I never thought this would happen to me
From friends and other travellers, I have heard some horror stories about food poisoning (you know like the famous “Bali Belly”). I never expected that this would happen to me – especially not because of my own stupidity. But here we are. This is the story of how I am a stupid person and managed to get food poisoning when living in Seoul, all because of some dumplings.
Sunday
Some friends and I just booked a trip to Busan for the following weekend and we were super excited. I had no idea that a few days later I would have to cancel everything because I was hardly able to walk, let alone travel. So far the weekend had been pretty normal. We went out on Saturday evening and I relaxed and “studied” on Sunday.
I bought some frozen dumplings at a convenience store and cooked them in the air fryer at my ministudio (Goshiwon) for my lunch. They were delicious but I had no idea that these dumplings would ruin the rest of my week. Later in the evening, I met some friends for dinner at an Italian restaurant.
Monday
On Monday I went to class in the morning as usual. I did some studying in the afternoon and wanted to eat dinner at home before meeting a friend of mine. Here’s where I went wrong: I decided to eat the rest of my frozen meat dumplings with some ramen. My ministudio had a small fridge with a built-in freezer. The freezer itself did not really work well. Unfortunately, I did not notice that the dumplings thawed a little (or I didn’t really care because I was in a rush – like I’m saying, this is a story of me being incredibly stupid).
Anyway, I fried the dumplings in a pan and ate them with ramen noodles. I had plans to meet a friend later so I kinda hurried with my dinner (I’m sometimes really impatient when it comes to cooking). I think the combination of the thawing and maybe not being properly heated up resulted in the next miserable days. After eating my dinner, I met a friend at a PC Bang (like an internet café but it’s so fancy) and we spent two hours gaming different games.
Tuesday
Everything went downhill from here. I woke up feeling tired and unwell. I thought it was because I didn’t sleep well. I had quite a noisy neighbour who would wake me up at like 3 a.m. So I decided to go to school anyway and grabbed a hot tea on the way (convenience stores really have everything). But after 30 minutes of class, I had to realize that I felt too exhausted to even pay attention.
I decided to call it a day and head home and hopefully feel better the next day. I was very optimistic that this was just a one-day thing and even asked my friends for her notes so I could catch up.
At home in my Goshiwon aka the smallest room you have ever seen, I went to take a nap. When I woke up I felt feverish and had a sore throat. My first thought was – shit, is it covid? Luckily, a friend who lived in the same building brought me a COVID rapid test and some food (with proper distance of course). I took two of the tests, waiting a day in between and they were both negative. I had caught covid two months earlier in June and this felt completely different.
Thursday
The rest of the week is a blur. I remember my friend bringing food to my door, sleeping a lot and being in a ton of pain. I had intense head- and stomach aches, but I didn’t have the more typical symptoms of food poisoning (aka the shiteroos). I think that’s probably why it took me so long to realize what exactly I was dealing with.
During these days I was hardly able to eat or drink anything. The only thing I managed to get down was crackers. That was everything I was able to eat once in a while. And drink some water and sprite. Not sure if it’s true but I read online that Sprite can help you stay hydrated because of the electrolytes.
On Thursday I was at least able to go downstairs to the convenience store that was a 1-minute-walk away from my house. It took me quite a while to get out of the building and walk the few steps to the store. I felt still very dizzy and unwell and was glad once I made it back to my room. At this point, I decided with my friends to cancel the trip to Busan for the coming weekend.
Friday
Since I wasn’t getting any better my Austrian friend suggested I try to go to a doctor. A few weeks prior she was also struggling with her health and found a German-speaking doctor in Seoul. I am honestly so grateful for her and that she found this doctor.
Tip: If you are ever in a different country/slow travelling make sure you know where you can find a doctor that is speaking at least one language you feel comfortable with and can express yourself in. Here’s a list of German and English-speaking doctors in Seoul.
I ordered a taxi to the doctor’s office, as I was not feeling well enough to use public transportation. Another friend of mine came with me and I was incredibly grateful for that. The taxi I booked was specifically for people who were looking for an English-speaking driver. I’ve used their services before (the only time they did let me down was when I needed to get to the airport).
Anyway, the driver was excited to have foreigners in his car and wanted to explain to us the different things we were driving by. I would’ve loved to have a chat and ask him some questions but I was feeling so unwell. The trip to the doctor felt like a lifetime.
The doctor was incredibly nice and listened to my explanation and speculation that it might be food poisoning. At first, she was quite sceptical that it really was food poisoning, as I was missing some key symptoms. We did another COVID test just to be sure. When it came back negative again, she listened to my stomach and immediately went “Yep that sounds like something is not right.”
She gave me a prescription for some medication and told me where a pharmacy was nearby. This was actually really helpful, as I sometimes struggled to navigate anything in this country where I didn’t speak the language. At the pharmacy, they packaged the medication in little bags that said the day of the week and which meal. It made it so easy to keep track.
By the way, I think I paid for the consultation around 34,000 KRW and the medication was like 10,000 KRW. Overall that was about 30 Swiss Francs / Euros.
My friend and I took the bus home as I was already feeling a little better. Once we got of the bus there was a big street we had to cross and that was probably one of the most stressful moments I had that week. While we were walking over the street I kinda felt like I was about to faint – the panic I got made things even worse. But besides a scare, nothing happened and eventually, I made it back home without any problems.
Lesson learned?
I still felt quite weak the following days and was not able to eat much. The medication I got was helping me a lot, especially in the first days.
This was my first experience with food poisoning and I hope to never have to go through this again. I have definitely learned my lesson and will be a lot more careful. I personally find it funny that this whole disaster was my fault. On the bright side, I never had any issues with restaurants in Korea or the food we ate there.
PS: The featured picture shows not THE dumplings. I just did not have any pictures of that time because as mentioned, I was half dead in my bed.
Angela
Angela, the mastermind behind theslowtravelista, is a passionate traveler who embraces slow travel's essence. With a knack for immersing herself in diverse cultures, she treasures connections formed across the globe. Beyond her adventures, Angela's vibrant personality shines through her love for spontaneous hair changes, hitchhiking escapades, and culinary delights. Join her for travel insights, laughter, and unforgettable adventures.
