Notes of a Native-Speaking English Teacher

The nearest 약 (pharmacy) is near Homeplus.  This is according to Naver.  I hope that someday I will discover one a bit closer.  They operate very differently from the typical Walgreen's in the US.  The main things I've noticed are:

1. Things are cheaper.  I usually pay under $3 for a bottle of cough medicine.

2. Selection is smaller.  Cough medicine is behind the counter and I've never been handed the same brand twice.

3. It is the only place you can buy Tylenol.  Forget about finding it at the grocery store.

4. They don't have Claritin, but they can give you Zyrtek.

5. The hours are rough.  They are not open late and are typically closed on Sundays, unlike the 24-hour pharmacies that we are used to back home.

I wish I had gone to the pharmacy first thing when I arrived in Korea.  I was constantly getting colds and the stores were never open when I finally broke down and decided to get medicine. It's best to keep a little on hand rather than depend on them for any kind of urgent need.

Here is an extensive list of health related Korean vocab.  

Here  are some simple sentences that can be used to describe an illness to a doctor or pharmacist.