How do I prepare a child's overseas vaccination record for a Korean school?
My child starts at a school in Suwon this term and we were asked for vaccination records. The booklet we have from home is in a different format from the Korean one, so I do not know whether it can be submitted as is. Does it need translation, and should a public health centre verify it first?
1 Answer
Take the original booklet to your local public health centre and ask them to register the overseas vaccinations — do that before submitting anything to the school.
What the school actually checks is the electronic record in the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's immunisation registry. Vaccinations given abroad are not in that system, so handing over a foreign booklet leaves the school with something it cannot verify. Once the health centre reviews your booklet and enters the history, you can obtain a Korean-format vaccination certificate and submit that instead, which resolves the problem cleanly.
In Suwon, go to the immunisation room at the public health centre for the district where you live. Bring the original booklet, your child's alien registration card or passport, and your own identification. If the booklet is in English it is usually accepted as is; in another language you will need a Korean or English translation, and some centres ask for notarised translation. Phone ahead and ask which applies — it is the difference between one visit and two.
One thing to anticipate: schedules differ between countries, so measured against the Korean schedule some vaccinations may appear missing. The national immunisation programme covers BCG, hepatitis B, DTaP, polio, MMR, varicella and Japanese encephalitis among others, and the health centre can give any catch-up doses free or at very low cost. Because intervals between doses must be observed, this takes time, so go well before term starts rather than in the final week.
For questions, ask the health centre, the disease control agency counselling line on 1339, or the school health teacher.