Is 20/20 Vision Possible for Me?
By Pia Bjerring
When I was 24 – quick math, 31 years ago – I had the tip of my finger crushed between two huge rocks, resulting in broken bones, a lost nail (for a while), stitches, and a splint for weeks on end. Now you might ask, how is a crushed finger in any way related to eye surgery, but let me tell you, both are at the very top of my “Top 10 List of Horrible Things” that could ever happen to me.
To add to my anxiety, eye surgery is so expensive in Denmark, to the level where you could kind of choose whether to buy a new Kia Morning-sized car or have your eyes fixed. Thus, no eye surgery for me, and I am still wearing glasses and contact lenses every day.
Fast forward to present times in Korea, where eye surgery is so popular, easily accessible, and affordable, too. After wearing the mandatory mask, where all of us depending on glasses are faced with blurry eyesight because of foggy glasses, I thought I could at least go have my eyes examined for a possible operation.
So, when the GIC called out for someone to go through an eye exam with them, I thought let’s do it and once and for all determine if my eyes are good candidates for the LASIK or LASEK operation or not.
I meet with GIC staff members Moon Jeong-ah, Jana Milosavljevic, and photographer Hillel Kim at Happy Eye 21 Hospital near Shinsegae Department Store in Seo-gu and was greeted by the clinic staff at the entrance.
Quickly following was a line of different examinations, the first to determine if the pressure inside my eyes was correct. Do not ask me how, but this can be checked by looking into a devise that is blowing a soft wind in your eye. In the same room, my eyesight was checked – you know, the “please read the numbers aloud” procedure. What we found out was that I have -2 on both eyes and that my recently bought glasses are perfect for me.
Next, I saw Dr. Kim Deok-bae, who did a really thorough eye examination. The exam is completely pain-free, only you have to look into a really bright light, while the doctor examines the eye.
Dr. Kim determined that he would not recommend either the LASIK or LASEK operation unless I really, really hate wearing glasses. Due to my age, I would still have to use reading glasses, even if my overall vision was improved, so not really all that much was achieved after all.
The only suitable operation would be a refractive lens exchange, an operation commonly used on cataract patients where the lens inside the eye is changed completely. It provides patients with 20/20 vision but is also a much more invasive than LASIK and LASEK, so again topping my list of fears!
After wearing contact lenses for so many years, I was curious if my eyes were in any way damaged by them, so the final exam we did involved a line of pictures looking straight into the inside of my eyes to check for changes or conditions that needed attention. Dr. Kim showed me the pictures and could reassure me, that everything looks perfectly normal. He did find minor specs of cataract, perfectly in line with what could be expected at my age, but nothing to worry about for many years to come.
The overall impression of the exam was really good, and as a person with very limited Korean, I would be more than happy to go there again on my own for any other exam or operation. Dr. Kim spoke English at a good level and, had I not been in the company of GIC staff, I would still been fine. The staff at the clinic seems really nice and confident in their work, so I felt very welcome and warmly received there. Had I been younger, I would have overcome my fears and gone for the operation.
The final conclusions are that it was a perfectly nice experience with the result I was expecting, too, so I will still be using lenses or wearing glasses. My most recent upgrade is an “anti-fog” cloth to polish my glasses, I am not really convinced it works, though! Anyway, what follows is our interview with Dr. Kim about his practice.
Interview with Dr. Kim Deok-bae
Gwangju News (GN): Hello, Dr. Kim. Thank you for taking the time to do this interview. First off, please tell us a little bit about yourself for our readers.
Dr. Kim: Hello and thank you for meeting me. I am glad to greet you, even if it is only in writing. My name is Kim Deok-bae, the head director of Happy Eye 21 Hospital, and I am in charge of retina and cataract.
GN: When do you start your career at Happy Eye 21 Hospital?
Dr. Kim: I have been working here since 2009, so it is my 14th year this year.
GN: Please describe your main duties as the head doctor and the challenges that come with them.
Dr. Kim: As the head doctor, externally I represent the hospital at events, and internally, I am responsible for making decisions about the hospital’s major and minor issues. In the long term, my goal is to establish a 10-year development plan for the hospital.
GN: As a medical practitioner, do you have a philosophy of life or principle you follow?
Dr. Kim: Diligence, sincerity, and passion are my philosophy of life, and among them, I consider diligence to be the most important. The reason is so that I do not make mistakes during patient care or surgery.
GN: Please tell us what makes Happy Eye 21 Hospital stand out from other eye hospitals in the city (or the country)?
Dr. Kim: We are equipped with state-of-the-art equipment as well as specialists in each field, so you can find one-stop treatment at a university hospital level with a single visit. There is a well-established cooperative system that allows you to seek treatment from a retina specialist right away if an abnormality is found in the retina after coming for an eye exam such as LASIK.
GN: What is your featured service?
Dr. Kim: We can help with all eye-related diseases and necessary surgeries from children to the elderly, and we provide 24/7 medical treatment (except on big public holidays), minimizing the gaps and inconveniences of limited operating hours for our patients.
GN: What should we keep in mind if we want to get a LASEK/LASIK treatment?
Dr. Kim: Aftereffects and side effects following cornea surgery can be minimized by receiving an accurate examination. Get an optimal surgery from skilled and experienced medical staff and with the latest equipment.
GN: What kind of treatment do most foreigners look for at the hospital?
Dr. Kim: They are here for various treatments, from mild ones such as conjunctivitis, to LASIK, LASEK, refractive surgery, as well as cataract surgery.
GN: What is your hope and vision for the hospital?
Dr. Kim: It is hard enough to become the best hospital, but it is even more difficult to keep a hospital’s high ranking. Our goal is to maintain ourselves as the number-one eye hospital by earning the trust from Gwangju citizens with lots of effort. And our vision is to create a hospital that satisfies anyone, with happy patients and happy staff.
GN: Do you have any message for our readers?
Dr. Kim: Since we now have to plan for longer and longer lives, thinking about eye health is just as important. Just like regular health check-ups, we must not forget that our eyes should also undergo regular check-ups. In particular, if you are diabetic, we recommend that you have a regular check-up once a year. We will continue to work hard to repay the support that Gwangju News and our international patients have given to Happy Eye 21 Hospital. I also wish for the bright development of Gwangju News, which always provides good, informative articles to its readers.
GN: Thank you, Dr. Kim, and we wish you great success in the future!
Interview translated by Jana Milosavljevic and Karina Prananto.
Photographs by Hillel Kim Yunkyoung.
You can contact Happy Eye 21 Hospital at 062-364-9000.
Address: 950 Mujindae-ro, Seo-gu, Gwangju 광주 서구 무진대로 950 밝은안과21병원 (주식회사명안빌딩)
The Author
Pia has lived in Gwangju since 2017 with her husband and two out of their four children. She’s a happy and curious person, doing the best she can to get her Korean friends addicted to Danish home-baked goods. Unfortunately, the family has to return to Denmark by the end of June 2022, but Korea will always be in her heart, and they’ll be back for visits.