Getting Lasik in Daegu, SK

TLDR; I would recommend Plaza Eye Center with Dr. Koo. The procedure was a success. Walk ins are welcome, Korean is not required. The Cost is 1.5 million won plus 100k won for tests. Located near Debec department store, specifically Hangaram Town. The nearest subways are Daegu Bank and Myeongdeok. Just see them after work and they’ll get you set up.

Pros and cons throughout the process: Cons would be that the price is a little expensive compared to other blogs I’ve read, and at first I was kinda pissed that I had to pay for those preliminary tests. The procedure was seamless, but I was in pain for the entire weekend. Also my doctor didn’t give me pain relievers TT TT cry cry or sedatives.The pros are that my doctor is very concerned with my healing process. I’ve seen him 4 times since the surgery (two weeks ago). These check ups are free. While my eyes are dry(due to the winter/heater, not some balked surgery) my vision is great. I just have to use drops for awhile. Also the clinic is pretty damn busy(but almost no wait time!). The environment is even a little chaotic, which might unsettle some people, but I take it as the clinic is reputable and in demand.

Interested? Here is some more detail.

Staff, setting an appointment and communicating in English: You do not need a Korean to help you book this or assist you. The staff have no expert English speakers but they are super friendly and will help you out. Communication was never an issue. No need to book in advance, and if you were to call I’d think you’d run into more trouble with communication over the phone. I arrived with no appointment on a Monday around 5 or 5:30. I got my initial tests that day and was able to set up more tests and eventually the procedure. I’m still seeing my doctor for post check ups and the staff are really sweet, know my name and are not bothered at all that I don’t speak Korean. Granted, if you want a staff and doctor that speak perfect English, look elsewhere I guess. Communicating was no trouble for me though.

Doctor: He’s a normal guy, normal doctor. Dr.Goo said he’s performed somewhere around 500 surgeries or more. As I said above, he’s seen me regularly after my surgery, and I appreciate it. It makes me glad I didn’t do some 600k lasik run to Seoul.

Cost: 1.5 million for the surgery and about 100k for tests. 1.5 was definitely my budget for the procedure. I’ve heard of paying 1.3 for everything. The price isn’t cheap, but still fair. Check ups are free. Medication is super cheap.

Procedure and possibly wigging out: The procedure was the most horrifying experience in my life. You don’t receive any sedatives. They only numb your eyes. I feel like the procedure was very safe, but it’s crucial that you keep your cool. It is essential to breathe, you have nothing else to calm you down. You need to calm down, not because of pain but because you go temporarily blind. Your instincts are definitely on alert and telling you to run for it. I would not recommend this to any person that is apt to anxiety. Still, it’s doable, a ton of people do it. I was silently wigging out, but made no sudden movements. Dr.Koo said I was a great patient.

Pain: There will be pain. During the surgery there is some, for sure, but nothing throbbing or too sharp. The evening after surgery was painful. The procedure was Friday and the weekend was painful off and on. When I woke up was the worst. So while most blogs say the pain is just for the evening, it well persisted for me the entire weekend. The first two weeks my eyes were pretty sensitive and dry. I’m healing, no worries.

Before lasik requirements: No contacts for two weeks. No eye makeup for 3 days to a week. No makeup,perfumes or lotions the day of surgery(anything with slight fumes is a no go).

Medications and post Lasik instructions: Oral meds three days(three times a day). Drops for up to four weeks. Sleeping shields/goggles for a week. They’re real cute. Don’t drink the day before, day of , and day after surgery. I resumed wearing eye makeup two weeks after the surgery. I wanted to be conservative on that end. 

Post Lasik checkups: The day after surgery, three days after surgery, the week after surgery, two weeks after surgery, four weeks after surgery, 2 months after surgery. Basically be mindful for a full month after surgery about a long vaca of some sort.

My suggestions on if to get Lasik and timing your procedure: I absolutely recommend lasik. If you prefer yourself without classes and won’t miss them (or are willing to rock some falsies occasionally) then get it done. There’s no discussion on this. Complications are minor/fixable. Cost( in Korea) is cheap, especially when factoring glasses, contacts and eye doctor costs normally. Contacts had been a pain for me, but even if you’re eyes take em well, still, get lasik. The biggest issue is if you’ll freak out under the knife( it’s not a knife but yeah they slice into your eye a bit.) Also, timing is really crucial as you can have minimal fun for up to three months lets say( no skiing, swimming, etc). Last thing, my eyes have not been handling the dry winter. I would recommend getting the procedure right after your summer vacation.

How to get to Plaza Eye Center?

If any of the bus numbers below are familiar to you then you’re in luck. All of these will take you to the Hanagram Town bus stop.

Buses that go to Plaza Eye Center.

Plaza Eye Center is on the outskirts of the posh Beomo district and is caddy corner to the Debec department store.

If the bus isn’t feasible, take the green line to Daegu Bank and hail a cab for Hanagram Town. If the driver is unsure, then they will definitely know Debec. As of writing this post, the third metro line is being build and runs parallel to the street Plaza is on.

Here it is.

Winging the 2013 Busan Film Festival: Tips on getting tickets and seeing movies

TLDR: Advance online purchasing is a bitch for many reasons, mostly that tickets sell out too quickly. However, you can easily get tickets the day of without having to camp out at the ticket booth. For opening ceremonies you have to book before hand.

Koreans are a different breed of early bird when it comes to online purchases. The Busan Film Festival allots 80% of movie tickets maybe a week before( check www.biff.co.kr for the date and time) the first day or screenings. They do so through the Korean site Daum.net. I went on the site the day after tickets went on sale and I had no luck for several reasons.

 The pitfalls of buying your BIFF Tickets online:

1. Minimal English on Daum: This can be worked around with a browser that translates or a Korean friend. You’ll need to either register as a native user or a foreign user and have your ARC or Passport number. But…

2. Daum’s BIFF page blows: The online ticket system is very interactive and even lets you pick your specific seats. To actually get through the whole process you need to a) use only Internet Explorer b) and have flash. That might be simple for some of you, but I was having no luck using Internet Explorer. I must not have had flash, and got stuck on the page to pick my seat. Assume all the worst things that could happen when accessing a somewhat advanced online ticketing system through Internet Explorer.

3. All online tickets sell out between two to 24 hours after they go on sale: You can be apart of the madness, but ticketing starts in the mid morning of a weekday. If you’re set on a particular film or attending the opening or closing screenings, then you probably want to be online when the site officially opens. As I said, the ticketing site boggles my mind. It’s super frustrating. Plus the site lists all movie screenings whether they are full or not, so you might be doing a lot of back and forth on your computer just finding screenings that aren’t full.

 Better alternative: Buy tickets that day.

No reservations, no worries. After school I went straight to the bus station, bought a ticket, found myself in Busan and went on the hunt for a room at a nearby love motel. 30,000 won a night.

 I was fortunate enough to be super punctual and get all the tickets I wanted on the day of. My biggest piece of advice that I wasn’t seeing on other blogs is this: Day of tickets do not sell out like online tickets. Koreans must have this thing on lock. They do the online madness to get their first choice films and the best seats. That’s probably why the day of ticket booth is lined half way with foreigners, and the rest Korean college kids.

I called the information desk the night before to get inside advice on when to arrive to the ticket booth. I asked if 7am would be early enough to get tickets(the booth started operating at 8am) . She said if I wasn’t interested in popular films then I should be able to swing it, but she hesitated. I took the first subway from my stop and arrived at the ticket booth at 6:30. Yes there is a long line that would give you the impression you will be stuck with the shittest movies there are. But, there are a ton of movies, only a few of which got enough press to warrant arriving so damn early to a potentially 10 am to 6am the next day event.

How I would do it better next time.

 –Pick up tickets the day of. Be on time, but don’t camp out: Get as much sleep as you can because you will need it if you’re doing the midnight films( out of three, one was amazing, one was okay/eh, one was terrible). If that’s getting a motel the night before or making early bus ride, do what makes sense. The ticket booth opens at 8. I got there at 6:30. I recommend you get there at 8:30. It would suck to get to the film festival so late that you can’t see any movies. That will not happen. Another advantage of not getting your tickets so early is that the seats will be better. Reserved tickets pick their seats, but day of tickets are seated according to when you bought it. All of my tickets were in the first row because I was so damn early. Those were not great seats.

– Review the list of movies before hand. While you are in line, the staff will give you a card for a) the four approximate time slots to see a film b) space for the name your first and second choice. You will go through the program or the BIFF site and fill out the card( each movie screening has a three digit number). I assumed that every movie would be enjoyable because I’m an indie kind of girl, right, and these are all artsy film with a purpose. Plus, I was so worried about tickets selling out because this was my first time and I didn’t know anything. Very few films actually impressed me. The one I did enjoy was the one my friend read up on and suggested. If you are on time you will get your first choice probably. Choose wisely.

– Take naps, drink coffee, do whatever will keep you awake. Spaland, the most epic jimjibang is a three minute walk away.. Biff is pretty exciting if you do it hard. Prepare for this.

Where exactly is the ticket booth and the theaters?

This is where you can buy tickets^^

Busan, Centum City subway stop, exit 6. I wasn’t seeing any signs towards the main ticket booth(and there is only one to get tickets the day of, don’t think you’ve avoided a line by spotting one of the many ticket pick-up booths). Go straight out of exit 6 until you hit the street( very soon). Walk across the street and then go left immediately. Take it all the way until you meet the small intersection. Go right a short distance. Then you will see a small building on your right and the cinema center on your left(it’s not actually marked from this angle). Go to the cinema center, it is on the side that will be facing you( not the one directly across from the other building). There should be tall movie posters in the grass outside of where you need to be. And inside, the line. It goes pretty quickly.

 Most theaters I went to were in the Cinema Center(opposite side of the ticket booth) and Lotte cinema, which is closer to the subway stop.