A hanuiwon is a clinic of Korean traditional medicine — acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping and herbal medicine. Its doctors hold a separate licence from Western-medicine doctors and practise separately.
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People come for what drags on without being urgent: back pain, a stiff neck, indigestion. For a fracture, a high fever or anything urgent, go to a clinic or an emergency room instead.
A first visit starts with questions, a look at your tongue and a hand on your pulse. Expect more talking than machines.
Acupuncture usually means lying still for 15–20 minutes. Cupping leaves round marks on your back for a few days — say so beforehand if you have photographs to take.
Herbal medicine is made up several days at a time, so it may not be ready the same day and may be posted to you. Give them your departure date first.
Our source doesn’t tell us which clinics speak English. Phone ahead and ask.
قبل الذهاب Without Korean national health insurance you pay the full price yourself. When people say Korea is cheap, they usually mean what an insured resident pays. A short-stay visitor isn’t insured and pays whatever the clinic charges — lower than in many countries, but not the figure a Korean resident pays. Check whether your travel insurance covers it.