A doctor’s perspective · English edition
What should I bring home from the clinic: records, product names, doses?
If a doctor at home ever needs to help, they will ask what was used, how much and when. Leave Korea with those answers on paper.
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
What should I bring home from the clinic: records, product names, doses?
Leave with a written record in English of what was done: the date, the treatment names, the products used with the amount of each, device names for lasers, any medicines prescribed with doses, and the aftercare instructions. Add the clinic’s contact details and an itemised receipt. Korean law gives you the right to ask for copies of your own records, and the CDC advises travellers to request records in English for doctors at home. Ask on the day of treatment, not at the airport.
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.
Why the paper matters later.
The CDC Yellow Book advises travellers to request copies of their overseas medical records in English and to give them to any doctor they see afterwards for follow-up. NHS guidance on treatment abroad points out that overseas clinics may not provide follow-up, so the doctor who helps you next may be one who has never met the clinic.
For injectables, what was used matters. The US FDA advises reading and discussing the patient labeling for the specific filler you receive, which only works if you know the product’s name. UK NHS guidance on botulinum toxin suggests knowing who prescribed it and who gave the treatment.
CDC Yellow Book 2026NHSU.S. Food and Drug AdministrationNHSWhat to ask for before you leave.
Ask for one summary sheet in English that you can photograph and keep with your passport. Clinics vary in what they record in a handout, so ask for each item by name.
- Clinic name, address, phone and a contact that answers from abroad.
- Name of the doctor who treated you.
- Date of each treatment and the area treated.
- Treatment names, and for lasers the device name.
- For injectables, the product name and the amount used, and the batch number if the clinic can give it.
- Medicines prescribed, with ingredient names, doses and how long to take them.
- Aftercare instructions and the warning signs the doctor wants you to act on.
- Planned next sessions, if any, and their intervals.
Your right to records, and document fees.
Article 21 of the Medical Service Act gives patients the right to ask to inspect or copy their own records, and a clinic may not refuse without a justifiable reason. Article 45 requires clinics to post the fees they charge for certificates and documents. Ask at the desk what the fee is and how long copies take.
If the copies you receive are in Korean, they are still worth having. Ask for an English summary as well, and keep both together.
National Law Information Center · Ministry of Government LegislationNational Law Information Center · Ministry of Government LegislationReceipts, prescriptions and the pharmacy bag.
Keep an itemised receipt that names each treatment; insurers and doctors both read it. If you were given a prescription, keep whatever label or leaflet comes with the medicine, and ask the pharmacist to point out the ingredient name and the dose so you know you have them. Before flying, check your home country’s rules on bringing medicines in, especially anything prescribed rather than bought over the counter.
Before you leave the clinic
What travelers ask
The questions behind the search.
Yes. Article 21 of the Medical Service Act lets a patient ask to inspect or copy their own records, and the request may not be refused without a justifiable reason.
Official guidanceIf you need care later, a doctor will want to know both what was used and how much. It also makes a future quote or treatment easier to compare.
Keep them anyway and ask for an English summary as well. The CDC advises travellers to request records in English for doctors they see afterwards.
Official guidanceBring 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.
Related guides
Still unsure?
Ask this question in the community.
Other travelers and the DockieTalkie team read the board. Post your situation and link this guide.
Ask this questionMake room for understanding
Your questions. In your language.
Prepare for clinic and pharmacy conversations with DockieTalkie. Korean plus 10 other languages, with medical terminology built in.
This guide stays free to read. An account gives you access to the app.About the author
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.
- 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.
- National Law Information Center · Ministry of Government LegislationMedical Service Act, Article 45 (Korean text) Institutions must make non-covered fees easy for patients to know, must post certificate fees, and may not charge more than the amounts notified or posted. Korean text; our translation.
- U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationDermal Fillers (Soft Tissue Fillers) Published 2023-07-06 · Seek immediate medical attention for unusual pain, vision changes, white, gray or blue skin near the injection site, or signs of stroke; read the patient labeling for the specific filler; report to MedWatch.
- NHSChoosing who will do your cosmetic procedure Published 2023-06-23 · Ask how many procedures they have done and their qualifications; for botulinum toxin know who the prescriber is and who gives the treatment.
- 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.