Emergency Room Finder

About Emergency Room Finder

This tool lists the 30 emergency departments closest to you in South Korea and attaches the number of available general ER beds that each hospital reports to Korea's National Medical Center, along with when that number was last entered. Where a direct ER phone line is registered, it is shown instead of the hospital switchboard. The data covers Korea only.

If someone looks seriously ill, with confusion, trouble breathing or chest pain, call 119 in Korea (it handles ambulances and fire; police is 112). Paramedics and the dispatch center pick a hospital that can actually treat the condition, which a bed count cannot tell you. This map is for when the patient can travel and you are choosing where to go yourself.

Korea grades its emergency departments

Under Korea's Emergency Medical Service Act, hospitals are designated at different levels. Regional emergency medical centers are tertiary or general hospitals designated by the Minister of Health and Welfare to focus on severe cases. Specialized emergency centers cover areas such as children, burns and poisoning. Local emergency medical centers are designated by provincial governors from general hospitals, and local emergency medical institutions by city, county or district heads.

Higher levels have more specialists and equipment and attract the sickest patients. For a sprained ankle or a mild fever, a local emergency medical institution, or a clinic open late (see the hospital and clinic finder), usually means a shorter wait. This tool does not display each hospital's designation level; E-GEN shows it.

Minor cases pay far more at big centers

Since 13 September 2024, patients classified as minor or non-urgent who use a regional or local emergency medical center pay 90% of the ER bill themselves under Korean National Health Insurance, up from roughly 50-60%. The health ministry estimated the average out-of-pocket cost at a regional center rising from about 130,000 to 220,000 won, and at a local center from about 60,000 to 100,000 won.

Visitors without Korean National Health Insurance generally pay the full bill, so travel insurance matters more than these percentages. Triage happens after arrival, so you cannot know your classification in advance.

Reading the bed numbers

Three or more available beds shows as "Open", one or two as "Limited", zero or below as "Full", and no report as "No data". A negative number means the ER has more patients than its standard capacity. The standard bed count in brackets gives a sense of the department's size.

Always check the timestamp. Hospitals enter these numbers themselves, and an old entry may not reflect the current situation. Calling the ER line before you set off is the most reliable check. Staff may not speak English; Korea's tourist information line, 1330, offers interpretation.

Where the data comes from, and its gaps

The source is the National Medical Center's emergency medical information service, the same family of data behind the government E-GEN site. Bed data is live: this site queries it on every request and reuses a result for at most 60 seconds.

Locations (the nearest 30) and bed data are fetched separately and merged by hospital ID. Bed data is requested for every province or metropolitan city that appears in the list, so hospitals in the next district, or across a provincial line, show their beds too. "No data" then means the hospital itself did not report.

Worked examples

How to use it

1. Tap "My location" or search for a place in Korea.
2. Compare distance, available beds and update time.
3. Call the ER line to confirm, then open directions.

Frequently asked questions

Notes

This tool does not give medical advice. In a life-threatening situation in Korea, call 119 first.