When traveling to a foreign country, you don’t want to find yourself needing an unexpected medical supplement and unable to find it. If you are planning to travel to South Korea, whether it is short-term or long-term, there are several medical supplies that you may want to bring with you. Here is a list of various medical items that you may want to consider.
Anti-fungal cream (ex: Clotrimazole).
Antibacterial cream (ex: Muciprocin).
Antibiotics. This may be needed if you are visiting any rural areas for potential skin infections. However, I have noticed that antibiotics are fairly easy to find in Korea, so this is up to you.
Antihistamines (allergy medications). This could be in either a pill or cream form depending on whether your allergies effect your sinuses or skin. Keep in mind that Korea has different plants and allergens, so you may discover that you have allergies here when you don’t in your home country. I know of many foreigners who visit that have said they either have developed more allergies or have reduced allergies upon arriving in Korea.
Antiseptic (ex: Betadine).
Anti-spasmodic (ex: Buscopan). This would be used for digestive problems.
Contraceptives. This could be either birth control pills, the patch, condoms, etc.
Decongestant (ex: Pseudoephedrine). This has always been very helpful for me to bring on the plane. It is also very helpful in the unfortunate event that you get a cold or the flu.
Insect repellent. Korea has its fair share of mosquitos, so you may be happy you brought this with you.
Anti-diarrheal treatments, laxative, and indigestion tablets. You never know how your stomach will react to a new environment and new foods, so I have found that this is always wise to pack.
Anti-inflammatory medications (ex: ibuprofen).
Iodine tablets. This would be beneficial to bring in order to purify the tap water.
Migraine medicine.
Steroid cream for itchy/allergic rashes (ex: 1-2% hydrocortisone).
Sunscreen.
Throat lozenges.
Monistat and/or Vagisil. If you are female, you could bring this or any other vaginal yeast infection treatment that you prefer.
Sources:
Lonely Planet South Korea: Practical Travel Information
More by Jennifer:
Teaching in Korea: Managing Finances
HPV: What You Need to Know
The Dos and Don’ts for Eating Korean Cuisine