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

Set your expectations

The public registry this site reads lists only about two dozen pharmacies nationwide as open 24 hours, and most cities have none. What Korea has instead is a good number of pharmacies open until 10 PM, 11 PM or midnight in the right places: next to large hospitals with emergency rooms, in nightlife districts, and around major stations. After midnight your options narrow to those few 24-hour pharmacies, hospital emergency rooms, and the 13 medicines sold in convenience stores.

What convenience stores sell

Public late-night pharmacies (공공심야약국)

A growing number of cities and districts designate public late-night pharmacies. In exchange for a subsidy they commit to opening until midnight, including holidays, and they carry a sign reading 공공심야약국. That designation is not part of the registry this site reads, so we cannot flag them separately, but their registered hours are, so they appear on the late-night lists with their late closing time.

If you see 심야 (late night) on a pharmacy sign, that pharmacy is telling you it opens late. 24시 means 24 hours and 연중무휴 means open every day. All three are still worth a phone call.

Where late-night pharmacies cluster

• Seoul: Myeongdong and Euljiro (tourist hotels), Hongdae and Sinchon (nightlife), Itaewon, Gangnam Station, and the streets around big hospitals such as Severance in Sinchon, Seoul National University Hospital in Jongno and Asan in Songpa
• Busan: Seomyeon, Haeundae, and around Busan Station
• Daegu: Dongseong-ro downtown. Daejeon: around Daejeon Station
• Jeju: Jeju City downtown around Dongmun Market. Elsewhere on the island pharmacies close early

The pattern is the same everywhere: follow the hospitals and the crowds. A pharmacy that stays open late does so because there are customers, and at 11 PM the customers are outside emergency rooms and bars.

Three ways to search on this site

1. The map shows pharmacies open right now, nearest first, with the time each one closes. At night this is the fastest route
2. The "late night" list for a tourist area or district shows every pharmacy registered to close after 10 PM on at least one day, with that day’s hours
3. The "24 hours" list shows pharmacies registered as open around the clock. It is often empty for a single district, so try the whole city

Open the map

Late-night pharmacies near Myeongdong

Late-night pharmacies near Hongdae

All Seoul districts

Before you set off

Call first at night Late-night pharmacies are the ones most likely to differ from their registered hours. A pharmacist who is alone may close early on a quiet night. Every pharmacy page has a call button that dials the local number.

• Check the closing time, not just the "open" badge. "Open now, until 22:30" at 22:10 means walk fast or call ahead
• Taxi drivers may not know a pharmacy by name. Use the "Show to taxi driver" screen on the pharmacy page, which shows the Korean name and address in large type
• Walking directions: Naver Map and Kakao Map work in Korea; Google Maps does not give walking directions here. The pharmacy page links all three

If nothing is open

For a mild complaint, a 24-hour convenience store covers a fever, cold symptoms and indigestion until morning. It does not cover allergies, diarrhoea or anything needing a prescription.

If you need a prescription medicine urgently, or it is for a child under two, the emergency room of a nearby hospital is the only option after midnight. Emergency rooms dispense what the doctor prescribes. For a non-urgent problem that can wait until morning, a clinic is the cheaper option.

Medical emergencies in Korea: 119, hotlines and ERs