Guides

How pharmacies work in Korea: what you can buy, when they are open, what to say at the counter, and what to do in an emergency.

1. How to buy medicine at a pharmacy in Korea

   Where to find a pharmacy, how the counter works, how to ask for what you need without Korean, how to pay, and how to read the dose on the box.

2. Pharmacy opening hours in Korea: weekdays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays

   Long weekdays, short Saturdays, mostly closed Sundays and a rotation for holidays. How the schedule works, why "hours unknown" is not "closed", and how this site decides "open now".

3. How to find a 24-hour or late-night pharmacy in Korea

   True 24-hour pharmacies are rare, about two dozen in the whole country. Late-night ones are not. Where they cluster, how public late-night pharmacies work, and how to find one on this site.

4. English to Korean glossary of common medicines

   The Korean names of the medicines travellers ask for most, with the generic ingredient and the brands you will see on Korean shelves, to point at or read out at the counter.

5. Medicines you can buy at a Korean convenience store

   When every pharmacy is closed, 24-hour convenience stores sell a fixed list of 13 basic medicines: fever reducers, cold remedies, digestive tablets and pain patches. What is on it, what is not, and the rules.

6. Prescription vs over-the-counter: what a Korean pharmacist can and cannot give you

   Korea separates prescribing from dispensing and draws the line in places that differ from home. What you can buy by asking, what needs a doctor, how to get a prescription as a visitor, and what you may bring in.

7. Korean phrases to use at the pharmacy

   Symptom sentences in Korean with a pronunciation guide, the same cards shown on every pharmacy page, plus sentences about who it is for, dose questions, the questions a pharmacist may ask, and the words on signs.

8. Korean public holidays 2026 to 2027 and what they mean for pharmacies

   Every public holiday for the next two years, which ones empty the cities, which ones do not actually close pharmacies, and how to find one when most are shut.

9. Medical emergency in Korea: 119, English help lines and emergency rooms

   A pharmacy is not the place for an emergency. How to call an ambulance and get an interpreter on the line, when to go to an emergency room and what it costs, and where to find one with beds.

10. Getting a receipt for travel insurance at a Korean pharmacy

    What insurers usually want, what to ask the pharmacist and the clinic for and in what words, how to pay so the claim goes through, and how to fix the common problems.