Using Hospitals and Getting Care in Your Language

At a glance

• Foreigners staying in Korea also have the right to receive emergency medical care.
• Foreigners enrolled in health insurance receive the same insurance benefits as Korean nationals (NHIS guidance).
• Find ERs, night and holiday hospitals and pharmacies on E-GEN, and hospitals for regular care on the HIRA hospital and pharmacy search.
• If a life is in danger, call 119. A staff member who speaks your language responds, or an interpreter is connected by 3-way call.
• For daily-life advice and interpreting use 1345 (20 languages), for tourist interpreting 1330, and in Seoul the 120 foreign-language help line.

Who needs to do this

• Every citizen has the right to receive emergency medical care without discrimination, and the same applies to foreigners staying in Korea.
• Foreigners enrolled in health insurance receive the same insurance benefits as Korean nationals (NHIS guidance).
• Under the Act on Support for Overseas Expansion of Medical Services and Attraction of Foreign Patients, a "foreign patient" is a foreigner who is not a member or dependent of National Health Insurance (excluding foreign residents set by Ministry of Health and Welfare ordinance). Foreign residents enrolled in health insurance are not foreign patients to be attracted under that Act.

Where to apply

• Emergency Medical Portal E-GEN: ER search, hospital and pharmacy search, Moonlight Children’s Hospitals and hospitals open on festive days and holidays. Some English support is available and the 119 and 129 help numbers are posted.
• HIRA hospital and pharmacy search: besides type of facility and equipment, you can search by pediatric night clinics (after 20:00), hospitals open now, hospitals with inpatient wards and sellers of safe household medicines.
• 119 control center: when a foreigner calls, a staff member who speaks the language responds or connects a volunteer interpreter or others by 3-way call. An English service of the 119 reporting app is also available (policy briefing).
• Immigration Contact Center 1345: advice in 20 languages and 3-way interpreting with government and non-profit bodies. Open weekdays 9:00–22:00; after 18:00 only Korean, English and Chinese. From abroad: +82-2-1345.
• Korea Tourism Organization 1330: advice and interpreting in English, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Vietnamese, Thai and Indonesian; medical emergencies are passed on to 119, 1345 and other bodies. From abroad: +82-2-1330; text messages and messengers such as KakaoTalk can also be used (K-Gonggam).
• 120 Dasan Call Center foreign-language help (Seoul): (02)120 → 9 → language number (English 1, Chinese 2, Japanese 3, Vietnamese 4, Mongolian 5). Open weekdays 09:00–18:00, with 3-way interpreting when needed. From abroad: +82-2-731-2120.
• Medical Korea foreign patient information system (run by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute): check registered foreign patient attraction providers and accredited medical institutions.

What to bring

• To be covered by health insurance you must be eligible to enroll. For foreigners, enrollment requires alien registration (or domestic residence report).

Cost

• Foreigners enrolled in health insurance receive the same insurance benefits as Korean nationals (NHIS guidance).
• The 120 Dasan Call Center foreign-language line charges only normal call rates, with no extra information fee.

Procedure

• Step 1: if a life is in danger, call 119. You are connected to a foreign-language responder or 3-way interpreting.
• Step 2: find ERs, night and holiday hospitals and pharmacies on E-GEN.
• Step 3: for regular care, search the HIRA hospital and pharmacy search by department, hospitals open now and other conditions.
• Step 4: if communication is difficult, use 1345 (daily-life advice and 3-way interpreting for foreign residents), 1330 (tourist interpreting) or, in Seoul, the 120 foreign-language line.
• Step 5: if you need a medical certificate after treatment, you can ask the doctor who examined you, and the doctor cannot refuse without a justifiable reason.

Common sticking points

• Medical personnel and founders of medical institutions cannot refuse a request for treatment without a justifiable reason.
• Emergency medical workers who receive a request for emergency care or find an emergency patient must provide emergency care immediately and cannot refuse or avoid it without a justifiable reason.
• After 18:00, 1345 offers only Korean, English and Chinese. For other languages, call on weekdays during the day.
• The 120 foreign-language line is not open on weekends or public holidays.
• Foreign local members who are behind on insurance contributions may have their insurance benefits restricted.

This guide is general information and does not decide whether an individual can receive care. Hours and laws can change, so check the original text through the official links and with the competent authority.