Medical Help in Korea: Hospitals, Pharmacies and Emergency Numbers for Travelers
A practical, non-diagnostic guide to choosing a clinic, pharmacy or emergency room, calling 112/119/1339/1330, and collecting documents for travel insurance.
Medical Help in Korea: Hospitals, Pharmacies and Emergency Numbers for Travelers
Getting sick abroad is stressful, but the first decision can be simple: use 119 for an immediate medical emergency, a clinic for a stable problem that needs a doctor, and a pharmacy for medicine advice or to fill a prescription. This guide explains the system; it does not diagnose symptoms or replace a clinician.
Save these four numbers before you need them
• 119 — fire, rescue and medical emergencies. Call for an ambulance or an immediate threat to life or safety. Say your location first, then what happened, the number of patients and a callback number. If speaking is difficult, show a nearby person your address and “119.”
• 112 — police. Use it for crime, violence, threats, a missing person or when police protection is needed. It is not the routine number for medical advice.
• 1339 — Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency call center. Use it for infectious-disease and public-health questions. It is not a replacement for 119 when someone needs urgent treatment.
• 1330 — Korea Travel Helpline. Use it for multilingual travel information and help navigating services. It can help a traveler communicate or locate information, but it does not dispatch an ambulance and should not delay a 119 call.
When calling from a foreign or roaming phone, local short-code behavior can vary. If a short code does not connect, ask hotel, station or shop staff to call locally; 1330 is also listed as +82-2-1330 by VISITKOREA.
*Seoul ambulance photo: for urgent illness or injury, call 119 directly rather than trying to arrange routine transport.*
Clinic, pharmacy or emergency room?
Choose a clinic for a stable problem
A local clinic (의원) is usually the sensible first stop for a non-life-threatening problem that needs examination, a prescription or follow-up: a persistent fever, worsening cough, minor injury, rash or stomach problem, for example. Search by specialty and confirm opening hours by phone. Ask whether interpretation is available; do not assume every clinic has an English-speaking clinician.
Bring your passport or another ID, a list or photos of current medicines, allergies, relevant conditions, and your insurer’s assistance number. If you have a chronic condition, carry a brief medical summary and the generic names of medicines.
Choose a pharmacy for medicines—not diagnosis
A pharmacy is marked 약국. Pharmacists can explain available non-prescription products and dispense prescription medicine, but some drugs require a Korean prescription. Show the active ingredient, strength and dosing instructions rather than relying only on a foreign brand name. Tell the pharmacist about allergies, pregnancy, chronic conditions and other medicines. Ask for written directions and confirm how often and how long to take the product.
Opening hours vary, especially at night, on Sundays and public holidays. Check E-Gen or an official holiday/late-night pharmacy listing and call before traveling there.
*Illustrative pharmacy storefront: in Korea, look for the Korean word “약국” and confirm current opening hours before setting out.*
Choose an emergency room for time-critical care
An emergency room (응급실) is for potentially serious or rapidly worsening conditions, such as severe breathing difficulty, loss of consciousness, major bleeding, signs of stroke, serious trauma or a severe allergic reaction. This list is not a diagnostic checklist: if you believe there is an immediate danger, call 119. Emergency departments triage by medical urgency, so arrival order does not determine treatment order. Non-urgent visits may involve a long wait and higher charges than a clinic.
*Emergency department at Seoul National University Hospital: emergency rooms prioritize by clinical urgency, not arrival time.*
Finding an open medical facility
Use the E-Gen Emergency Medical Portal to search for nearby emergency rooms, hospitals and pharmacies, but verify the displayed hours by phone because schedules can change. Your accommodation can also call and give the destination in Korean. International clinics at large hospitals may help with language and billing during their operating hours; they are not automatically the fastest choice for every minor problem.
Have this information ready: current address or a map pin, symptoms and start time, age, allergies, medicines, pregnancy status if relevant, and whether the person can walk and breathe normally. Do not eat or drink before a possible procedure unless medical staff say it is safe.
At reception: language, consent and payment
State the main problem briefly and show your written medical information. Ask for an interpreter if needed, and request an explanation before signing consent or payment documents. Foreign visitors are commonly asked to pay directly, but procedures differ by hospital and insurer. Contact your travel insurer early for a guarantee of payment or referral if the situation is not delaying emergency care.
Never postpone emergency treatment while waiting for insurance authorization. For planned or non-urgent care, ask for an estimate and confirm what your policy covers. A passport is useful, but treatment and payment requirements are institution-specific.
Build an insurance claim packet before leaving
Ask the hospital or clinic for:
1. An itemized bill showing each service and charge.
2. The payment receipt and method of payment.
3. A medical certificate, diagnosis note or visit summary in the form your insurer accepts.
4. Copies of prescriptions, test results and relevant imaging reports.
5. The facility’s name, address, phone number and attending clinician details.
6. If an ambulance was used, any available transport or emergency-service record.
Keep the originals, photograph every page, and note your insurer’s case number. English documents may cost extra or take time, so ask before discharge. Requirements differ: only your insurer can confirm whether translation, a specific claim form or prior authorization is needed.
*An allergy wristband illustrates why travelers should communicate allergies clearly and keep them written in an accessible place.*
A calm five-step plan
1. Immediate danger: call 119; call 112 as well if police protection is needed.
2. Stable but needs a doctor: find an open clinic and confirm language support and hours.
3. Medicine question or prescription: visit a pharmacy marked 약국.
4. Public-health or infectious-disease question: call 1339; for multilingual travel navigation, use 1330.
5. Before leaving care: collect itemized billing, receipts, clinical records and prescriptions for insurance.
Service hours and language availability can change. Recheck the linked official services on the day you need them.