Fighting the Man

I remember when I got in my first and only car accident when I was in high school. I had just gotten my license, was sixteen and feeling free, and then some moron backed up when his lights conveyed he was going straight. It was completely and utterly his fault, but with myself being the brand new driver and him being some 30 or 40 year old liar the policeman totally wrote the report how he showed fit. It didn't help that I could barely talk through my continous dramatic tears, and my own Dad didn't actually believe my story. Or better yet, didn't believe the truth. No one did. And one look at my ridiculously damaged Honda Civic and thoughts of my bank account being depleted was enough to send more sobs running through my body.

Well, when I told my Mom what actually happened in the car accident and that what the policeman wrote was incorrect, she asked me if I wanted to fight it. I would of had to pay my own damages which were over $1,000 (a lot of money for anyone let alone a teenager working in retail) as well as the higher monthly rate for car insurance. She was asking, did I want to fight the insurance company and see if I could win? I thought for a bit, and said "Screw it! I'm right! I wanna fight the Man!" Well I went all out....I reenacted the car accident with a friend of mine taking tons of pictures that I then presented at a hearing in front the car insurance company. But I kept thinking that the harm had been done and there would be no coming out of the hole that had been dug already. The police were against me, the guy in the other car was against me, and even my own Dad didn't think my story was true. Why would some car insurance people think I was anything but an irresponsible teenager?

Low and behold, months later, I got a phone call from my Mom who proceeded to read me a letter from the car insurance company. I will never forget that moment when she told me I had won.....I beat the claim against me.....I beat the Man. My Dad then got on the phone and earnestly apologized for not having my back, and to this day I know he would never make that same mistake again. There could be solid proof against me, irreparable damage, and he would still vouch for my innocence.

Well as exhilarating as that day was when I found out I was victorious it was somewhat of an exhausting situation. Fighting the Man is no small feat and many times is a lot of work with no payoff.

Well I find myself at a crossroads again, wanting to fight the Man, but not sure if its worth it. You see, I had to sign up for National Health Insurance while over here and pay $125 to be under their plan. I was told that I would get 40% of my funds back whenever I spent money in a medical sense while here in Korea. Well, believe it or not, during my continuous 3 months of being incredibly sick when I first arrived here I tallied up about $380 of medical expenses. To even mail in your claims to get a refund you have to get a note from your doctor to explain why you went there to begin with. These notes cost $5 or $10. In total I spent about $20 on doctors notes, deeming it a worthy cause only because of how much I would get back from the Health Insurance Company. I handed in my information and receipts a few months ago and crossed my fingers. Well, I found out yesterday that I am getting $24 back from the $380 worth of receipts that I handed in.

(pause for a moment of disgust)

Yea.....a mere and pathetic $24 that only covers my doctors notes costs! In my frustration and disbelief I asked for an itemized receipt of what they will and won't pay for, since there are so many things they have considered not worthy of giving me back 40% of. I then was told by the Korean staff member that is handling this for me, that the National Health Insurance of Korea does not keep records so I will not be getting anything of the sort, and maybe I should get a lawyer.

I started to laugh, and then genuinely looked at him in his face and said "What would you do if you were owed $100 and no one would explain to you why you don't get it? What would you do if you were in this situation? Am I the only person that has ever asked this question in all of Korea?" He walked away.

Now I have a decision to make. Do I want to fight the Man and try to get my money or let it go like so many teachers have here when they have been ripped off by their Health Insurance. Coworkers keep telling me that this is just how it is, this is how things are with the health insurance here. I know it's true, but it doesn't make it right. If I fight the Man I will probably lose because doing anything like this in Korea is beyond difficult. Is it really worth the trouble?

Because after all.....how do you fight the Man when the Man speaks Korean?