Any one stationed in Korea?

[itsmekook]

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I am interested in stationed in Korea when I graduate from a dental school.
I'm reading a lot of army dental clinics and how limiting opportunities on what they are allowed to do.
Can anyone share their experience in clinics in Korea?
Thank you!

 

[doctor tooth]

I am stationed in Korea and have been here for 2 years. I can say for sure I have been able to do more than some of my peers located stateside. We do not have ADDP overseas so anything that needs to be done has to be done by active duty. Also, there are not specialists at each post here so the bread and butter OS, endo and pros is there for the taking. That being said, some places are hours (4+) from the nearest active duty military specialist so you don't want to get in over your head and then have to tell the patient they need to get on a bus to have someone fix your handywork. I did a 1-year aegd so my OICs have let me do whatever I wanted, those who have not done a residency have a shorter leash BUT if you can prove you can do things safely they will let you do more. Each post is different and how busy your clinic is will be determined by the unit that is there and how big that unit is. If you are at a place with a brigade or similarly large unit, you will be more busy with operative/OS/endo, and sick call will be insanely busy (10+ patients). If you are at a place that is smaller, you may have 0-2 people on sick call and not be booked out 4 weeks.

 

[itsmekook]

I am stationed in Korea and have been here for 2 years. I can say for sure I have been able to do more than some of my peers located stateside. We do not have ADDP overseas so anything that needs to be done has to be done by active duty. Also, there are not specialists at each post here so the bread and butter OS, endo and pros is there for the taking. That being said, some places are hours (4+) from the nearest active duty military specialist so you don't want to get in over your head and then have to tell the patient they need to get on a bus to have someone fix your handywork. I did a 1-year aegd so my OICs have let me do whatever I wanted, those who have not done a residency have a shorter leash BUT if you can prove you can do things safely they will let you do more. Each post is different and how busy your clinic is will be determined by the unit that is there and how big that unit is. If you are at a place with a brigade or similarly large unit, you will be more busy with operative/OS/endo, and sick call will be insanely busy (10+ patients). If you are at a place that is smaller, you may have 0-2 people on sick call and not be booked out 4 weeks.

Amazing, thank you very much!

 

[InformMe123]

how likely is it to get stationed in korea if it is one of your top choice?

 

[doctor tooth]

Historically, Korea has a high turnover rate due to most people only coming for 1 year tour. Each year varies for the amount of people that leave and therefore open up a spot for someone to fill. Some people extend, others dont. Its usually on the same lines as a large post in CONUS (Bragg, Hood, Bliss) for how many docs are needed per year. So the answer is, yes there is a pretty good chance. Now there are dental clinics all over Korea and where you end up is decided by the commander here so be prepared to be stationed anywhere in Korea (this is the same for most overseas assignments).

 

[gatorfan99]

I know people that got stationed in Korea and absolutely LOVED it, as a matter of fact one in particular is begging to go back.

 

[NAVY DDS 2010]

I know people that got stationed in Korea and absolutely LOVED it, as a matter of fact one in particular is begging to go back.

Is his name Chris?

 

[InformMe123]

which would be better for being stationed in Korea: Army/Navy/AF?

 

[gatorfan99]

Army

 

[gatorfan99]

Navy slots tend to be more in Japan (there's an Army location there as well)

 

[NMC2010]

@doctor tooth , I'm Army HPSP and also interested in being stationed in Korea. I'd love to be able to interact with the Korean people/experience the culture, and have even been teaching myself Korean. As an Army dentist, what kind of opportunities do you have to interact with the local people there? Which city/base are you stationed at, and what kind of things do you do during your spare time? Is it a bigger or smaller base, and which would you say is preferable in terms of dentistry (meaning: is being extremely busy better or worse)?

 

[customx]

Would doing a one year AEGD be advantageous towards being placed in Korea, or does it even matter?

 

[armydoc2016]

Korea is not a bad duty station if your in DENTAC or the dental company assigned to the peninsula. It also depends on the Area you're stationed as well. If you're not at post where there's a specialist, then you have the opportunity to pretty much everything. The people are really nice and there's a lot of great history.

 

[InformMe123]

Is being stationed in Korea a one year tour or is it possible of being there for the entire four years? Also, is this correct for the possible bases: Air Force - Osan, Kunsan and Army - Camp Humphreys, Camp Casey, Yongsan (But I heard Yongsan is getting moved to Humphreys)?

 

[wildrice]

Source - currently stationed in Korea. Been here for 2 years. Stationed here straight out of d school.

Korea isn't hard to get, as a lot of people will actively try not to get stationed here. Also, spots open frequently given the annual turnover rate. That being said, some things are changing. Due to some shenanigans with people jockeying to get to and stay in Korea for their whole careers, the current CO has made some changes.

-HRC is limiting if not eliminating the opportunities for first tours in Korea
-extension is only going to be approved the first time. ie, 1 year can become 2 (or 2, can become 3 w/command sponsorship) no more after that
-Command is not authorizing in country moves. once your in a clinic, you stay at that clinic

All that being said, let me answer some of your other questions. Korea has 9 clinics

-3 up near the DMZ: Camp Casey, Camp Stanley, Camp Red Cloud
-3 in Seoul(Yongsan): DC2, DC3, Carrius
-1 just south of Seoul: Camp Humphreys
-2 in Daegu - Camp Carroll, Camp Walker

where you go is entirely subject to which clinics need people. now, a lot of our clinic activities are going to be transitioning from Yongsan to Humphreys. They're building a huge new clinic, and it should probably be up and running within a year. As such, they aren't really assigning that many people in Yongsan anymore. As far as getting a spot, doing a 1 year wont really have any effect on your chances.

Now, considering all this, a few things about life here

Pros:
-Fantastic travel opportunities
-lots of small clinics, which is the biggest determining factor in whether or not you'll get to practice with much variety. AEGD 1 yr grads still work the amalgam line in the bigger clinics.
-great opportunity to live in a new & different place. experience a way of life that isn't your own

Cons:
-far from family
-we're dual tasked as a field unit (DENTAC Korea/618th Dental Company). This mostly means there is an annual field training, a requirement to annually qualify on M9 and some other M-TOE stuff. Doesn't make a whole lot of difference in the day to day, but some times its annoying. Field training is not fun, just feels like a waste of time in order to sign off on annual training reqs. But you know, army
-army in Korea has a standing 2am curfew
-every once in a while Kim up north gets an itchy trigger finger and we go on lock down. no pass/leave etc
-netflix just got better at blocking VPNs and the selection on Korean netflix blows.


If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I'll be here for a few more months before I head back to the states for residency.

 

[drill-and-fill]

So if most people are actively avoiding to get stationed in Korea and there are people who are willing to jump through hoops to stay in such an undesirable place, I don't see why they're trying to prohibit people from doing that? Doesn't that satisfy everyone? Also, regarding the last con listed, I've heard that Korea has extremely fast internet everywhere so you could just bit-torrent any tv-show or movie you want 🙂