Doctor: "Let's do an MRI scan"... Fewer incidents of North Korean defectors saying "Please don't swear"

Hana Center-National Cancer Center Publish 'Disease Language Casebook'
Misunderstandings Arise from Differences in Medical and Symptom Explanation Terms Between North and South Korea

[Graphic=Asia Economy DB]

▲A doctor said, "Get an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scan," but a North Korean defector patient did not understand the English pronunciation and complained, "What is this? It sounds like a curse."

▲In North Korea, vaginal discharge caused by gynecological inflammation is referred to as 'iseul,' but in South Korea, 'iseul' is only used to describe discharge from amniotic fluid rupture in pregnant women close to childbirth, leading to misunderstandings.

▲Symptoms such as anxiety or stress causing palpitations are expressed as 'simjang singyeongjeung' (cardioneurosis) in North Korea.

It is expected that misunderstandings caused by language differences between the North and South in medical settings will decrease somewhat in the future.

On the 9th, the Hanawon (North Korean Defectors Settlement Support Office) and the National Cancer Center announced that they will publish a casebook on disease language communication between North and South Korea as seen through North Korean defectors.

Language differences between the North and South are one of the main difficulties faced by North Korean defectors in South Korean society. This issue has been particularly prominent in medical institutions.

From August for four months, Hanawon and the National Cancer Center investigated the difficulties experienced by defectors when using medical institutions. The difficulties caused by language differences were not limited to defectors; South Korean medical staff also had trouble understanding defectors’ stories, causing challenges in the treatment process.

Hanawon explained, "To reduce communication problems between defectors and medical staff, the book collected and organized real experiences from medical settings. In particular, in-depth interviews were conducted with defectors who had worked in the medical field in North Korea to investigate medical terminology and the medical environment used there, enabling our medical staff to easily understand the background and context of the disease language used by defectors."

Lee Eun-sook, director of the National Cancer Center, said, "This casebook is very meaningful as it conducted a basic survey on medical terminology differences between the North and South. We hope that more research will progress following this North-South disease language study by the two institutions and that it will become a valuable seed for inter-Korean health and medical cooperation."

Lee Ju-tae, director of Hanawon, said, "I hope this book will help defectors, who are struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic, to better use medical institutions and manage their health."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.