Health check-up · South Korea
Health check-up in South Korea: what it costs and how it compares with waiting at home
Prices checked 26 October 2026 (Taipei time)
Short answer
We found 1 published price for a health check-up in South Korea, from ₩700,000 to ₩2,150,000, or about £395 to £1,210 before flights and a hotel. Paying privately in the UK costs about £385 to £1,120 at the providers we checked.
- Published price
- ₩700,000 to ₩2,150,000about £395 to £1,210 · about €472 to €1,450 · about C$740 to C$2,270 · about $529 to $1,620
- Price is for
- one package for one person; contents differ widely, so each row says what it includes
- Where
- Seoul
- Providers
- 1 (Kangbuk Samsung Hospital)
- Time there
- Half a day to one day for most packages; packages with endoscopy or several scans can take two days
- NHS England wait
- No NHS figure for this
Published health check-up prices in South Korea
Every row is a price the provider publishes itself, read on the date shown. We copy what the price includes and what it leaves out; where the provider does not say, the row says “not stated”. We do not use prices from brokers or medical-travel agencies.
| Provider | Published price | What the price is for | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kangbuk Samsung HospitalSeoul | ₩700,000 to ₩2,150,000about £395–£1,210 · €472–€1,450 · C$740–C$2,270 · $529–$1,620 | Comprehensive check-up: basic (700,000) to cancer programme with PET-CT (2,150,000)Basic includes gastroscopy, abdominal ultrasound, chest X-ray, blood tests and ECG; no colonoscopy, CT or MRI. Digestive programme with sedated colonoscopy 1,100,000; brain MRI programme 2,000,000. Undated domestic price page; it does not say whether foreign patients pay the same. | Kangbuk Samsung Hospital Total Healthcare Centerread 26 October 2026 |
Prices are copied as published, in the provider's currency. Conversions use the European Central Bank reference rates of 23 October 2026 and are rounded. A provider can change a price at any time: ask for a written quote.
The Kangbuk Samsung prices are from its domestic check-up page, which carries no date and does not say whether foreign patients pay the same. Severance Hospital runs an international health-care centre that takes check-up bookings from abroad and lists sedation for gastroscopy at 156,000 KRW, but we could not find its package prices (Severance).
Compared with waiting or paying at home
The official waiting figure and the self-pay price in each home country, next to the South Korea price converted to that currency. The South Korea figure does not include flights, a hotel or time off work.
| Where you live | Official wait | Pay at home | Here, converted |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | No official figure found | £385 to £1,120 | £395 to £1,210before flights and hotel |
| Canada | No official figure found | Not verified | C$740 to C$2,270before flights and hotel |
| Ireland | No official figure found | Not verified | €472 to €1,450before flights and hotel |
| US | No national figure | Not verified | $529 to $1,620before flights and hotel |
Waits are the latest official statistics; each country measures them differently, so read the label. Home prices are published self-pay prices; for the US they are 2021 hospital medians or a dental school's estimate.
Add your flight and hotel
Put in your own flight and hotel to see the total for South Korea next to your wait and your price at home.
How it works for a visitor
- Ask for a written quoteSend the clinic your referral or reason for the health check-up and ask for an itemised price, the date, and what happens if the result needs follow-up.
- Before you goMost packages need you to fast from the night before. Book a morning slot.
- Before you goAsk what happens if a test finds something: is a specialist available the same week, and at what price?
- LanguageKorean; the big Seoul hospitals have international health-care centres with English-speaking coordinators.
- Entry rulesCheck the official advice for your passport before booking: UK citizens (FCDO entry requirements), Canadian citizens (travel.gc.ca), US citizens (State Department, choose the country), Irish citizens (DFA travel advice, choose the country).
- After you returnBring the full report to your doctor, not just the summary page.
- After you returnTreat a "borderline" or "follow up" note as a reason to see your doctor, not as a diagnosis.
Can your public system pay for it?
NHS and HSE schemes do not reach South Korea. The NHS S2 route covers state treatment in the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, and the HSE schemes cover the EU, EEA, the UK and Switzerland. Treatment in South Korea is paid by you or by a private insurer who agrees in advance. NHS S2 route, HSE Treatment Abroad Scheme.
When not to travel for a health check-up
- Investigating a symptom you already have. A package is screening, not a diagnosis.
- Replacing the screening your home health service already offers for free (bowel, breast or cervical screening).
How to compare health check-up quotes
A health check-up (called ningen dock in Japan, geongang geomjin in Korea, executive check-up in Thailand and Turkey) is a bundle of tests done in one visit: blood and urine tests, a doctor's examination, an ECG, often an ultrasound and a chest X-ray or CT, and in bigger packages an endoscopy, a colonoscopy or MRI.
- Compare the contents, not just the price. A cheap package may leave out the ultrasound or the endoscopy.
- Check whether the doctor's summary is in English and whether a doctor explains it to you on the day.
- Women's and men's packages are often priced differently.
- More tests are not always better: whole-body scans in healthy people often find harmless things that then need more tests.
Providers on this page
We list providers because they publish a price, not because we recommend them. No clinic pays to be listed, and we have not visited any of them.
- Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Seoul: ₩700,000 to ₩2,150,000
Related comparisons
Health check-up in South Korea: questions
How much does a health check-up cost in South Korea?
The published prices we found range from ₩700,000 to ₩2,150,000, about £395 to £1,210 or $529 to $1,620. They come from Kangbuk Samsung Hospital. Each covers something slightly different, so read what is included before comparing.
Is a health check-up in South Korea cheaper than paying privately in the UK?
Before travel, the prices here work out at about £395 to £1,210, against about £385 to £1,120 at the UK providers we checked. Add a return flight and 2 nights in a hotel before deciding; the calculator on the home page does the sum.
Will the NHS or HSE pay for a health check-up in South Korea?
No. The NHS S2 route and the HSE schemes cover planned treatment in Europe only. South Korea is outside them, so you pay yourself or through a private insurer that agrees in advance.
How many days should I plan in South Korea?
Half a day to one day for most packages; packages with endoscopy or several scans can take two days. That is our planning estimate, not medical advice: the clinic sets the schedule, and you should ask it for one in writing.
What should I check before booking a health check-up in South Korea?
Compare the contents, not just the price. A cheap package may leave out the ultrasound or the endoscopy. Check whether the doctor's summary is in English and whether a doctor explains it to you on the day.
Sources
- 종합건진 프로그램 (comprehensive check-up programmes). Kangbuk Samsung Hospital Total Healthcare Center, Seoul. Read 26 October 2026.
- Planned treatment: S2 funding route. NHS (nhs.uk). Read 26 October 2026.
- Treatment Abroad Scheme. Health Service Executive (HSE). Read 26 October 2026.
- Health check-up appointment (International Health Care Center). Severance Hospital, Seoul. Read 26 October 2026.
- Euro foreign exchange reference rates. European Central Bank, 23 October 2026. Read 26 October 2026.