This is Part 2 in the series, Medical Related Vocabulary in Korean. The last post was about hospital staffs and other useful words. This post will give you an opportunity to learn the names of different medical branches and words that are frequently used to ask or answer questions before or during a check-up.

If you need to review basic external body parts and general aches and pains in Korean, please follow this post “Feeling Sick of Hurt???”

The following is a list of Korean vocabulary regarding different medical branches and several useful words that you can use when visiting a doctor’s office. “-gwa (–과)” means a branch or a department in Korean.

Photo by KLM

1. so-a-gwa (소아과 – pediatrics)
2. seong-hyeong-oe-gwa (성형외과 – plastic surgery)
3. an-gwa (안과 – ophthalmology)
4. oe-gwa (외과 – general surgery)
5. i-bi-in-hu-gwa (이비인후과 – ear, nose, and throat)
6. jeong-heong-oe-gwa (정형외과 – orthopedics)
7. chi-gwa (치과 – dentistry)
8. pi-bu-gwa (피부과 – dermatology)

When you refer a doctor within a certain branch, generally, you can add a word “eu-sa (의사)” which means a doctor in Korean.

ex)

• so-a-gwa eu-sa (소아과 의사 – pediatrician)
• chi-gwa eu-sa (치과 의사 – dentist)
• oe-gwa eu-sa (외과 의사 – surgeon)

9. bo-ho-ja (보호자 – guardian/protector)
10. che-jung (체중 – weight)
11. sin-jang (신장 – height)
12. hyeol-ap (혈압 – blood pressure)
13. sim-bak-su (심박수 – heart rate)
14. al-le-reu-gi (알레르기– allergy)
15. chi-ryo (치료 – treatment)

If you enjoy watching medical dramas like I do, the Korean drama called “Byeong-won-sun (병원선 – Hospital Ship) might put you on the edge of your seat. This television series stars Ha Ji-won (하지원) and  Kang Min-Hyuk (강민혁), and the show is about doctors who travel on a medical ship to treat people in a remote villages on islands. After studying this week and last week’s posts, please click on the link below. Not only will this preview give you a brief idea about the series, but you will also recognize some Korean words from these posts. I hope you will enjoy watching this Korean drama 병원선 .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLOLwWdZRmo

감사합니다! (Thank you!)