Thirteen Medicines at Korea's Convenience Stores — Epoche A2
Minutes: "Living Alone in Seoul" Group, Meeting 5 Date: 20 June 2024, 7.30 p.m. Place: Health Centre, Room 2, Mapo-gu, Seoul Present: Kim Min-ji (leader), Park Ji-ho, Lee Su-a, Choi Eun-bi 1. Topic: sick at two in the morning Min-ji opened with the main point: in Korea you can buy simple medicine in the middle of the night without a pharmacy, because since 2012 the law has allowed 24-hour convenience stores to sell a small, fixed list of medicines. Pharmacies close in the evening; the convenience store never closes. 2. Reports Ji-ho had a fever at 2 a.m. on 3 May. The pharmacy near his flat had closed at 8 p.m. He bought fever tablets at the convenience store under his building for about 3,000 won. Su-a asked her pharmacist about the rule. The list has thirteen products, and only thirteen, in four groups: medicine for fever and pain, cold medicine, medicine for the stomach, and pain-relief patches. Nothing stronger may go on the shelf. Eun-bi tried to buy two boxes of the same cold medicine before a trip. The clerk could sell her one: the rule is one box of each medicine per customer. 3. Decisions Su-a will make a wallet card with the four groups and the Korean names to ask for. Ji-ho will find the late-night pharmacy nearest the centre and bring its address. Next meeting: 4 July, 7.30 p.m., same room. Topic: first aid at home.