Korea’s free national health check-up (2026)

In Korean: 국가건강검진 (gukga geongang geomjin)

If you are in National Health Insurance — foreign residents included — you are offered a free general health check-up, usually every two years. In 2026 it is for people born in an even-numbered year, and the deadline is Thursday 31 December 2026.

Who gets the free check-up

• Employees enrolled through their workplace (직장가입자).
• Regional (self-employed) members (지역가입자): the householder, and household members aged 20 or over. Many foreign students and freelancers are regional members.
• Dependents (피부양자) aged 20 or over, such as a spouse covered by an employee’s insurance.

Foreign residents who are enrolled in National Health Insurance get the same screenings as Korean members. Visitors without Korean health insurance are not covered.

2026: people born in even-numbered years

The general check-up runs on a two-year cycle by birth year: people born in even-numbered years are due in even years, and people born in odd-numbered years in odd years. So 2026 is the year for people born in 1990, 1992, 1994 and so on. Non-office employees are due every year, whatever their birth year.

The check-up must be done between 1 January and 31 December. Cancer screenings have their own age rules and intervals — some are yearly — and the NHIS app lists the ones you are due for.

What it costs

• General check-up: free. NHIS pays the whole cost.
• Cancer screenings: free or 10%. Members in the lower half by premium pay nothing; the upper half pay 10% of the cost. For 2026 the cut-off is a monthly premium of ₩127,500 or less for employees and ₩60,000 or less for regional members, based on November 2025 premiums.
• Colorectal and cervical cancer screening: free for everyone, whatever your premium.
• Extras you choose at the clinic — such as sedation for an endoscopy (수면 내시경) or tests outside the national package — are usually charged separately. Ask the price when you book.

How to book

1. Check that you are due. In NHIS’s The건강보험 app or on the NHIS website, look up your screening status (검진대상 조회). You can also call NHIS (numbers below).
2. Find a screening clinic. Use 검진기관 찾기 (find a screening institution) in the app or on the NHIS website. Only designated screening institutions do the national check-up.
3. Book with the clinic directly by phone or at the desk, and follow its instructions — for example about not eating beforehand.
4. Bring photo ID on the day. For foreign residents, that is the residence card.

Book early: the end of the year is busy

NHIS materials (2024) say about 40% of people have their check-up between October and December, so clinics fill up towards the deadline. If you are due, book now.

If you miss it

The check-up does not roll over by itself. From January you can apply to be added as someone who missed the previous year (전년도 미수검자): employees through their employer, which applies to NHIS; regional members and dependents themselves, through the app or by calling 1577-1000. Reports differ on how long that late check-up stays valid, so ask NHIS when you apply.

Help in English

• NHIS foreign-language line: 033-811-2000 — English, Chinese, Vietnamese and Uzbek.
• NHIS customer centre: 1577-1000 (Korean).

Questions

Related

• Flu shots — free for children, pregnant women and people aged 65 or over this season
• Pre-employment health certificate — a separate document, paid for by you
• How medical prices work in Korea