All posts tagged: public health

Free Health Check-Ups for Refugees in South Korea

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Refugee Health: Check Migration to Asia Peace and Samsung Medical Centre are going to provide free health check-ups for asylum seekers, those with asylum status, and those with “humanitarian stay” status. Interpreting services and a shuttle bus to and from the testing centre will be provided. The check-up’s results and referrals will be issued. Snacks and drinks will be provided following the check-up. The event is organised by Samsung Medical Centre & Migration to Asia Peace (MAP), and sponsored by Shinhan Bank.   But Who Is a Refugee? “Humanitarian stay” visas (G-1) were created to grant stay to those who do not fall under the refugee status as defined by the United Nations (being able to prove that you personally are persecuted by the state, regardless of the the state of your country). In 2015, South Korea had twice as many G-1 visa holders than F-2 visas (residency) granted to refugees. Humanitarian stay visas differ from residency visa in the following ways: Issued for 1 year; can be renewed Cannot apply for employment unless they …

Seoul City Provides “Baby Box” and Vaccination Subsidies to Single Parents

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Single Mothers Benefit From New Scheme – But Not All Through an initiative of the Women & Family Policy Bureau, Seoul City will become South Korea’s first municipality to offer single mothers in financial difficulties with 1 million KRW (approx. 800 EUR / 900 USD) worth of baby materials. The “Baby Box” will contain the following items donated by manufacturers and individual funders: A stroller Feeding bottles A baby sling Clothes Formula for infants Sleeping vests However, the supply is limited, and only 100 single mothers living in the Seoul Metropolitan Area with 80% of the median income will be able to benefit from the scheme. A Wider Vaccination Coverage Expands Number of Free Vaccinations for Children from 17 to 23 However, the City Government will provide a subsidy worth 240,000 KRW (180 EUR / 220 USD) for infant vaccinations, to children living with single mothers and single fathers. The subsidy covers vaccinations outside the 17 mandatory vaccinations. The 17 mandatory vaccinations for children (via Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)  are as follows. They’re …

How healthy is South Korea’s LGBT community (literally)?

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Dr. Seung-sup Kim of Korea University’s Department of Public Health Sciences and his team have been investigating the mental and physical health of LGBT individuals. The two-part project, entitled “Rainbow Connection” is a groundbreaking, comprehensive research into the LGBT community. For now, a journal article entitled “Health disparities between lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults and the general population in South Korea:  Rainbow Connection Project I” is available (on the LGB of LGBT), with a sample of over 2,000 individuals. A monograph on Part II, focusing on transgender health, is planned for publication in March 2018 (Korean). Key findings (numbers rounded to nearest digit): Lesbian and bisexual women reported poor health 1.80 and 2.24 times more frequently than women overall, while gay men and bisexual men do not show statistically significant differences; As compared to the general population, bisexual women showed the biggest difference in both mental and physical health issues, followed by lesbian women, bisexual men and gay men LGB adults, both women and men, reported significantly higher prevalence of musculo-skeletal pain (back pain, upper and lower …