International clinics at major Korean hospitals: how to contact them and what to send
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.
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.
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
Writing the first enquiry
Coordinators triage dozens of emails a day. The enquiries that get a useful answer fastest are short and complete:
- One paragraph: age, sex, nationality, diagnosis, when it was made, and what you want — second opinion, a specific treatment, or 'tell me what is possible'
- Treatment so far, with dates: operations, chemotherapy regimens, radiotherapy
- Attachments: the most recent pathology report, imaging reports, discharge summary and current medication list, in English if at all possible
- A note that imaging files (DICOM) and pathology slides are available, and a question about how they would like them sent
- 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.
Between the email and the appointment
- Acknowledgement and a request for anything missing — typically within a few working days
- Review by the department; some hospitals charge a fee for a formal remote review
- A proposed plan: which specialist, which tests, how many days, and a cost estimate given as a range
- A deposit request and, if you need one, the documents for a visa application
- Appointment confirmation with dates — only now should you book flights
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: check HiKorea or your nearest Korean embassy for the current requirements, and ask the centre exactly which documents it issues.
Translating records
Records in English are read directly. Records in other languages usually need translating, and a hospital may ask for a certified translation of key documents. A translated pathology report and discharge summary matter most. Hundreds of pages of nursing notes do not need translating — ask the coordinator which documents the specialist actually wants.
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.
Sources
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.