Healthcare System & National Health Insurance in Korea
Complete guide to using hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and National Health Insurance (๊ฑด๊ฐ๋ณดํ) in South Korea.
Healthcare System & National Health Insurance
๐ก Quick Tip: All foreigners working in Korea must enroll in National Health Insurance (NHI). It covers 50-80% of medical costs!
๐ฅ 1. National Health Insurance (NHI / ๊ฑด๊ฐ๋ณดํ)
Who Must Enroll?
- All employees working in Korea (automatically enrolled)
- Self-employed foreigners with business registration
- Long-term residents (over 6 months)
- Family members can be added as dependents
How to Register
- Employees: Your employer registers you automatically (within 14 days of employment)
- Self-employed: Visit the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) office with:
- Alien Registration Card (ARC)
- Business registration (if self-employed)
- Passport
- Receive your Health Insurance Card (๊ฑด๊ฐ๋ณดํ์ฆ) in the mail
๐ฐ Premiums & Costs
- Employee premium: About 3.5% of your monthly salary (split 50/50 with employer)
- Example: If you earn 2,500,000 won/month โ You pay
44,000 won ($33) - Premiums are automatically deducted from your paycheck
- Coverage: 50-80% of medical costs (varies by treatment type)
โ What's Covered
- Doctor consultations
- Hospital treatments and surgeries
- Prescription medications
- Medical tests (X-rays, blood tests, etc.)
- Dental care (basic procedures)
- Traditional Korean medicine (ํ์์)
โ NOT Covered
- Cosmetic procedures
- Some dental procedures (implants, whitening)
- Private hospital rooms (premium rooms)
- Non-prescription medicines
- Certain medical checkups
๐จ 2. Types of Medical Facilities
๐ฅ ๋ณ์ (Byeongwon) - Hospital
- Large facilities with many departments
- Emergency rooms (์๊ธ์ค)
- Surgery and inpatient care
- Usually more expensive
๐ช ์์ (Uiwon) - Clinic
- Small private clinics
- One or few doctors
- For minor illnesses
- Cheaper and faster
๐ฆท ์น๊ณผ (Chigwa) - Dental Clinic
- For dental care
- Cleanings, fillings, extractions
- Basic care covered by NHI
๐ฟ ํ์์ (Hanuiwon) - Korean Medicine
- Traditional Korean medicine
- Acupuncture, herbal medicine
- Also covered by NHI!
๐ 3. How to Visit a Hospital/Clinic
Step-by-Step Process
-
1
Choose a facility
For minor illness โ Clinic (์์). For serious โ Hospital (๋ณ์)
-
2
Bring your documents
โข Health Insurance Card (๊ฑด๊ฐ๋ณดํ์ฆ)
โข Alien Registration Card (ARC) or Passport -
3
Register at reception (์ ์๋)
Give your cards. Say: "์ฒ์์ด์์" (cheoeum-ieyo) = "First time"
-
4
Wait for your number
Watch the screen for your number or name
-
5
See the doctor
Explain your symptoms (use translation app if needed)
-
6
Pay at the counter
You only pay your portion (30-50% of total cost)
-
7
Get prescription (์ฒ๋ฐฉ์ )
Take it to any pharmacy (์ฝ๊ตญ) within 3 days
๐ฑ Useful Korean Phrases
์ํ์ (apa-yo) = It hurts
์ด์ด ๋์ (yeori nayo) = I have a fever
๊ธฐ์นจ์ด ๋์ (gichimi nayo) = I have a cough
๋ฐฐ๊ฐ ์ํ์ (baega apayo) = My stomach hurts
์ฝ ์ฃผ์ธ์ (yak juseyo) = Please give me medicine
์์ด ๊ฐ๋ฅํ์ธ์? (yeongeo ganeunghaseyo?) = Do you speak English?
๐ 4. Pharmacies (์ฝ๊ตญ / Yakguk)
How to Use a Pharmacy
- With prescription: Give your prescription (์ฒ๋ฐฉ์ ) to the pharmacist
- Without prescription: You can buy basic medicines (cold medicine, pain relievers, etc.)
- Hours: Usually 9 AM - 8 PM. Some 24-hour pharmacies exist in big cities
- Payment: Cash or card accepted
Common Over-the-Counter Medicines
๊ฐ๊ธฐ์ฝ (gamgiyak) = Cold medicine
๋ํต์ฝ (dutong-yak) = Headache medicine
์ํ์ (sohwaje) = Digestive medicine
๋ฐด๋ (baendeu) = Band-aids
์๋ ์ฝ (sodogyak) = Disinfectant
์ฐ๊ณ (yeongo) = Ointment
๐ก Tip: Pharmacists in Korea are very knowledgeable and can recommend medicines for minor symptoms. Just describe your symptoms!
๐ฐ 5. Typical Medical Costs (with NHI)
| Service | Your Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Clinic consultation | 5,000-15,000 won | $4-12 |
| Hospital consultation | 15,000-30,000 won | $12-24 |
| Prescription medicines | 3,000-20,000 won | Depends on medicine type |
| X-ray | 10,000-30,000 won | $8-24 |
| Blood test | 10,000-50,000 won | Varies by test type |
| Dental cleaning | 15,000-30,000 won | $12-24 |
| Emergency room | 30,000-100,000+ won | Depends on treatment |
* These are approximate costs with National Health Insurance coverage. Actual costs may vary by facility and treatment.
๐ฃ๏ธ 6. English-Speaking Hospitals
These hospitals have English-speaking staff and international clinics:
Seoul
- Severance Hospital (์ธ๋ธ๋์ค๋ณ์) - International Healthcare Center
- Samsung Medical Center (์ผ์ฑ์์ธ๋ณ์)
- Asan Medical Center (์์ธ์์ฐ๋ณ์)
- Seoul National University Hospital (์์ธ๋๋ณ์)
Other Cities
- Busan: Pusan National University Hospital
- Incheon: Gachon University Gil Medical Center
- Daejeon: Chungnam National University Hospital
๐ Useful Resources
- 1339 Medical Helpline: 24/7 English medical consultation (dial 1339, press 2 for English)
- Seoul Global Center: Medical interpretation services
- Apps: "Naver Map" (๋ค์ด๋ฒ์ง๋) - Search "์์ด ๊ฐ๋ฅ ๋ณ์" (English-speaking hospital)
โจ 7. Important Tips & Things to Know
โ DO
- Always bring your Health Insurance Card
- Visit clinics for minor issues (cheaper!)
- Take prescription to pharmacy within 3 days
- Keep all medical receipts (for tax deduction)
- Get annual health checkup (free with NHI!)
โ DON'T
- Go to big hospitals for minor illness
- Forget to register for NHI (you'll be fined!)
- Skip getting prescription filled
- Leave without getting receipt
- Ignore symptoms - early treatment is cheaper!
๐ฏ Key Takeaways
- โ Register for National Health Insurance as soon as possible
- โ Healthcare in Korea is affordable and high-quality
- โ Choose clinics (์์) for minor issues, hospitals (๋ณ์) for serious ones
- โ Always bring your Health Insurance Card and ARC
- โ English-speaking services are available at major hospitals
- โ Use translation apps or the 1339 helpline if needed
๐ Additional Resources
Additional Resources
National Health Insurance Service (NHIS)
Website: www.nhis.or.kr/english
Hotline: 1577-1000 (press 9 for English)
Emergency Medical Services
Emergency: 119 (ambulance)
Medical Consultation: 1339 (press 2 for English)
Need More Help?
If you have questions about healthcare or need assistance, contact your local immigration office or call the 1339 medical helpline.
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Views: 0 โข Last updated: 11/11/2025