Korea's healthcare is excellent and cheap — the hard part is knowing where to go and what happens. 5 facility tiers (so you don't waste a day at a big hospital for a cold), a symptom → department decoder across 11 진료과, the 7-step visit flow from registration to the separate pharmacy, and 8 tips on cost + insurance.
Curated 2026-07. Costs are uninsured out-of-pocket estimates — still cheap (a clinic cold visit ≈ ₩10–20k). For the hospital + OTC-medicine list see Medical.
Start low. A neighborhood 의원 handles ~90% of problems.
₩3,000–12,000 · Walk-in, minutes
Pharmacists can recommend OTC meds for minor issues. Cheapest first step. No prescription needed for OTC. See /medical for the OTC name list.
₩10,000–30,000 · 10–30 min (walk-in OK)
The correct first stop for ~90% of problems. Single-specialty (내과, 이비인후과, 피부과…). Short wait, low cost, often some English. Walk in with your passport/ARC.
₩20,000–60,000 · 30–60 min
Bigger than a 의원, multiple departments + basic imaging. Good middle tier when a clinic can't handle it but you don't need a university hospital.
₩25,000–100,000 · 1+ hour; appointment often required
Don't start here for minor issues — long waits, higher cost, and many require a 진료의뢰서 (referral) from a clinic. Best English support + international clinics live here (Severance, Samsung, Asan, St. Mary's).
₩60,000–300,000 · Triaged by severity
Open 24/7 but expensive and slow for non-emergencies. For after-hours non-emergencies, call 119 first — besides ambulances it answers "which clinic/pharmacy near me is open" and can bring an interpreter on the line. (The old 1339 medical-information line was folded into 119 in 2013; 1339 today is the KDCA infectious-disease line.) You can also check the 응급의료포털 e-gen.or.kr.
In Korea you pick the department yourself. Type your symptom to find the right 진료과.
11 results
For most issues choose a neighborhood 의원 of the matching department (e.g. cold → 내과, sore throat → 이비인후과). Don't default to a big hospital. Find one on Naver Map; many show "외국인 진료" or English on their listing.
Clinics usually take walk-ins; big hospitals often need a phone/online appointment. Mornings and early afternoons are least crowded. Avoid Monday mornings + post-holiday rush.
Hand over your passport (tourists) or ARC (residents) and fill a short first-visit form. Say your main symptom. You get a number and wait. First-visit forms may be Korean-only — a translation app helps.
Consults are quick — often 6–8 minutes. State your symptoms plainly; the doctor examines and decides treatment. Ask for an English explanation if needed; many doctors read English even if they speak little.
Pay on the way out — card or cash. Without Korean insurance you pay the full price (still cheap: a cold visit ≈ ₩10k–20k at a clinic). Residents on NHIS pay ~30%. Ask for a 영수증 (receipt) if you'll claim travel insurance.
The clinic does NOT give you medicine (의약분업 = prescribing and dispensing are separated). You receive a printed 처방전 to take to a pharmacy. Keep both copies.
Go to any 약국 — there's almost always one next to or near the clinic. Hand over the 처방전; the pharmacist dispenses + explains dosage. Medicine is cheap and fast. Done.