I’ve always been curious about Korean traditional medicine, so I tried acupuncture for my chronic lower back pain while visiting Seoul.
The clinic was a small 한의원 (haniwon/Korean medicine clinic) near my hotel. The doctor (한의사, hanisa) did a brief consultation, asked about my symptoms, checked my pulse, and then did an acupuncture session that lasted about 25 minutes.
It wasn’t painful at all — just a slight tingling sensation. Afterward, they also applied some kind of herbal heat pad to my lower back.
Total cost: 35,000 KRW (about $25 USD) for the initial consultation + acupuncture session. That seemed very affordable to me.
I noticed some improvement in my pain the next day, though it’s hard to say if it was the acupuncture or just natural recovery. I’m planning to go back for a few more sessions.
Has anyone else tried Korean traditional medicine? Especially curious about herbal medicine (한약) experiences.