Going to a Hospital in Korea as a Foreigner: What to Expect
Going to a hospital in another country can feel intimidating, especially when you are not familiar with the language, the medical system or even the basic process of seeing a doctor.
After living in Korea for many years, going to a clinic or hospital has become a normal part of everyday life for me. Over time, I have learned where to go for different health problems, what happens when I arrive, how prescriptions work and how much of a difference health insurance can make.
For foreigners who are new to Korea, however, even a simple doctor's visit can bring many questions.
Do you need an appointment? What should you bring? Should you go to a neighbourhood clinic or a large hospital? Where do you get your medicine? And what happens if your health insurance is not properly reflected in the hospital system?
Here is what the process has been like for my family.
For Everyday Illnesses, We Usually Start at a Neighbourhood Clinic
For most everyday health problems, my family usually starts with a small neighbourhood clinic rather than going to a large hospital.
These days, we often visit a family medicine clinic (가정의학과의원) close to our home. We go there for common illnesses such as colds, stomach problems or other mild symptoms. We also visit for things such as flu vaccinations.
When my children were younger, however, we usually took them to a paediatric clinic (소아과). As they grew older, we gradually started using our neighbourhood family medicine clinic more often.
This is one of the things I find convenient about living in Korea. For a relatively simple health problem, we usually do not need to start with a large hospital. Having clinics close to home makes it easy to see a doctor when someone in the family is not feeling well.
We Usually Don't Need an Appointment
For the neighbourhood clinics my family uses, we normally do not make an appointment in advance.
We simply go to the clinic, register at the reception desk and wait for our turn.
This is particularly convenient when someone suddenly develops a cold, an upset stomach or another minor health problem. We do not have to plan a doctor's visit several days in advance.
Of course, this is my experience with the neighbourhood clinics we use. Appointment policies can differ depending on the clinic, doctor or type of treatment.
What Happens the First Time You Visit
The first visit to a new clinic usually takes a little longer because the patient needs to be registered in the clinic's system.
In my experience, I showed my Residence Card (외국인등록증) when registering for the first time. The clinic entered my information into its system and asked for some basic details. When my children were younger, I was also asked for information such as their weight.
After that first visit, things became much simpler.
At the clinic we regularly use, we usually just tell the receptionist the patient's name. They find the information already registered in their system, and we sit down and wait.
Even though I have not always been asked to show my Residence Card again, I still think it is a good idea for foreign residents to carry it when visiting a medical institution. A hospital or clinic may need to verify a patient's identity and health-insurance eligibility.
Seeing the Doctor Can Be Quite Quick
After registration, we wait until our name is called and then go into the consultation room.
I explain my symptoms directly to the doctor in Korean. The doctor asks questions about what I am feeling, when the symptoms started and anything else that may be relevant.
For simple problems such as a cold or an upset stomach, the consultation is usually quite short in my experience—often around five minutes.
For someone unfamiliar with Korean healthcare, a short consultation may initially feel surprising. But for the common illnesses for which we visit our neighbourhood clinic, the process is usually straightforward.
Being able to explain my symptoms in Korean certainly makes things easier for me. Medical vocabulary can be different from everyday Korean, but over time I have become familiar with many of the words and questions that come up during ordinary visits.
From the Clinic to the Pharmacy
When the consultation is finished, I return to the reception desk, pay for the visit and receive a prescription (처방전) if the doctor has prescribed medicine.
Then I take the prescription to a pharmacy (약국).
This part is usually very convenient because there is often a pharmacy right beside the clinics we visit or only a short walk away.
I hand the prescription to the pharmacist, the medicine is prepared, and I pay for it separately.
One important thing for newcomers to understand is that the clinic and pharmacy payments are separate. The doctor prescribes the medicine, but I normally collect and pay for it at the pharmacy.
For us, the usual process is very simple:
Clinic → Doctor → Payment and Prescription → Pharmacy → Medicine
One Thing I Like About Korean Pharmacies
One small feature of Korean pharmacies that I find particularly convenient is the way prescription medicine is often packaged.
When several pills need to be taken together, the pharmacies I have used often divide them into individual dose packets.
For example, if medicine needs to be taken in the morning, at lunchtime and in the evening, the pills for each dose can be packaged together separately. This makes it much easier to know which medicines should be taken together and helps prevent confusion.
It is a small detail, but when someone is sick and taking several medicines, I find it very helpful.
Another thing foreign residents should know is that not every medicine can simply be bought over the counter. Some medicines are available directly from a pharmacy, while prescription medicines require a doctor's prescription.
Antibiotics that require a prescription, for example, are not something I can simply choose and buy from the pharmacy myself. When they are needed, the doctor prescribes them and I take the prescription to the pharmacy.
Vaccinations and Health Checkups for Young Children
When my children were younger, visits to medical facilities were not only for times when they were sick. Vaccinations and regular health checkups were also an important part of raising young children in Korea.
For childhood vaccinations, Korea's National Immunization Program provides eligible vaccinations through public health centres (보건소) and participating medical institutions. Depending on the area, parents may find these services at paediatric clinics or other participating medical facilities.
Young children can also receive regular infant and child health screenings, known as 영유아 건강검진.
One important thing for foreign parents to know is that these screenings are provided through designated health-screening institutions. A nearby paediatric clinic, children's hospital or other medical facility may provide the screening, but parents should check first whether that particular institution participates in the program.
When my children were small, vaccinations and these regular health checkups became another normal part of raising children in Korea.
For parents who are new to Korea, it is useful to find out which nearby medical institutions provide the vaccination or health screening their child needs before making a visit.
When a Neighbourhood Clinic Is Not Enough
Of course, not every medical problem can be handled at a small family medicine or paediatric clinic.
Sometimes more specialised treatment or detailed examinations are necessary.
In those situations, a doctor may recommend going to a larger hospital and provide a medical referral letter (진료의뢰서).
In my experience, this has been the way to move from a local clinic to a larger hospital when more specialised care or detailed testing is needed.
The exact referral requirements can depend on the type of hospital and treatment. In particular, Korea's health-insurance system has specific referral procedures for certain higher-level hospitals, including tertiary hospitals (상급종합병원).
For my family, the practical idea is much simpler: we start close to home for ordinary health problems, and when more specialised care is necessary, the neighbourhood doctor can help direct us to the next level of care.
Health Insurance Can Make a Very Big Difference
One of the most important things I have learned from using healthcare in Korea is how much health-insurance status can affect what you actually pay.
I recently experienced this very clearly myself.
I have been visiting the dermatology department of a university hospital for about three years. Recently, my health-insurance situation changed, and I became covered as a dependent under my husband's health insurance.
When I returned to the hospital after this change, however, my updated insurance status did not appear to have been properly reflected in the hospital's system.
The difference in the amount I could have paid was surprisingly large.
Without health insurance, the consultation fee was around 60,000 won, and the examination fee was more than 550,000 won.
After my insurance status was corrected, I paid 21,600 won for the consultation and 53,900 won for the examination.
Fortunately, the issue was noticed before I paid the higher amount.
The hospital's administrative office (원무과) checked my situation and processed the necessary update so that my current health-insurance coverage could be applied.
That experience taught me a very practical lesson.
If your health-insurance status has recently changed and the amount you are asked to pay suddenly seems much higher than expected, it is worth asking the hospital to check whether your current insurance is being applied correctly.
The amounts above are examples from my own medical care. Medical costs vary depending on the hospital, examination, treatment and insurance coverage, so they should not be understood as standard prices.
A Neighbourhood Clinic and a University Hospital Feel Very Different
A neighbourhood clinic and a university hospital are very different experiences.
For a simple illness, our neighbourhood clinic can be quick: register, wait, see the doctor, pay, collect the prescription and go to the pharmacy.
A university hospital visit can involve appointments, different departments, examinations, administrative procedures and considerably more time.
That is why, for my family, a large hospital is not normally the first place we think of for an ordinary illness.
We start small and close to home when we can and use larger hospitals when specialised medical care is necessary.
What I Would Tell a Foreigner Going to a Korean Clinic for the First Time
After many years of using clinics and hospitals in Korea, the process feels quite ordinary to me now. But systems that seem simple once you understand them can feel very different when you first arrive in another country.
For an everyday illness, I would first look for an appropriate neighbourhood clinic. I would take my Residence Card, especially on the first visit, and be prepared to explain my symptoms as clearly as possible.
After seeing the doctor, I would expect to pay at the clinic, receive a prescription if medicine is needed and then visit a nearby pharmacy.
And perhaps most importantly, I would pay attention to my health-insurance status.
For foreigners living in Korea, health-insurance circumstances can change over time depending on factors such as residence status, employment and family circumstances. My own health-insurance situation has changed several times during my years here—from being a student to changes in employment and, more recently, being covered under my husband's insurance.
That is a bigger story, and one I plan to write about separately.
For this post, the main thing I want to share is simpler: going to a doctor in Korea does not have to feel complicated once you understand the basic process.
For my family, the neighbourhood clinic has become part of ordinary life—somewhere we can go when a child has a cold, someone has an upset stomach or we simply need a flu vaccination.
Sometimes understanding life in another country comes through big experiences. But often, it comes through small routines such as knowing where to go when someone in your family wakes up feeling sick.
This post describes our family's personal experience of using healthcare in Korea. Medical procedures, eligibility, insurance coverage and costs can vary by patient and institution and may change over time. Readers should confirm current information with their clinic, hospital, pharmacy or the National Health Insurance Service.
