For one year, there were no childbirths at hospitals in one in every four cities or districts nationwide. According to data collected in 2007 by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, 35 out of 132 local governments, excluding district governments in the Seoul metropolitan area, or 26.5 percent, reported no childbirths in 2006. None of these regions have hospitals equipped with the personnel or facilities necessary for cesarean sections or natural childbirth.
There are no maternity wards in more than a third of the cities and districts in South and North Jeolla Province and Gangwon Province. In addition, there are no such facilities in five cities or districts in South Gyeongnam Province, four in North Chungcheong Province, three in North Gyeongsang Province and two in North Chungcheong Province. In particular, there are no maternity wards in hospitals in Chilgok, North Gyeongsang Province, and Cheongwonm North Chungcheong Province, even though the annual number of newborn babies is more than 1,000 in the two districts, respectively.
Speaking of Korea and childbirth . . . well, not really, but google didn't turn up much else besides this cute series of pictures of a mother putting her baby in one of those backwraps (포대기). That second picture is adorable.
2 comments:
Hey Brian!
I am arriving in Jeollanam on August 21st to be an assistant english teacher for Epik(public school). Have any good tips and/or info to share with a newcomer? Have you heard any good or bad news about Epik?
Thanks!
I'm coming from the cincinnati area.
Hi, thanks for the message. Do you know yet where you'll be placed? Last I heard EPIK people didn' find out until they arrived at orientation.
I've heard mixed reviews of EPIK. Some people dislike the disorganization, although that's found all throughout Korea. From what I understand it depends largely on where you're placed and on if you get an agreeable school and coteacher. But that's true for every school in every part of the country.
Well, as far as Jeollanam-do goes, I like it all right. There are pros and cons, but by and large I find it the same as most other parts of South Korea. If you have more specific questions I'll try my best to help you. I'll just point you to a couple resources for the time being:
* www.waygook.org is a message board teachers in the area use to share lesson plans and information. CHeck out some of the lessons before you arrive, it will help you land on your feet.
* Facebook.com is how most people stay connected. There are large groups for Suncheon, Mokpo, Yeosu, and Gwangju (the four biggest cities in the area) and you'll have much better luck asking questions there than on larger messageboards like Dave's ESL Cafe or Pusan Web.
* There are department stores in the large cities so you should have no trouble acquiring what you need / want. Even smaller towns all have several grocery stores, restaurants, and shops. Oh, and high-speed internet is everywhere.
* Lastly, and I'll mention this again later in the day, I wrote a post about touring the Jeollanam-do region on Roboseyo's blog. It probably won't make sense to you now, though, since you're not here: http://roboseyo.blogspot.com/2008/07/before-you-plan-your-summer-vacation_21.html
* And, this is more of a current events blog with some profiles of regional news and attractions thrown in. Google around for "Jeollanam-do blog" or "Mokpo blog" or "Korea blog" for more "slice of life" blogs. msparkerinkorea.blogspot.com and the sites she links to are a good start.
Good luck.
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