Hospital & Clinic Finder

About Hospital & Clinic Finder

This tool finds hospitals and clinics in South Korea that are open when you need them. It reads each facility's weekday opening hours from the National Medical Center's nationwide hospital and clinic registry and filters by "open now", "open late tonight" (until 8 p.m. or later), Saturday, Sunday, and whether it runs an emergency room, sorted by distance. The data covers Korea only.

You can narrow by eight departments: internal medicine, pediatrics, dermatology, orthopedics, neurosurgery, OB/GYN, ophthalmology and ENT. Choosing a department triggers a fresh query for that area, so it is slightly slower. For life-threatening symptoms, call 119 in Korea instead of searching.

Clinic, hospital, general hospital: what the labels mean

Korea's Medical Service Act separates clinic-level facilities (medical, dental and Korean-medicine clinics, mainly outpatient) from hospital-level ones. A hospital needs at least 30 inpatient beds; a general hospital at least 100 beds plus required departments. The type label in the results reflects this.

For common problems such as a cold, stomach upset or a wound check, a neighborhood clinic (uiwon) is fastest and cheapest. Many Korean clinics see walk-ins without appointments. Large university hospitals generally expect a referral letter from a clinic for outpatient visits under National Health Insurance, and same-day outpatient slots are hard to get.

Children at night: Moonlight Children's Hospitals

Since 2014 Korea's health ministry has designated "Moonlight Children's Hospitals" (dalbit eorini byeongwon) for pediatric care in the evenings and on holidays. The operating guideline sets a minimum of 18:00-23:00 on weekdays and 10:00-18:00 on weekends and holidays; some stay open until midnight. They suit fevers, coughs and stomach bugs that cannot wait until morning but are not emergencies.

The registry has no field marking this designation, so there is no dedicated filter. Combining the pediatrics chip with "open late tonight" usually surfaces them, and the name or notes often mention it.

Where the opening hours can be wrong

Hours are what each facility reported: start and end times per weekday. Lunch breaks, last registration and one-off closures are not included, so call before going near closing time.

On public holidays the tool uses each clinic's registered holiday hours. For 2023-2027 it knows every Korean public holiday, including Seollal, Chuseok, Buddha's Birthday, substitute holidays and election days; other years fall back to fixed solar-calendar holidays. Clinics with no registered holiday hours show their normal weekday hours, and holiday openings change often, so call ahead over long weekends. Local governments publish lists of clinics open over Seollal and Chuseok.

Open/closed status is calculated in Korea Standard Time (UTC+9) whatever time zone your phone is set to. The registry is refreshed every three months.

Worked examples

How to use it

1. Tap "My location" or search for an area in Korea.
2. Pick a department and filters (open now, late, Saturday, Sunday, ER).
3. Tap a facility for today's hours and phone number, then open directions.

Frequently asked questions

Notes

If symptoms look severe, call 119 in Korea before searching.