Types of Korean Medical Specialties and Subspecialties

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Struggling to find the right doctor, clinic, or hospital for your medical needs? Understanding the role of specialists in Korean health care may help you get closer to your goal. Keep reading to learn what specialties may exist in the Korean medical system.

Korean Health Care Founded on Specialists

Korea’s healthcare system relies heavily on specialists rather than generalists. This is distinct from many Western healthcare systems that prioritize primary care through general practitioners (GPs). In Korea, for example, patients can typically visit specialists directly without needing a referral from a GP. Again, this contrasts heavily with countries like the UK or Canada, where generalists often serve as gatekeepers to more specialized care.

The Korean system is efficient for addressing specific conditions quickly. The system gives patients direct access to specialists, such as orthopedic surgeons or cardiologists, for their medical needs. In short, it speeds up the healthcare process.

Specialists and Korean National Insurance

The widespread use of specialists in Korea is facilitated by its single-payer healthcare system and the emphasis on hospital-based care. Many large hospitals offer a full range of specialized services. This structure allows patients to access specialized care more rapidly. It also means that you will not find generalist options. Instead, you need to know the exact specialist you require when searching for medical care.

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Finding the right specialist in Korea can be frustrating for three reasons: 1) it’s difficult to find the correct Korean term for the specialist, 2) Korean specializations often differ from their Western counterparts, and 3) some Western specialties don’t exist in Korea. That’s why our team created this blog post, along with other posts. You need to understand Korean medical specialties when searching for the right care.

Logic Behind the Structure of Korean Medical Specialties

The foundational logic behind how Korea organizes its medical specialties stems from a combination of its 1)healthcare system’s structure, 2) medical education, and 3) patient care priorities. Korea’s universal healthcare system emphasizes efficiency and cost-effectiveness, which influences how specialties are categorized and delivered.

Healthcare System’s Structure

Instead of focusing on highly specific fields like podiatry or sleep medicine, Korea integrates these services into broader specialties. For example: internal medicine, orthopedics, or rehabilitation medicine. This approach helps streamline healthcare, particularly given the country’s single-payer system. The National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) reimburses hospitals for treatments, often prioritizing widespread or common specialties that affect large populations. For example: cardiology and oncology.

Medical Education

Additionally, the Korean medical education system shapes specialty distribution. Medical students undergo rigorous training with most opting for broader specialties like internal medicine, psychiatry, or surgery. Such specialties cover a wide array of conditions and can address niche issues within larger categories. For example, neurologists or psychiatrists typically manage sleep disorders rather than through a distinct sleep medicine field. Similarly, foot issues are often handled by orthopedic surgeons or dermatologists rather than podiatrists.

Patient Care Priorities

This system works well in Korea because it aligns with the high demand for care in generalist fields and the need to manage costs within the public health insurance system, which covers most citizens but caps reimbursement rates to control expenses.

For more on this, you can check out resources from the World Health Organization’s review or other analyses of Korea’s healthcare structure.

Types of Korean Specialties and Subspecialties

Here’s a table of common medical specialties in South Korea, what they treat, symptoms that might lead to a visit to these specialists and additional subspecialties.

Western Specialties that Don’t Exist in Korea

If you come from countries in the West, you may notice that many common Western medical specialties aren’t included in the above table. This is because Korea’s medical system often integrates care into broader specialties rather than offering narrowly defined fields like podiatry, geriatrics, or sleep medicine. For conditions managed by these specialties in the West, Korean patients visit specialists in orthopedics, internal medicine, or rehabilitation medicine. While standalone fields like podiatry or pain management may not exist, Korea’s healthcare system provides comprehensive care through other departments, ensuring that patients receive the appropriate treatments for their conditions.

In order to better understand how the missing Western specialties integrate into the Korean specialties, read the South of Seoul blog post: Western Medical Specialties That Don’t Exist in Korean Medicine

South of Seoul

Founded in 2015, the South of Seoul team consists of volunteers on three continents working together to support English-speaking people traveling or living in South Korea. South of Seoul volunteers work with organizations and individuals across South Korea to improve equitable access to information across South Korea. Much of South of Seoul’s information focuses on Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea.

Blogs published under the authorship of “South of Seoul” include blogs compiled by multiple volunteers to improve access to standardized information unrelated to individualized personal experiences.

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