Korean Wellness
Visiting a Korean Medicine (Hanbang) Clinic as a Traveler: What to Know and Stay Safe
Korean medicine, often called hanbang or hanuihak, is not a fringe practice in Korea. It has its own licensed doctors, clinics and hospitals, and parts of it are covered by national health insurance. If you are curious about acupuncture or herbal treatment on a trip, this guide explains who you would be seeing, what the common treatments involve, the safety points that matter most for visitors, and how to communicate at a clinic.
Is it safe to visit a Korean medicine clinic as a traveler?
For most healthy adults, acupuncture from a licensed practitioner is low risk: serious complications are rare, and minor bleeding or soreness at the needle site is the most common problem. Herbal medicine needs more care, because herbs can interact with prescription drugs and have been linked to liver injury in a small number of people. Choose a clinic run by a licensed Korean medicine doctor, bring a list of your medicines, say if you are pregnant, and do not use a clinic visit in place of seeing a medical doctor for a new or serious symptom.
Who practices Korean medicine in Korea?
Korea runs a dual medical system. Under the Medical Service Act, medical personnel include physicians, dentists and oriental medical doctors, the term the official English translation uses for Korean medicine doctors, each licensed by the Minister of Health and Welfare. The law gives the Korean medicine doctor’s role as providing treatment and health guidance based on Korean (oriental) medicine.
The license is earned the same way as a physician’s. Article 5 of the Act requires a degree in oriental medical science from an accredited university or professional graduate school, or an equivalent recognized foreign school, followed by a national examination. The Act also lists oriental medical clinics and oriental medical hospitals as their own types of medical institution, alongside medical and dental clinics.
Korean medicine is part of the public system. National Health Insurance has covered Korean medicine services, including acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping and herbal preparations, since 1987, which a 2013 review describes as the first time a whole traditional medicine system was insured in this way. Chuna, a Korean manual therapy, was added to coverage in 2019.
In practice, that means a clinic sign reading hanuiwon (Korean medicine clinic) should mean a licensed Korean medicine doctor is in charge. Spas, massage shops and beauty salons that use words like herbal or oriental are not medical institutions.
What treatments do Korean medicine clinics offer?
Common Korean medicine treatments and their main safety point
Acupuncture
The treatment most visitors try first. NCCIH, the US government’s research center for complementary health, notes that in the United States acupuncture needles are regulated as medical devices and must be sterile and labeled for single use; it is fair to ask any clinic whether its needles are single-use.
Moxibustion and cupping
Moxibustion uses the heat of burning herbal preparations made from mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) to stimulate acupuncture points; a systematic review of its side effects found burns, allergic reactions and infections were the most often reported. Cupping uses suction, and a 2023 review of cupping in musculoskeletal care found a very low rate of adverse events, with low to moderate evidence of benefit for back and neck pain.
Chuna manual therapy
A hands-on therapy for joints and muscles. A 2025 study using Korean national survey data found it is used mainly for musculoskeletal disorders.
Herbal medicine (hanyak)
Prescribed formulas, often boiled down and supplied as sealed liquid packets. Around the Seoul Yangnyeongsi Herb Medicine Market, decoction shops sell ready-to-drink packets for about KRW 10,000. These are medicines, not snacks, and the safety points below apply.
How safe are acupuncture, moxibustion and cupping?
Acupuncture has a reasonably good safety record when it is done properly. A 2021 meta-analysis of prospective studies in BMJ Open estimated that about 9 percent of patients have at least one side effect over a course of treatment, and half of all reported side effects were bleeding, pain or a flare at the needle site. Serious events were estimated at about 1 in 10,000 patients and about 8 per million treatments.
The rare serious problems usually trace back to poor practice. NCCIH reports that complications have been linked to nonsterile needles and improper delivery, and that acupuncture done badly can cause infections, punctured organs and injury to the central nervous system. An earlier review of prospective surveys counted two cases of collapsed lung in nearly a quarter of a million treatments.
Heat and suction treatments carry their own small risks. The moxibustion review collected reports of burns, blistering, allergic reactions and infections. Tell the practitioner if you have a bleeding disorder, take blood thinners, have a skin condition, or are pregnant before any of these treatments.
Herbal medicine: interactions, liver and pregnancy
Herbal formulas are where visitors should be most careful, because you are swallowing several active ingredients that you may not be able to identify.
- Drug interactions. NCCIH’s clinical digest on herb-drug interactions explains that some herbs change how the body processes common medicines, and that interactions with ginseng, a frequent ingredient, remain uncertain for blood pressure drugs, statins and some antidepressants, with mixed results for the blood thinner warfarin.
- Liver injury. A nationwide prospective study at 10 tertiary hospitals in Korea followed 1,001 inpatients taking herbal medicines and found that 6 (0.6 percent, all women) met the criteria for herb-induced liver injury. None had symptoms, and the injury was found through routine blood tests.
- Product quality. NCCIH reports that some Chinese herbal products have been found to contain undeclared drugs, heavy metals such as arsenic, lead and cadmium, or the wrong herb. That research concerns Chinese products, but it is a good reason to know exactly what is in any formula you take.
- Pregnancy, breastfeeding and children. NCCIH advises anyone who is pregnant or nursing, or considering traditional medicine for a child, to consult their own health care provider first. Asian ginseng in particular may be unsafe in pregnancy.
If you take regular medication, are pregnant, or have liver or kidney disease, the simplest safe choice is to skip herbal prescriptions on a short trip, or to show the ingredient list to your own doctor before taking them.
How to communicate at a Korean medicine clinic
- Bring a written list of your medicines and supplements with generic names and doses, plus any allergies and conditions such as diabetes, a bleeding disorder or pregnancy.
- Use the 1330 Korea Travel Hotline if you need help. Run by the Korea Tourism Organization, it offers phone interpretation in English, Chinese, Japanese and several other languages, and text chat 24 hours a day in Korean, English, Japanese and Chinese. From abroad, dial +82-2-1330.
- Ask what a treatment involves and what it costs before it starts, and ask for the ingredient list of any herbal prescription in writing.
- Say no to anything you are unsure about. You can try acupuncture and decline herbal medicine, or the reverse.
- Keep your own doctor in the loop. NCCIH’s advice is not to use acupuncture to put off seeing a health care provider about a health problem, and to tell your providers about any complementary approaches you use.
For a low-key introduction without treatment, the Seoul K-Medi Center beside the Yangnyeongsi herb market has a free museum of Korean medicine, an herbal foot bath and a relaxation room. It is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00, and closed on Mondays; some programs charge a fee.
What does a visit cost?
Prices vary by clinic, treatment and city, so this guide does not quote fees. Korean national insurance covers many Korean medicine services for people enrolled in it, but most short-term visitors are not enrolled and should expect to pay the clinic’s own price in full.
Ask for the price of any herbal prescription before it is prepared. Keep receipts and any written diagnosis in case your travel or home insurance reimburses part of the bill, and check before you go whether your policy covers complementary treatments at all.
If a sauna and soak is what you really want, a jjimjilbang is the cheaper, non-medical option.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Korean medicine doctors real doctors?
They are licensed medical professionals under Korea’s Medical Service Act, with a separate license from physicians. They must complete a degree in Korean (oriental) medicine and pass a national examination before the Minister of Health and Welfare grants the license.
Is acupuncture in Korea safe for tourists?
Serious complications are rare when acupuncture is done by a trained practitioner with sterile, single-use needles; minor bleeding or soreness at the needle site is common. Tell the practitioner about blood thinners, bleeding disorders and pregnancy first.
Can I take Korean herbal medicine with my prescription drugs?
Check with your own doctor or pharmacist first. Herbs can change how the body handles some medicines, and interactions with common ingredients such as ginseng are not fully understood.
Can I get acupuncture or herbal medicine while pregnant?
Talk to your own health care provider before any traditional treatment in pregnancy. Some herbs, including Asian ginseng, may be unsafe, and moxibustion studies have reported pregnancy complications.
Do Korean medicine clinics speak English?
English ability varies from clinic to clinic. The 1330 Korea Travel Hotline offers free phone interpretation, and a written list of your medicines and symptoms helps in any language.
Visiting a Korean Medicine Clinic in Brief
Korean medicine is a licensed, regulated profession in Korea, but the treatments still carry risks that visitors should know.
Korean medicine doctors hold a separate license from the Minister of Health and Welfare after a degree and a national exam.
Common treatments are acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, Chuna manual therapy and herbal prescriptions.
Serious acupuncture complications are rare; most side effects are minor bleeding or pain at the needle site.
Herbal medicine can interact with prescription drugs and has been linked to liver injury in a small share of patients.
Bring a medicine list, use the 1330 hotline for interpretation, ask prices first and consult your own doctor if pregnant.
Related guides
Sources
- Medical Service Act (English translation), Korea Legislation Research Institute
Articles 2, 3 and 5: who counts as medical personnel, types of medical institutions, and the licensing route for oriental medical doctors.
- Lim B. Korean medicine coverage in the National Health Insurance in Korea. Integrative Medicine Research, 2013
Insurance coverage of acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping and herbal preparations since 1987.
- Kim H, Cheon C. Impact of health insurance coverage on Chuna Manual Therapy utilization. PLoS One, 2025
Chuna’s addition to national insurance in 2019 and its use for musculoskeletal disorders.
- Acupuncture: What You Need To Know, NCCIH (NIH)
Needle regulation, causes of complications, and advice not to delay seeing a health care provider.
- Bäumler P et al. Acupuncture-related adverse events: systematic review and meta-analyses of prospective clinical studies. BMJ Open, 2021
Rates of minor and serious adverse events per patient and per treatment.
- Ernst E, White AR. Prospective studies of the safety of acupuncture: a systematic review. American Journal of Medicine, 2001
Two cases of pneumothorax in nearly a quarter of a million treatments.
- Park JE et al. Adverse events of moxibustion: a systematic review. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 2010
Burns, allergic reactions, infections and pregnancy complications reported with moxibustion.
- Ewies A, Olah K. Moxibustion in breech version: a descriptive review. Acupuncture in Medicine, 2002
Moxibustion as heat from burning preparations of Artemisia vulgaris applied to acupuncture points.
- Mohamed AA et al. Evidence-based and adverse-effects analyses of cupping therapy in musculoskeletal and sports rehabilitation. Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation, 2023
Evidence levels and the low adverse event rate for cupping.
- Herb-Drug Interactions: What the Science Says, NCCIH Clinical Digest (December 2024)
How herbs affect drug metabolism and what is known about ginseng interactions.
- Cho JH et al. A nationwide study of the incidence rate of herb-induced liver injury in Korea. Archives of Toxicology, 2017
Six of 1,001 inpatients on herbal medicine met liver injury criteria.
- Traditional Chinese Medicine: What You Need To Know, NCCIH
Contamination and substitution in some herbal products, and advice for pregnancy and children.
- Asian Ginseng, NCCIH
Possible risks of Asian ginseng in pregnancy.
- Tourist Interpretation 1330, Hanam City (official, English)
Who runs the 1330 hotline, its languages, hours and the number to dial from abroad.
- Seoul Yangnyeongsi and the Seoul K-Medi Center, KOREA magazine webzine (July 2026)
Herbal decoction packets, K-Medi Center programs, hours and admission.
Links checked 10 October 2026. Laws, hotline hours and center opening times can change, so confirm on the official page before you go.
What This Page Does Not Cover
This guide explains how Korean medicine is regulated and the main safety points for visitors, using Korean law, NIH pages and peer-reviewed studies listed above. It is not medical advice, it does not recommend clinics or treatments, and it does not promise any result from treatment.
Fees are not listed because they vary widely and change often. If you have a health condition, talk to your own doctor before your trip. Last checked: October 2026.