A doctor’s perspective · English edition
How do I share my medical history when I don’t speak Korean?
A single page, written before you fly, does more than any phrasebook in the consultation room.
Dr. Jee Hoon JuInternational Director / Aesthetic Medicine Physician6 min read · Sources includedReviewed by Dr. Kwang Yeon Kim and Dr. Seung Yeon Cha
The short answer
How do I share my medical history when I don’t speak Korean?
Write a one-page summary before you travel, in English and your own language: medicines including creams and supplements, allergies, past skin treatments and any reaction to them, and conditions the doctor should know about. Use the ingredient name of each medicine as well as the brand. Ask the clinic in advance which language the doctor and staff use, and keep the 1330 Korea Travel Hotline in your phone for help with interpretation. Leave with a written summary of what was done, because the CDC advises travellers to request records in English for doctors at home.
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Send a message on WhatsApp. It opens with this guide’s title so the reply can start from it. Please don’t send medical records or photos.
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Write one page before you fly.
The CDC Yellow Book encourages travellers to share their full medical history and every treatment received during a trip with the doctors who see them. The easiest way to do that across a language gap is a short written page the doctor can read, photograph or translate on the spot.
Keep it to one page. List each medicine with the ingredient name as well as the brand, so the doctor can tell you if there is anything on the page they cannot identify.
- Medicines, including tablets, creams, injections and supplements, with ingredient names and doses.
- Allergies, including any reaction to numbing medicines, antibiotics or plasters.
- Past skin treatments, roughly when, and any reaction such as cold sores, raised scars or pigment changes afterwards.
- Vitamin A medicines for skin, taken now or recently, as tablets or creams.
- Medicines that thin the blood, and any bleeding or bruising tendency.
- Pregnancy, breastfeeding or plans for either.
- Conditions you are treated for, in plain words.
Ask about language before you book.
Language support is decided clinic by clinic. Ask whether the doctor speaks your language, whether a coordinator interprets, and whether you can bring your own interpreter. UK NHS guidance on treatment abroad is direct about why this matters: the person treating you needs to explain the procedure and understand your questions.
The Korea Tourism Organization’s medical and wellness pages answer questions about interpretation for foreign patients, and its 1330 Korea Travel Hotline offers help in Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Vietnamese, Thai and Indonesian. Medical Korea’s support line is another place to ask general questions about care for foreign patients.
NHSKorea Tourism OrganizationKorea Tourism OrganizationMedical Korea · KHIDIIn the room, slow the conversation down.
Hand over your page at the start. If you use an interpreter, speak to the doctor and let the interpreter carry the words. If you use a translation app, keep sentences short, check the translated text before showing it, and ask the doctor to write down anything that involves a number, such as sessions, days or product amounts.
Before you agree to treatment, repeat back what you understood in one sentence and ask whether it is right. It takes a few seconds and catches misunderstandings while they are still easy to fix.
Take a written summary home.
Article 21 of the Medical Service Act gives patients the right to ask for copies of their own records, and the CDC advises travellers to request records in English for doctors they see afterwards. Ask for the summary before your last day, since copies can take time.
National Law Information Center · Ministry of Government LegislationCDC Yellow Book 2026Your history, ready to share
What travelers ask
The questions behind the search.
It can help. Ask the clinic in advance which language suits them. A clear English page with ingredient names is a good starting point, and staff or an interpreter can help with the rest.
The Korea Tourism Organization’s 1330 Korea Travel Hotline can be reached by call and by chat. It is not a medical interpreter inside the consultation, so ask the clinic about in-room language support as well.
Official guidanceSo that nothing on your page depends on the doctor recognising a brand. Write both, and ask the doctor to tell you if there is anything on the page they cannot identify.
Bring these with you
Questions to ask at your consultation
Pick the questions you want to raise, then save them or open them in text translation.
Want to ask about this guide?
Send a message on WhatsApp. It opens with this guide’s title so the reply can start from it. Please don’t send medical records or photos.
Message on WhatsAppOpens WhatsApp. A message is not a medical consultation or diagnosis.
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Dr. Jee Hoon Ju
International Director / Aesthetic Medicine Physician
A doctor’s perspective on asking clearer questions before, during and after care in Korea.
Author profileSources & further reading
Checked September 18, 2026. Official sources describe rules and services as published; confirm current details with the provider before you rely on them.
- CDC Yellow Book 2026Medical tourism Published 2025-04-23 · Cites the American Society of Plastic Surgeons: wait 7 to 10 days before flying after laser treatments or cosmetic procedures to the face, eyelids or nose; request copies of overseas records in English; do not delay care for a suspected complication after returning home.
- NHSCosmetic surgery abroad Published 2022-12-14 · Written for surgery: two consultations, meet the surgeon rather than only sales staff, a language you understand, where follow-up happens, travel insurance limits, do not lie in the sun or go in the water straight after.
- Korea Tourism OrganizationInterpretation services for foreign patients VISITKOREA Medical & Wellness answer on language support at hospitals; 1330 helpline call and chat.
- Korea Tourism OrganizationEmergency situations Published 2023-03-27 · Medical emergencies 119; 1330 Korea Travel Hotline (+82-2-1330) in Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Vietnamese, Thai and Indonesian.
- Medical Korea · KHIDIRegistered hospitals and clinics English search by institution type, region, name or phone number; Seoul support line +82-2-1577-7129.
- National Law Information Center · Ministry of Government LegislationMedical Service Act, Article 21 (Korean text) A patient may ask to inspect or copy records about themselves; the request may not be refused without a justifiable reason. Korean text; our translation.