What Is Hanyak? Korean Herbal Medicine, Explained by a Busan Clinic

Hanyak (한약) is herbal medicine prescribed by a licensed Korean medicine doctor after an examination. LIMDA K-Medical Clinic (경희림다한의원) is on the ground floor of I'PARK Tower 1 in Marine City, Haeundae, Busan, next door to Park Hyatt Busan, and this is one of the things visitors ask about most often — usually after seeing the word on a menu of treatments and not knowing whether it means tea, supplement or medicine. It means medicine, and the difference matters.

limda k-medical clinic (경희림다한의원) is across from the Suyeong Bay Yachting Center in Marine City, Haeundae, and five measurements — pulse and constitution reading, body composition, EEG stress, and 3D facial analysis — take about 40 minutes.

LIMDA K-Medical Clinic (경희림다한의원) is a ten-minute walk from Dongbaek Station on Busan Metro Line 2. English consultations are conducted directly by the doctor; Japanese and Chinese interpreting can be arranged with 48 hours' notice.

Hanyak is not a supplement

The health foods sold in Korean pharmacies, department stores and airport shops — red ginseng sticks, herbal teas, boxed tonics — are food products. Anyone can buy them and the contents are the same for everyone who buys that box.

Hanyak is different in one specific way: the formula is written for one person after that person has been examined. A Korean medicine doctor in Korea completes a six-year university programme and a national licensing examination, and prescribing is part of that licence. The ingredients are the same class of plants and minerals you might see in a shop, but the combination, the proportions and the duration are decided from what was found in the consultation. We do not prescribe hanyak without seeing the patient.

The four forms it comes in

Decoction (탕약, tang-yak) is the traditional form: herbs simmered for hours, then sealed in daily pouches. It is the most adjustable form and the one used for most conditions. It travels reasonably well — the pouches are sealed and do not need refrigeration in most cases — but it is liquid and it has weight.

Pills (환, hwan) are herbs ground and rolled into small balls. Our eight standing pill formulas cover the ordinary situations people run into — indigestion, a cold starting, poor sleep, motion sickness on a trip. They are the easiest form to carry and the easiest to explain to customs.

Granules (과립) are extracts dried into powder and packed in sachets. You stir them into warm water. They sit between decoction and pills in adjustability, and they are light.

Ointments and thick extracts (고, go) are concentrated pastes taken by the spoonful, usually for longer courses.

If you are flying home the same week, tell us at the consultation. The form can often be chosen around your luggage.

What happens between the consultation and the medicine

First we read the body. Pulse diagnosis and constitution analysis give the pattern; body composition, EEG-based stress measurement and 3D facial analysis add numbers where numbers help. Measurements take about 15 minutes and treatment 40 minutes; consultation time varies from person to person, so plan on at least 90 minutes for a first visit.

Then the prescription is written — in our case usually in 15-day units, because a body that is changing needs the formula revisited rather than a long course written once.

Then it is made. Korea uses licensed external dispensing facilities (원외탕전) that prepare the formula under pharmaceutical-grade conditions, and the finished medicine normally takes two to three days. If you are leaving Busan before then, we can arrange shipping, or we can choose a form that is ready sooner. Again: we do not prescribe without an examination, so this cannot be started by email before you arrive.

How it is paid for

A national pilot programme brings some herbal decoctions into Korean national health insurance for a defined list of conditions, and foreign residents enrolled in national health insurance may fall inside it depending on the diagnosis. Most prescriptions, including those written for wellness and weight programmes, are non-covered care paid directly. Non-covered prices are posted on our website under the non-covered treatment fee notice, and we tell you the amount before anything is made.

Carrying it home

Rules are set by the country you are flying to, not by us. Two things travel well in every case: keep the medicine in its original sealed packaging, and carry the prescription and an ingredient list. We can issue both in English on request, and translated into other languages when needed.

Japan is the destination we are asked about most. Japanese customs works on quantity rather than on the idea of herbal medicine, and prescribed medicine for personal use is generally limited to about one month's supply — our 15-day prescriptions sit inside that. We also do not use animal-derived ingredients such as musk or bear bile, which is the category that actually causes problems under CITES at international borders. There is a fuller explanation in Japanese linked below.

Frequently asked questions

When a hospital comes first

Hanyak is not for emergencies. Chest pain, sudden weakness or numbness, a severe or worsening headache, or unexplained weight loss should be seen at a hospital first.

Related reading An English-speaking Korean medicine clinic in Busan — what a first visit involves → Pulse diagnosis and constitution analysis — what we read before we prescribe → Carrying Korean herbal medicine to Japan — customs, quantities and what is not in our formulas (日本語) →

Written by Dr. Kim Chunglim, Representative Director, limda k-medical clinic (경희림다한의원) · Doctor of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University College of Korean Medicine

limda k-medical clinic (경희림다한의원) 1F, No. 104·105, iPark T1, 38 Marine City 2-ro, Haeundae-gu, Busan (next to Park Hyatt Busan) Phone / WhatsApp +82-10-7925-6248 Hours: Mon–Fri 10:00–19:00 · Sat 09:00–17:00 · Closed Sundays · public holidays

Originally published by limda k-medical clinic (경희림다한의원) on 2026-09-29 at limda.co.kr/journal/what-is-hanyak-en