Although this is a scene one would typically find at a hospital or a clinic it's actually a bus.
The weather is near freezing but that's not keeping these folks from standing in long lines.
So what are they all here for[Reporter : Jang Jiyun
jiyun.jang@arirang.co.kr] "This is the sixth year the Korean Academy of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases is holding a free check-up event."
Most of these people are regular smokers who go through a pack or more a day.
According to the organizers although they've held similar events in previous years this is the first time they've transformed a bus into a mobile clinic.
One of the doctors here say COPD can be fatal if untreated.
[Interview : Dr. Lee Sungyong, Pulmonologist
Guro Hospital, Korea University
] "More than 17 percent of people over the age of 45 suffer from COPD, and about 35 percent of people over the age of 65 have it as well. What this means is that one out of three people in Korea have COPD. Because COPD usually progresses into other diseases like cancer, heart failure and neurological complications the death rate is very high with COPD if untreated."
And this is what some of the patients had to say after their examinations.
[Interview : Choi Sungoh, Hanhwa employee
] "I just found out that my lungs aren't exactly in tip-top shape. Now that I'm aware of the seriousness of COPD I think I'll quit smoking right away, maybe starting today."
[Interview : Choi Jonggak, POSCO employee ] "I'm really glad that the results came out okay but now that I know about COPD I am going to try to quit smoking. And I plan to encourage other smokers around me to get themselves checked as well."
COPD currently ranks fourth along with AIDS in terms of the world's top five deadly diseases so for those smokers who get winded just going up the stairs get yourself checked today.
Jang Jiyun, Arirang News.
NOV 28, 2008
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Arirang Town
Wednesday, FEB 10, 2010, (KST) 
