Korea Movie Scene Idea

Part of the process of getting a work visa to teach English as a second language in Korea involves a medical check.  Before they issue you a visa they measure your chest size, foot size, test your eye site, and then they do a blood test for STDs.  Yes, they measure your chest size as part of the teacher visa process.  I was tested for diseases back in Canada before I came over to save myself the trouble of having to head home if I was positive for anything.  Not sure how I’m still negative for everything, considering the numbers involved, but I guess I’ll just thank my lucky stars.

Here’s the idea for the movie scene.  A young Westerner comes over to South Korea to teach English.  He or she is tested for disease and the test comes back positive.  So, they’re in South Korea and they find out they have a disease.  They’re not only declined the work visa but are forced to make their way back home at their own expense.  That moment when they are informed of a positive test result would make for some drama.

There is an irony to the disease testing process for foreigners in Korea.  Solicitation is part of workplace culture here amongst the males.  All the good old boys go out drinking together then head to the brothel.  Across the street from my apartment there is a police station.  There are brothels right beside the station, on both sides.  Korean national media recently portrayed all foreign nationals as disease carriers.  The story was hysterical in its inaccuracies.  The funny thing is, with the disease checks the legally employed foreign population has to undergo, a Korean female is much more likely to contract something from a Korean male than she is from a foreign male.