Mental Health Resources in South Korea
If you need emergency services, please call 119. They have operators who speak Korean, English, Chinese and Japanese.
If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, please call:
English Hotlines:
Crisis Text Line: Text or message on Facebook
Samaritans: email at jo@samaritans.org
You can call 1-800 numbers with Skype for free so try:
The US National Suicide Prevention Line : 1-800-273-8255
The US Veteran Crisis Line: 1-800-273-8255 and press 1.
Korean Hotlines (in Korean):
Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1577-0199
Lifeline Korea: 1588-9191
Counsel24: 1566-2525
Ministry of Health and Wellness Call Center: 129
Finding mental health services back home is hard enough. It takes time to search for the right counselor and if you don’t have insurance or time, well, it becomes near impossible. These challenges are only exacerbated in SK, you have the added complications of language barriers and stigma.
First off, if you’re thinking “Can I get therapy in Korea? What if my employer finds out and fires me?” Don’t worry. While there is a mental health stigma in SK no employers should have access to your medical records. I know many people who’ve sought therapy/psychiatrics help here and it’s never gotten back to their job or resulted in being fired. Also see below for my advice before coming to South Korea.
Getting help can be a matter of life or death, and I believe it’s really important to be aware of what resources you do have in South Korea.
If you need help, here are some options for mental health counseling and finding medicine in Korea.
Local Counselors
Major cities will have a psychiatrist or counselor who can speak English. Check this list, your local FB groups for posts or search naver for 정신과의원.
Seoul / all over korea
Seoul Counseling Center is a very well-known counseling center that has many English-speaking therapists. Some of them are US licensed therapists or working out of the US. They usually offer both in-person and online services, but in-person services depends on COVID cases.
My and my friends’ experiences have been positive. You fill out an intake form and can request what sort of counselor you want (male, female, older, Korean or not, POC, LGBT, etc.). Their counselors have different specializations but many encourage CBT and mindfulness. You might need to try one first and change if they aren’t a good match.
They’re pretty expensive, though. You can check their fees on the website, but I would try their group therapy or snag an intern (pre-MA) counselor, it’ll be 60,000 won per session. The post-MA residents are much more expensive. The National Health Insurance usually does not cover this care. They do take some international healthcare plans. They accept TRICARE members.
There are other options in Seoul, like Adaptable Human Services or You&Me. I have no experience nor know of anyone who’s gone to these, but I’d say it’s worth checking out.
daejeon
There is Willow Counseling Center near the bus station in Daedeok-dong. There’s only one English speaking US licensed therapist and she charges 100,000 won for a 50 minute session. They do not accept National Health Insurance. You can email them at counseling.willow@gmail.com.
There’s also a psychiatrist near City Hall. I have some friends who’ve gone to her. Their recommendation is it’s….just okay, but they were able to get the prescriptions they needed—more on that below.
University Counselors
If you’re attending university in Korea, try looking into mental health resources on campus. Bigger universities with large foreign student populations like KAIST or SKY (Seoul, Korea or Yonsei) offer English counseling.
Online Therapy / Teletherapy
You’ve probably heard of online therapy services like Betterhelp or Talkspace. These services can range from online zoom calls to just chat boxes with as licensed US counselor.
Online therapy isn’t for everyone, but it grew big after the pandemic started. I’ve used these services myself, and so have a few other people I know. I think most of our experiences have been the same: they’re not great, but okay enough to help you when you really need it. And they’re probably cheaper than any option in Korea. You can seek discounts too if their normal prices are too high.
You might also consider contacting therapists in your home country who are fine with teletherapy—again, many are doing it because of the pandemic anyway. You would have to work out hours, but if you already have an existing relationship with a therapist then it might be worth trying to make it work.
Finding medication
Certain medications, like Adderall, are illegal to sell or purchase in SK. Also is melatonin, weirdly enough. National Health Insurance might cover your medication, but I’ve read varying reports. You might have to get re-diagnosed IN Korea.
That’s really all I can offer on this topic. I’m not a doctor and I can’t offer medical advice—and this also wildly depends on what medication you need. So I’d say talk to your practitioner at home and do some research in Facebook groups.
Before coming to Korea
If you aren’t in Korea yet, consider these questions:
Do you need specific medication that you can’t get here? Do you have specific ways of coping you can’t get in SK, i.e. support systems or certain counselors?
People come here all the time with anxiety, depression, and many other conditions. Having mental health issues does not mean you’re disqualified from coming to SK. In fact, for some of my friends, having a different space, fewer financial concerns and new support systems meant they could find fresh footing.
BUT it’s REALLY important to evaluate your mental state and what you will need to take care of yourself. Leaving home to live abroad can worsen existing issues—no matter where you go, there you are. It is very difficult to deal with culture shock and language barriers, to not have immediate access to your support network, or to have to self-soothe most of the time.
The best advice for anyone with a history of mental health issues (or really anyone at all) is this: starting looking into teletherapy before you come. Research options before you get here.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the stigma against mental health issues is still very strong in SK.
In the past, EPIK (English Program in Korea) has ALLEGEDLY rejected people due to the fact they admitted they attend therapy or have a history of mental health problems. I know I was asked in my interview if I’ve ever gone to therapy. I said yes, they asked why. When I told them it was for my parent’s divorce many years ago, they found that to be an “acceptable” reason. Likely, if I had said something more along the lines of “I have or had anxiety/depression/other mental health conditions,” I would not be writing this from my desk in Daejeon.
Do with that information what you will. Lying or admitting info on your application is technically grounds for being fired or deported in Korea. So I’m not going to recommend what you should say or do in your application.
Other Resources
Whatever you’re looking for, I genuinely hope that you can get the care you need. There’s no shame in asking for help—hopefully, help will only become easier, cheaper and more accessible in the future. Take care, friends.