International clinics at major Korean hospitals: how to contact them and what to send

Published 17 September 2026 · Last updated 27 September 2026 · 9 min read · By Jae Han

What a university hospital's international healthcare centre actually does, how a first enquiry should be written, and what happens between your email and your first appointment.

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Korea's large general and university hospitals, the ones that handle cancer, transplants, cardiac and neurosurgery, each run an international healthcare centre. It is the front door for anyone without a Korean resident number, and using it properly saves weeks. Most of them are in Seoul, but not all: the city comparison linked below lists which Busan and Daegu hospitals describe one.

#What the centre does, and does not do

• Receives your records, passes them to the right department and comes back with whether the hospital can help
• Books appointments and tests so they fall on consecutive days instead of weeks apart
• Provides coordinators who speak English and often Russian, Mongolian, Arabic, Chinese or Japanese; languages vary by hospital
• Issues the documents a medical visa application needs, and cost estimates for your insurer or sponsor
• Does not decide your treatment. The specialist does, after seeing you
• Does not usually offer the prices residents pay: international patients are billed at a separate private rate

#The whole sequence at a glance

1. ContactA short, complete first enquiry through the form or address on the hospital's own website. Working days 1–3: acknowledgement and a list of anything missing.
2. RecordsReports by email or upload link; imaging files and slides by the route the coordinator names. Usually the slowest step, because it depends on your home hospital releasing material.
3. ReviewThe department reads the file. The answer comes back through the coordinator: can help or cannot, which specialist, which tests, how many days, estimated cost as a range. Some hospitals charge a review fee.
4. DepositPaid to the hospital's account against a written estimate. The centre then issues the appointment confirmation and, if needed, the documents for a visa application.
5. ArrivalRegistration at the international centre desk with passport and originals, then the first consultation. A coordinator normally goes with you to appointments inside the hospital.

#Writing the first enquiry

Coordinators triage dozens of emails a day. The enquiries that get a useful answer fastest are short and complete:

1. One paragraph: age, sex, nationality, diagnosis, when it was made, and what you want: a second opinion, a specific treatment, or 'tell me what is possible'
2. Treatment so far, with dates: operations, chemotherapy regimens, radiotherapy
3. Attachments: the most recent pathology report, imaging reports, discharge summary and current medication list, in English if at all possible
4. A note that imaging files (DICOM) and pathology slides are available, and a question about how they would like them sent
5. Your time window and whether someone will travel with you

Practical note: Send through the hospital's own official website form or the email address listed there. Several hospitals have near-identical English names, and agencies run sites that look like hospital pages. If the reply comes from a free webmail address or asks for a deposit to a personal account, you are not talking to the hospital.

#Records checklist

Lists differ a little between hospitals, but the core is stable. One Korean public cancer centre's published procedure asks for a medical letter stating the diagnosis, written pathology reports and biopsy slides, image files of MRI, CT or ultrasound with their reports, and medication names and doses, in English, as soft copies, before an appointment or estimate is made. Add the operative report, discharge summary and current treatment plan if you have them.

Records in English are read directly; others need translating, and the order matters. The pathology report is the document the specialist reads first, then the discharge summary and the operation note, then the radiology reports. Image files themselves need no translation. Ask the coordinator which documents the reviewing department wants, and whether a plain English translation is accepted or a certified one is required, before paying to translate a whole file; a certified translation of a fifty-page chart is an expense most hospitals never asked for.

#Realistic timing from first email to first appointment

Book flights only after the appointment confirmation with dates has arrived, which is the last of the five steps above. With records ready and no visa needed, two to three weeks from first email to first appointment is achievable at many hospitals. Add time for each of the usual delays: slides that have to be released and couriered, translation, a specialist who is away, a visa application, and the two long Korean holidays, Lunar New Year and Chuseok, when outpatient clinics close for several days. If you hear nothing for a week, write again with the same subject line and your case summary in the body, not only as an attachment.

Verify before you rely on this: Deposit amounts, review fees, response times and visa paperwork differ between hospitals and change. Entry rules depend on your nationality: Medical Korea describes a C-3-3 visa for treatment of 90 days or less and a G-1-10 visa for 91 days or longer, both needing a document from the Korean hospital confirming the appointment and proof of funds. Check HiKorea or your nearest Korean embassy for the current requirements, and ask the centre exactly which documents it issues.

#Getting your records out of a Korean hospital

Article 21 of the Medical Service Act gives patients the right to view and copy their own records; what that covers, and how to use it in a dispute, is set out in the guide to what to do if something goes wrong. For an ordinary handover the practical point is that the records office issues documents by their Korean names, so ask for each one by name:

Verify before you rely on this: As of 26 September 2026, the Korean Law Information Center carries the Ministry of Health and Welfare standard on certificate fees at medical institutions, applied since 21 September 2017, which sets upper limits on what hospitals may charge for documents such as diagnosis certificates and record copies; each hospital sets its own fee within those limits. Ask the records office for the fee per document, and request everything a day or two before you leave rather than at the last moment.

#What to ask in the second email, once the review has come back

• Which department is reviewing my case, and when should I expect its answer?
• Is there a fee for the review, and is it deducted from later charges?
• What exactly does the estimate include, and what is the most common reason bills exceed it?
• How much is the deposit, to which account, by which methods, and how are refunds made?
• Will a coordinator who speaks my language attend the consultations, or only help with booking?
• Are appointments and tests grouped on consecutive days, and how many days should I plan in total?
• Which documents do you issue for a visa, and how long do you need to prepare them?
• Who do I contact outside office hours once I am in Korea?
• Can I receive results, images and a summary letter in English before I leave, and what do copies cost?

#Reading the estimate that comes back

• Usually included: the consultations named in the plan, the listed tests, a stated number of ward nights if admission is planned, and coordinator support inside the hospital
• Usually excluded: tests added after the first consultation, extra nights, complications, single-room supplements, a paid caregiver, document copies, certified translation, housing and transport
• Estimates are normally given in Korean won. Ask which exchange rate applies if you pay in another currency or by foreign card

A cost estimate is not a quote. For serious illness the final bill depends on what the tests find and how treatment goes. Ask what the estimate assumes, what would push it higher, and how often you will be shown a running total during a stay.

#When the answer is no, or not yet

• The records are too thin to judge. The usual fix is image files and slides rather than more letters
• The department has nothing to add to the standard treatment you are already being offered
• The patient appears too unwell to travel safely; the hospital may ask for a fitness-to-fly opinion from your own doctor
• The treatment you named is not offered there, or is not licensed in Korea for your situation
• Payment for the full course cannot be shown. For sponsored patients this means the guarantee letter has not arrived

A no from one hospital is not a no from all of them, but read the reason. If the reason is medical, a second hospital will often say the same thing.

#Common questions

Can I walk into a Korean university hospital without an appointment?

You can walk into the international centre and register, but you are unlikely to see a senior specialist that day. Their clinics are booked ahead, and the hospital will want your records first. For anything serious, the email route is faster than the walk-in route.

Do Korean hospital international clinics speak English?

The coordinators do, and many specialists at large hospitals consult in English. Other languages depend on the hospital. Ask whether the coordinator interprets during the consultation itself or whether you should arrange a medical interpreter.

How long does a Korean hospital take to reply?

An acknowledgement typically comes within a few working days; a considered medical answer takes longer because a specialist has to read the file between clinics. Korea is nine hours ahead of GMT, so a reply to a European afternoon email cannot arrive before the next day.

Do I have to use an agency to book a Korean hospital?

No. International centres deal with patients directly. Registered facilitators exist and some patients find them useful for housing and visas, but they are optional. Medical Korea's portal lists registered hospitals and facilitators, which is the way to check that whoever you are dealing with is registered.

Who can I ask for help if I cannot reach a hospital, or something goes wrong?

The government-run Medical Korea Information Center takes calls on +82-2-1577-7129. For disputes about care, the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency offers counselling, mediation and arbitration, and its English site gives phone and email contacts with weekday office hours.

Should I send original records or copies?

Send copies of documents and keep the originals. Slides and blocks are the exception: they are the originals, so use a tracked courier or carry them yourself, and agree in advance how they come back.

Planning the trip? Tick off the trip checklist — what to get in writing, what to pack and which documents to collect before you fly home — and keep the Korean phrase cards on your phone for taxis and pharmacies.

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.

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