Korean medicine (한의학) is a separately licensed profession with its own clinics, hospitals and university training, which makes it different from the way traditional medicine is offered in most countries. Visitors come for acupuncture, herbal prescriptions, and the manual therapy and rehabilitation programmes that some hospitals package for foreign patients. The two articles here explain what a visit involves, what the regulation covers, and how to plan a course of treatment that runs over days rather than a single appointment.
Korean medicine & rehab in Korea
Herbal medicine, acupuncture and rehab — what is and is not covered.
The articles
Korean medicine for visitors
How Korean medicine (hanbang) fits into the licensed health system, what a first visit looks like, how herbal prescriptions are priced, and what to sort out before taking anything home.
Chuna & rehab programmes
What chuna is and who is licensed to do it, what research on manual therapy for back and neck pain does and does not show, the symptoms that need a medical doctor first, and why a course rarely fits a short trip.
#What is different in Korea
- Practitioners hold a national licence (한의사) and clinics are registered medical institutions, so the same rules on record copies, non-covered price notices and complaint channels apply as in any other clinic.
- Herbal decoctions are prepared either in the clinic or in a certified off-site facility; the ministry publishes the list of certified facilities, and the articles explain what to ask about where yours is made.
- A visitor without Korean health insurance pays the uninsured rate for everything, so the pilot schemes that extend cover to some herbal prescriptions do not reduce your bill. The articles mention them only as background to how prices are set.
- No licensed practitioner should promise to cure cancer, reverse diabetes or replace surgery. A clinic that does is a reason to leave, and the articles say where to report it.
#How a Korean-medicine trip is shaped
A single acupuncture visit is under an hour and needs no recovery, so it slots into any itinerary. A rehabilitation or chuna programme is a series of daily or near-daily sessions over one to two weeks, and the trip is as long as the course. Herbal prescriptions are usually dispensed as sealed pouches for weeks of use, which raises the question of taking them through customs on the way home; the articles cover what to ask for in writing.
#Where to start
The clinics article first, then the chuna and rehab article if you are considering a programme. The pharmacy guide explains how prescriptions and dispensing work in Korea generally, which helps make sense of the herbal-medicine version.
The general guides cover the parts that apply to every procedure — quotes, payment, interpreting and stay length.