By Park Si-soo
Staff reporter
From next Monday, people will be more easily able to buy medicine at night or on holidays at designated pharmacies.
The Korean Pharmaceutical Association (KPA) said that it will test-run 2,848 pharmacies in major cities across the nation which will sell drugs around the clock and without closing.
These pharmacies will be divided into groups by their opening times. To mark their hours of operation, they will attach different colored stickers in their windows: red for 24-hour operations: blue, open until 2 a.m.; green for year-round service or yellow if open later than 10 p.m.
The around-the-clock system is not new ― some drug stores in major residential districts have opened 24 hours in rotation, but it was not easy for people to learn where to find a drug store open at night, in the case of an emergency.
"To help relieve the confusion, we've designated pharmacies to be opened at nighttime or on holidays," Yoon Sa-myung, a spokesman for the association. "All participating stores joined the project voluntarily. Some losses are expected at the beginning, but they are willing to do so with the shared idea that this is for the sake of public health."
In Seoul, a total of 31 stores will open around the clock or until 6 a.m. with 2,174 running all year round and the remaining 593 will remain open after 10 p.m.
Not only over-the-counter drugs but also prescription-based ones will be available, the association said.
"We will gradually increase stores with late shifts to efficiently reach out to those with emergency medical needs at night," Yoon said. The KPA plans to develop a system making it possible for mobile phone users to confirm locations and will also list contact numbers of participating stores.
Housewife Lee Sun-ok welcomed the move. She recently had a hard time finding emergency medication at night around her residence in northwestern Seoul.
"My 3-year-old son's eyes swelled after getting toothpaste in them. To get saline to clean them, I rushed out to a neighborhood drug store but it wasn't open," the 35-year-old mother recounted. "I spent nearly half an hour exploring the town corner-to-corner in search of a 24-hour drug store."
For more information, visit the KPA website (www.pham114.co.kr), or call 1339 (emergency medical calls), 114 (general information service), or 120 (Dasan Call Center).