Medical trip to Korea checklist: before booking, before flying, before leaving

31 things to do across five stages, from the first quote to the first week back home. Tick them off as you go — the list remembers where you were next time you open this page on the same device. Bookmark it, or print it and take it with you.

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Before you pay a deposit0/8

Weeks to months ahead

Check that the clinic is registered to treat foreign patients, and that you are dealing with the clinic itself rather than only a coordinator's phone number.Red-flag clinics →
Get the estimate itemised and in writing, with the currency and whether VAT, tests, medication and aftercare visits are included.Reading a quote →
Get the deposit terms in writing: what happens to it if you cancel, the clinic cancels, or the in-person consultation changes the plan.Paying and deposits →
Confirm in writing who performs the procedure from start to finish, and the type of anaesthesia and who gives it.How it works →
Ask for the follow-up schedule with dates, and which visits are included in the price. Book flights only after you have the last appointment you must attend in person.How long to stay →
Ask which language interpreting is offered in, at which appointments, and whether it costs extra.Interpreters →
Confirm the clinic can issue the consent form, treatment record, prescriptions and an itemised receipt in English.Documents to collect →
Work out the whole trip, not just the procedure: stay, flights, food, interpreting and a contingency.Total cost calculator →

In Korea, before the procedure0/4

Consultation day

If the in-person consultation changes the plan, get the revised plan and price in writing before you agree to anything.Estimate vs settled bill →
Read the consent form in a language you understand before signing it. Ask for the interpreter, not the coordinator, to go through it.Coordinator vs interpreter →
Save an after-hours contact for the clinic for the nights you are recovering in a hotel.
Know where the pharmacy nearest the clinic is; take-home medicine is normally dispensed there, not at the clinic.Pharmacies →

Before you leave Korea0/6

Your last clinic visit

Collect the itemised statement of medical expenses and the card slip. Ask for the English version at the same time.The document to collect →
Request copies of your records at the medical records desk: chart, operation record, consent forms. It is fast in person and slow from abroad.Why records matter →
Get written aftercare instructions, and the name of what was used — implant brand and size, lens model, medication — for your doctor at home.
Ask the doctor to confirm you are fit to fly on your booked date.How long to stay →
Keep medicine in its original packets in hand luggage, with the prescription or a doctor's note in English, and check your own country's import rules.Taking medicine home →
Agree how remote follow-up works: which channel, who answers, and what you should send photos of and when.

Back home0/3

The first weeks

See your own doctor with the records, and book any follow-up checks the Korean clinic asked for.
Keep a dated photo log while you heal. If something looks wrong, write to the clinic itself rather than only a coordinator's chat account.If something goes wrong →
File receipts and records together; insurers and tax offices ask for the itemised statement, not the card slip.

Numbers to save in your phone

Save these before you land. From a Korean SIM, dial the short number; from a foreign number, use the +82 form.

Verify before you rely on this: numbers and hours as published by Medical Korea, K-medi and VisitKorea on 19 September 2026. What each service does, and the order to use them in, is set out with sources in If something goes wrong.

This list is a planning aid assembled from the guides on this site; your clinic's own instructions come first. Nothing you tick is sent anywhere. This site is an information resource, not a medical provider, agency or broker. We do not arrange treatment, refer patients to specific hospitals, or receive commission from clinics for introductions. Nothing here is medical advice — decisions about treatment belong to you and a licensed doctor.

Your trip checklist, in the order things happen

Before you pay a deposit0/8

Before you fly0/10

In Korea, before the procedure0/4

Before you leave Korea0/6

Back home0/3

Numbers to save in your phone

Sources