Acupuncture

In Korea, acupuncture has been used in traditional medicine for over 2000 years and as a common treatment in fighting illness for many centuries.

I spent some time asking my co-workers if they visit traditional medicine clinics and most of them said they had at some point and would again. I was excited about this and wanted to visit a Korean acupuncturist but it was important to me to find a doctor who spoke English so that I could explain myself and not need to rely on a translator.

There are so many traditional medicne clinics around Gwangju. I didn't take the time to visit any of these clinics until I got hit by the flu about a month ago. To my great pleasure there is a clinic just a few streets from the elementary school I work at. The doctor speaks English and they accept health insurance.

The clinic is set up in a way that is similar to the community acupuncture I know from California. There are two rooms with several beds and curtains for privacy. The patient comes in and choses a bed to lay on. The doctor comes over to talk and see what the trouble is. He put needles in my hands, arms and legs, and some in my ear. He also pricked two of my finger tips to let some blood flow following the theory that blood stagnation causes illness. The whole time the doctor was very pleasant and kept asking if I was ok (which made me laugh since I had the grossest crackly voice and couldn't respond). He told me I would lay there for 15 minutes, get up and have some aromatherapy for my congestion, and he would prepare some herbs for me to drink for the next few days. It was all so easy, I felt really taken care of, there are 3 assitants who work in the clinic (they don't speak english comfortably) who are really nice too. On my way out the doctor explained how to drink the herbs and recommended I come back in two days if I haven't gotten over my sickness. On my way home I felt great and by the time I reached home I slept off a fever and the next day woke up feeling much better. The herbs came ready in juice bags and all I had to do was drink the bitter/sweet/ root-y tasting contents.

Choe Uigweon Korean Medicine Clinic