If you are a female and have recently moved to or are planning to live in South Korea, then its likely that you are not sure what to do about birth control pills.
South Korea is a developed country where abortions are illegal, so birth control pills are widely available in several brands. Here is a listing of what is available:
Monophasic brands (same dosage for 3 weeks):
Myvolar (Shering)- Estrogen: Ethinyl estradiol 0.03 mg; Progesterone: Gestodene 0.075 mg
Minivor (Shering)- Estrogen: Ethinyl estradiol 0.03 mg; Progesterone: Levonorgestrel 0.15 mg
Mercilon (Organon)- Estrogen: Ethinyl estradiol 0.02 mg; Progesterone: Desogestrel 0.15 mg
Sescon (Crown)- Estrogen: Ethinyl estradiol 0.03 mg; Progesterone: Levonorgestrel 0.15 mg
Diane 35/Clairette (Stagen UK)- Estrogen: Ethinyl estradiol 0.035 mg; Progesterone: Cyproterone acetate 2 mg
Yasmin (Shering)- Estrogen: Ethinyl estradiol 0.03 mg; Progesterone: Drospirenone 3 mg
Yaz (Shering)- Estrogen: Ethinyl estradiol 0.02 mg; Progesterone: Drospirenone 3 mg (no break)
Triphasic (different dosage each week, and the most common brand is Ortho Tri Cyclen):
Triquilar (Shering)- Estrogen: Ethinyl estradiol Week 1: 0.3 mg, Week 2: 0.03 mg, Week 3: 0.03 mg; Progesterone: Levonorgestrel Week 1: 0.05 mg, Week 2: 0.075 mg, Week 3: 0.075 mg.
All of the brands listed above are available over the counter except for Diane 35/Clairette, Yasmin, and Yaz. They are all covered by health insurance as well and most all will cost less than 10,000 KRW each month.
If you are in Seoul and surrounding areas, you may be fortunate to not deal with language barriers at the pharmacy. However, if you are in any other locations you may need to translate.
The word “contraceptives” can be translated to Korean as: 피임약 which is pronounced “pee-eem-yahk”.
Here are translations for some brands:
Diane 35: 다이안느35 “dah-ee-ahneu sam-ship-oh”
Mercilon: 머시론 “meo-shi-lohn”
Minivor: 미니보라 “mee-nee-boh-lah”
Sescon: 쎄스콘 “sexseu kohn”
Triquilar: 트리퀼라 “teu-lee-kwee-lah”
To ask the pharmacist for a certain brand, simply say: “*drug name* pee-eem-yahk iss-ah-yo?”
Sources:
BC in the ROK
Birth Control
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Teaching in Korea: What to Pack
HPV: What You Need to Know
Korean Culture: Social Etiquette