less than five minutes before the doc was ready to see me.

I went into the office, answered questions for about five minutes, and was given a prescription for antibiotics and some cream. I was out the door before I even realized what was happening.

My visit and the topical cream combined came out to 34,000 won-- or about 30 bucks. Throw in an extra 13 for my antibiotics and you get... an insanely affordable trip to the skin doctor.

Mind you... none of this was covered by the National Health Insurance because it's considered "cosmetic." So yep... 43 bucks is FULL PRICE.

I fully expect to wake up tomorrow with the smooth, flawless skin of a Korean K-pop star.

Yay, Korea!