🚑 Medical Help

Call 112 for the police (crime, danger, accidents) and 119 for fire, rescue or an ambulance. If you don't speak Korean, speak English and stay on the line. For non-emergency travel help or interpretation, call 1330.

Call 119 for a medical emergency. For non-emergency care, find a nearby clinic and confirm its opening hours and language support before going.

If you suspect illegal filming and feel in immediate danger, move to a safer place and call 112. Preserve what you observed without confronting the person or handling a suspected device.

Search for “pharmacy” (약국) in a map app and check whether it is open now. Late at night, look for a public late-night pharmacy; on holidays, a holiday pharmacy. You can find both on the Korean Pharmaceutical Association website. If every pharmacy is closed, 24-hour convenience stores with a medicine sign sell basic medicines: fever and pain relievers, cold medicine, digestive medicine and pain patches. In an emergency, call 119.

Check availability by active ingredient, strength and formulation, then arrange a Korean clinical consultation if a prescription is needed. A familiar foreign brand may not be marketed under the same name, and product approval does not prove local stock.

For an MRI while visiting Seoul, start with an international-patient consultation at a hospital such as Seoul National University Hospital. Its international centre can arrange the initial consultation; the clinician decides which scan is appropriate and the hospital confirms availability and price.

Choose insurance that covers your actual activities, pre-existing conditions and full time abroad. If you are applying for a working-holiday visa, follow the insurance rules of the Korean mission handling it (for example, the requirements for Canadian H-1 applicants).

Carry a clearly translated card describing your exact allergy or coeliac requirement, and ask about ingredients and cross-contact before ordering. If staff cannot confidently confirm suitability, choose another option.

Plan around cooling and recovery time, and agree a personal heat plan with the clinician managing your dysautonomia before travelling. Air-conditioned accommodation, short outdoor periods and flexible transport are more useful than a packed midday itinerary.