Using a pharmacy in Korea: finding a weekend or night pharmacy, and the 13 medicines sold at convenience stores
Numbers checked against the official source on 2026-10-19
Korean pharmacies have no single opening hour set in the official sources, so for a pharmacy open on a Sunday, a public holiday or late at night, use the Korean Pharmaceutical Association's "holiday guard pharmacy" site that the Korea Tourism Organization (VISITKOREA) points to, and check the hours it shows. For small ailments out of hours, 13 safe household medicines (fever and pain relievers, cold medicine, digestives and pain-relief pads) can be bought at registered 24-hour convenience stores, where the government set a rule of one day's dose per purchase. Prescription-only medicine needs a doctor's prescription first.
Read on 2026-10-19. The VISITKOREA pharmacy guide says it was "last updated in September 2024". The convenience-store rules come from a Ministry of Health and Welfare briefing dated 2012-11-14, so confirm today's rules with a pharmacist. The product list is the current MFDS list.
Find a pharmacy on a weekend, holiday or at night
- Holiday guard pharmacies. VISITKOREA says you can use the websites for "holiday guard pharmacies" or "late night pharmacies", both run by the Korean Pharmaceutical Association, which "provide accurate operating hours" and help you find nearby options. The holiday-pharmacy link on that page goes to pharm114.or.kr. Note a few duty pharmacies' phone numbers before you travel.
- Airports. VISITKOREA reports pharmacies at the airports: Incheon Terminal 1 has one on the basement level and four on the third floor, Terminal 2 has one in the basement and two on the third floor; Gimpo has one at the international terminal's third-floor departure area and one in the domestic terminal on the third floor. (Information as of the September 2024 update.)
- Tourist help line. The 1330 Korea Travel Helpline (+82-2-1330) is available in Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Vietnamese, Thai and Indonesian. It is travel help, not medical advice.
How to ask for medicine if you do not speak Korean
- Use a translation app to say what you need, where it hurts and any allergies.
- Show a photo of the medicine you want if the app does not work. Even without an exact ingredient match, VISITKOREA says the pharmacist will suggest a suitable local alternative.
- Look for the sign. In areas visited by foreigners, some pharmacies have a "Language assistance available" sign at the entrance. This is not universal.
- Prescription medicine: VISITKOREA advises seeing a clinic before your trip to get a medical record and an English prescription, and carrying copies or photos.
VISITKOREA also says that in Korean pharmacies you do not have to buy anything to receive a health consultation. Pharmacists also sell skincare products and some veterinary medicines.
Medicines sold at convenience stores
The MFDS list of "safe household medicines" (안전상비의약품) shows 13 products. The government's 2012 briefing groups them into fever and pain relievers (Tylenol 500 mg, Tylenol 160 mg, Children's Tylenol tablets and suspension, Children's Brufen syrup), cold medicine (Pancol A, Panpyrin T), digestives (Bearse, Dr. Bearse, Festal Plus, Festal Gold) and two pain-relief pads (Jeil Cool Pap, Sinsin Pas Arex).
| No. | Product (as listed) | Maker |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 닥터베아제정 | (주)대웅제약 |
| 2 | 베아제정 | (주)대웅제약 |
| 3 | 신신파스아렉스 | 신신제약(주) |
| 4 | 어린이부루펜시럽(이부프로펜) | 삼일제약(주) |
| 5 | 어린이용타이레놀정80밀리그람(아세트아미노펜) | (주)한국얀센 |
| 6 | 어린이타이레놀현탁액 | (주)한국얀센 |
| 7 | 제일쿨파프 | 제일헬스사이언스(주) |
| 8 | 타이레놀정160밀리그람(아세트아미노펜) | (주)한국얀센 |
| 9 | 타이레놀정500밀리그람(아세트아미노펜) | (주)한국얀센 |
| 10 | 판콜에이내복액 | 동화약품(주) |
| 11 | 판피린티정 | 동아제약(주) |
| 12 | 훼스탈골드정 | (주)한독 |
| 13 | 훼스탈플러스정 | (주)한독 |
Rules stated in the Ministry of Health and Welfare briefing of 14 November 2012 (the date these sales began):
- Sold at 24-hour convenience stores whose owners completed a four-hour course and registered as sellers; a sticker near the entrance marks the stores. The briefing said the list of stores could be found on the ministry's site or by calling the health and welfare call centre 129.
- To prevent misuse, only one day's dose is sold at a time, and the medicines cannot be bought by children under 12 or elementary-school pupils.
- Side effects can be reported or discussed with the Korea Institute of Drug Safety & Risk Management's call centre, 1644-6223 (number from the 2012 briefing).
- The list has 13 products; for any other medicine, ask at a pharmacy.
Prescriptions and what you pay
A prescription from a clinic is filled at a pharmacy. How the co-pay works for people on Korean health insurance is on the National Health Insurance page. Bringing your own medicine into Korea is covered in the medicine import page. In an emergency, see emergency numbers for foreigners.
This page is a summary, not medical advice. Ask a pharmacist or doctor about doses and allergies.
Checked 2026-10-19.
Official sources
- VISITKOREA (Korea Tourism Organization) — Pharmacy Guide in Korea — translation app and photo, language-assistance sign, prescription advice, duty-pharmacy sites, airport pharmacies, 1330; column last updated September 2024 (checked 2026-10-19)
- MFDS Drug Safety Portal (nedrug) — 안전상비의약품 — current list of 13 safe household medicines (pages 1 and 2) (checked 2026-10-19)
- Korea Policy Briefing (korea.kr) — 안전상비의약품 약국외 판매 시행, Ministry of Health and Welfare, 2012-11-14 — 24-hour convenience-store sales, one day's dose, under-12 rule, seller registration, 129, 1644-6223 (checked 2026-10-19)
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