Moving to Korea and need help choosing a veterinarian to care for your pets? Here are tips to help you find a veterinarian to help care for your pets while living here.
Where to Get Started in Choosing a Veterinarian
Moving overseas can be stressful not only for humans but also for your pets. Not only do they have to adjust to an entirely new environment, but also they have to learn a new veterinarian and maybe even a new language. Therefore, it is important to make sure to choose a veterinarian that you and your fur babies like.
Factors to Consider When Choosing A Veterinarian
Before you begin your search for a veterinarian, it is helpful to make a list of what you should look for in a local veterinarian. Take into consideration your pet’s type, age, breed, and health concerns. Here are a few things to think about when you begin searching:
- Language: What language do you speak? What languages does your pet understand? What languages does the veterinarian speak? We bring this up because dogs rescued in Korea may speak English, Chinese, Russian, Spanish, or Korean. Our friends rescued dogs and none of them shared a language: one dog understood Korean, one English, and the other Russian. In an ideal world, everyone including the pet owner, the pet, and the veterinarian feels comfortable with the language situation.
- Cultural Differences: Are there differences in culture that might be different? For example, if your dog has anxiety, Korea may not treat your pet with the same type of plan as your vet at home. Please note, vets and treatment styles vary heavily based on culture. If you have something important, one of our friends has a dog allergic to everything. They had to search for a vet who that understood not all dogs can eat pre-made dog food.
- Clinic Hours: It’s ideal to choose a vet that has business hours when you are not at work. That means, if you get off work at 5:00 pm you might need a vet that stays open until 8-10 pm.
- Emergency Care: Does the location offer 24-hour emergency services? Will you have to find emergency services elsewhere? It’s important to have an emergency plan in case your pet becomes sick in the evening or on the weekend. Most vets in South Korea do not offer 24-hour care.
- Services: Is the clinic equipped to handle your fur baby’s needs? Do they have the ability to do diagnostic testing onsite?
- Pricing: What is the pricing for care? Depending upon the age of your pet or their health concerns, you may be spending a great deal of time with the veterinarian. Knowing the pricing can help you plan ahead to save for future appointments.
Keep in mind, even if you ask all the questions things will still be a surprise. Taking your beloved pet to the vet when you don’t fully understand the language and culture will always be VERY stressful. Expect to experience a great deal of culture shock. However, taking time to prepare before finding a veterinarian will help both you and your pet to feel more comfortable than if you just take the first vet you can find in an emergency.
Pro Tips for Choosing a Veterinarian
Now that you have your list of factors carefully considered, it is time to do your research and find local veterinarian options. Here are a few tips to get you started on your search
Start Looking for Recommendations
It’s always best to begin your search by finding recommendations. Here are three different ways to learn about veterinarians in your area:
Check With Local Pet Owners Individually
If you know someone who is already in the country and has a pet, they can be a valuable resource for you in choosing a veterinarian. Hearing personal experiences from others can assist you in making choices. In addition, check with your coworkers for recommendations. Often they can help you find some options to consider.
If you work with the US military, you should also consider checking with your Real Estate Agent. Such agents who work with those living in Korea on a SOFA visa often offer additional support to their clients. For example, when we were searching for care locally, our realtor recommended her veterinarian and even assisted us with finding a local groomer for our pets.
In addition to checking with individuals you meet in person, also look at your online resources.
Find an Online Expat or Local Group for Your Area
When moving to a new area, check out the local expat groups or pet lovers groups for the area you are moving to. Often the members of these groups have information that can assist you in locating options for veterinarian care. Jamie Boyd from Everything Paws Korea recommends “Ask for recommendations from people who live in that specific area. You will always get a mixed range of reviews but I feel like it’s better than just randomly searching and going to one.”
In Pyeongtaek, here are a few options to consider Pyeongtaek Living, South of Seoul blogs, and Everything Paws Korea. If you are connected with the military here in Pyeongtaek, the base veterinarians often provide a list of local veterinarians for you to consider. Additionally, you can do Google searches, check Naver blogs, and research online sites to see local veterinarians and their reviews.
Read Naver Reviews with Papago
If you live in an area where you don’t have access to individuals or online groups who speak your language, you can use Naver. Just search in Naver maps using 동물병원 (animal hospital) plus your city. For example, in Pyeongtaek you would search 동물병원 평택. Once you locate options near you, you can screenshot reviews and blogs about the animal hospital and use Papago to translate the information.
Contact Local Veterinarians
Once you have narrowed down your options, contact the veterinarians directly. Some clinics may have English-speaking doctors but the front desk staff may not be fluent in English. When contacting the clinics, ask if they have someone who speaks English. Then, you can inquire about their availability, pricing, and any specific concerns about your pet’s health or needs.
Making an Appointment
Many vets in small cities and rural areas may accept walk-in appointments. If you do a walk-in appointment, the office stall will fit you in around the other animals who have appointments. This means you may have a longer wait.
If possible, visit the veterinarian’s office to schedule an initial checkup when you first arrive in Korea or when you first adopt them. This will let you know the cleanliness of the office, the responsiveness of the staff, and the overall environment. It’s a chance to build a relationship when you are not in crisis.
Most veterinarians offer online scheduling through apps such as Naver or Kakao. We always recommend learning how to schedule appointments online to make life easier.
Costs and Pricing
Budgeting for your pet’s care and potential emergencies is important. It is critical to know where to get your pet and what to do in an emergency. However, it is also vital to make sure you have money set aside for when these emergencies occur. Jamie Boyd says, “Make sure you have at least $3000 or 3 million won set aside for an emergency. A lot of vets in Korea will not treat unless paid for at the time of service.” Many veterinary offices do not have payment plans. Therefore, having money set aside or a credit card with an available balance to handle emergencies is a good plan. Make sure to check out our blog on 24 hour veterinary clinics for more details.
In addition to budgeting for your pet’s care, make sure to locate a veterinarian that you are comfortable with and form a relationship. Jamie Boyd recommends, “Don’t vet hop for prices. It’s stressful for your pet and you need to have all of your pet’s information in one centralized system. You need to build rapport with the vet and if you don’t feel good about the vet, find a new one. But when you find one, stay there.”
Cultural Differences in Care May Exist
When choosing a veterinarian in Korea or any other country, keep in mind that there may be differences in care from your home country. When you are making decisions about veterinary clinics, please temper your expectations as the culture may be somewhat different than you are accustomed to. Sometimes the differences may feel frustrating and unfair. For example, we had friends who couldn’t get anti-depressants for their traumatized rescue in South Korea which made caring for him difficult.
For us, our veterinarian in the States was our partner in care and who had time to have a personal relationship with our dogs. Therefore, our former veterinarian often got on the floor to examine and play with our dogs. However, we knew when we got to Korea that we could not compare our experiences stateside with clinics here and the vets here act more formally.
Also, remember that Korean culture and Korean vets are not all the same. Each vet will have their own style and expectations for you as a pet owner. Simply because you had one experience at one vet doesn’t mean another vet will be exactly the same way.
Our Experiences Choosing a Veterinarian
We are parents to three senior shih tzus with several health concerns. Our fur babies have had the privilege of having had top-notch veterinary care in the States since my best friend was their primary veterinarian. This makes us very picky when it comes to choosing a veterinarian. Our fur babies have suffered from allergy issues, stomach issues, and anxiety over the years in both the USA and South Korea. So, we have spent quite a bit of time and money keeping our kids healthy.
When we arrived in Korea six years ago, we did our research when choosing a veterinarian. We got recommendations from our coworkers with pets and our realtor. Then, we tried a few different veterinarians in the area until we found one that worked for us. In addition, we also keep the list of emergency veterinarians on hand since our fur babies often have trouble after normal office hours.
Overnight Care
One thing to keep in mind when choosing a veterinarian is whether or not their overnight care has a dedicated professional to stay with your pet. When Sookie got sick last year, she required IV treatment overnight. The veterinarian offered to keep her overnight, however, she would be alone. Sookie has dementia and severe anxiety. We knew leaving her in this clinic overnight alone would be a bad idea. Fortunately, our doctor is aware of our experience and allowed us to take Sookie home on IV. We were able to keep her calm and comfortable and complete her IV treatment.
Cultural Differences in Medical Treatments
One of the local veterinarians we have worked with for our shih tzus’ care questioned why our pets were taking a daily treatment for their arthritis. Two of our babies have arthritis and have been taking anti-inflammatories for their arthritis issues. When Sookie was sick last year, the veterinarian we went to was not our regular clinic. Therefore, he wanted to know why Sookie was taking the anti-inflammatory daily. He was also unfamiliar with the medication that Sookie takes for her anxiety. Upon speaking with our regular veterinarian here, she mentioned that these treatments were not as common for Korean pets as they are in the States.
Final Thoughts on Choosing a Veterinarian
Keeping our pets healthy while here in Korea is important. Therefore, finding a local veterinarian to help care for your babies while you are here will help you to be better prepared in case of illness or emergency. In addition, choosing a veterinarian to partner with you for pets’ wellness will give you peace of mind as you enjoy your life here in Korea.
Looking for A Vet in Pyeongtaek
Our volunteers compiled a list of English-speaking animal clinics and hospitals in Pyeongtaek. This list can help you in your research for choosing a veterinarian. In addition, we have also compiled a list of 24-hour hospitals in case you have an emergency after your clinic’s hours.
Join the Everything Paws Korea Facebook Group
Looking for a place where pet owners living in Korea can ask questions and share ideas? Everything Paws Korea has information on training, recipes, health tips and DIY. In addition, there are post links to articles and such relating to our pets. However, please keep in mind, information in this group should never replace the advice of a qualified veterinarian.
The KimchiRednecks channel was created in September 2018 by Chuck Whittington and Melissa Edwards-Whittington. They moved to Korea in July 2017 with their three Shih Tzu daughters, Sookie, Minion, and Mayhem.
The YouTube channel started as a way to share their lives here with their friends and families back in the states. They both have a deep love for Korean culture, people, and food and love being able to share that with others.
Chuck Whittington graduated from Francis Marion University with a Bachelors in Information Systems Management. He has worked in Information Technology roles for over 20 years. Chuck has always had an interest in Korea and has traveled here many times in the past.
Melissa Edwards-Whittington graduated from Mid-Atlantic Christian University with a Bachelors in Bible and a Minor in Elementary Education. She has worked in various roles in customer service and marketing over the years.
The YouTube channel has many interests just like they do because it is an extension of their lives here in Korea. You will often find videos on their channel about daily life in Korea, cooking, foodie adventures, traveling and exploring, computer and tech pursuits, gaming, and working on the Subaru BRZ.
Over the years, many of their friends have joined them for their videos and adventures because they enjoy sharing their lives with those around them. In addition, they add new interests from time to time, like making moonshine in Korea.
Life is about growing and changing, and the longer the KimchiRednecks live in Korea, the more they learn to love this country and culture and all it has to offer.
