As of March 2026, there are 2,093 active dermatology clinics operating across 18 provinces and cities nationwide, registered in the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA) public data. This article summarizes the regional distribution and specialist status of dermatology clinics in Korea based on HIRA public data.
Active Dermatology Clinics
2,093
Board-certified Dermatologists
791
Total Medical Staff
2,491
Distribution Regions
18
Reference Date: March 24, 2026 · Source: Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA) Public Data
1. Specialist Status
Out of a total of 2,491 medical staff, 791 are board-certified dermatologists, accounting for 31.8% of the total. The remaining 68.2% are general practitioners providing dermatological care. Among the 2,093 clinics, 570 (27.2%) have at least one board-certified specialist on staff, while the remaining 72.8% operate without a specialist.
2. Regional Distribution
Dermatology clinics are concentrated in the Seoul Metropolitan Area. A total of 1,370 clinics (65.5% of the nation) are located in the three regions of Seoul (884), Gyeonggi-do (401), and Incheon (85). Seoul alone accounts for 42.2% of the national total.
65.5% of dermatology clinics nationwide are concentrated in the three metropolitan regions of Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon, with Seoul alone accounting for 42.2%.
| Rank | Region | No. of Clinics | No. of Specialists | Clinics with Specialists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seoul | 884 | 347 | 237 |
| 2 | Gyeonggi-do | 401 | 138 | 101 |
| 3 | Busan | 160 | 68 | 52 |
| 4 | Daegu | 101 | 57 | 39 |
| 5 | Incheon | 85 | 24 | 17 |
| 6 | Gwangju | 79 | 34 | 25 |
| 7 | Gyeongsangnam-do | 67 | 21 | 17 |
| 8 | Daejeon | 56 | 31 | 22 |
| 9 | Jeonbuk State | 49 | 15 | 12 |
| 10 | Chungcheongnam-do | 37 | 6 | 5 |
| 11 | Gyeongsangbuk-do | 36 | 13 | 11 |
| 12 | Chungcheongbuk-do | 32 | 10 | 9 |
| 13 | Ulsan | 31 | 13 | 11 |
| 14 | Jeollanam-do | 26 | 7 | 6 |
| 15 | Jeju State | 20 | 3 | 3 |
| 16 | Sejong-si | 15 | 1 | 1 |
| 17 | Gangwon State | 13 | 3 | 3 |
Metropolitan City Status
The five metropolitan cities excluding Seoul (Busan, Daegu, Incheon, Gwangju, Daejeon, Ulsan) total 512 clinics, representing 24.5% of the nation. Among metropolitan cities, Busan (160) has the most, and Ulsan (31) has the fewest.
Provincial Status
At the provincial level, Gyeonggi-do (401) is overwhelmingly first. Gangwon State (13) and Jeollanam-do (26) are at the lower end, and Sejong-si (15) has relatively less dermatology infrastructure due to its nature as a new city.
3. Regional Concentration of Specialists
Out of 791 specialists nationwide, 347 are practicing in clinics located in Seoul, meaning 43.9% of the total are concentrated in Seoul. The combined number of specialists in the three regions of Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Busan is 553, accounting for 69.9% of the national total.
Regions with High Specialist Retention Rates
The regions with the highest percentage of clinics with specialists relative to total clinics are Daejeon (39.3%), Daegu (38.6%), and Gwangju (31.6%). While Seoul (26.8%) and Gyeonggi (25.2%) have high absolute numbers, their retention rates are lower than those of provincial metropolitan cities. This reflects the concentration of small clinics operated by general practitioners in the Seoul Metropolitan Area.
4. Data Source and Methodology
All figures in this article are based on public data from the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA). HIRA is an agency under the Ministry of Health and Welfare of the Republic of Korea that manages the status of medical institutions nationwide.
Aggregation Criteria
- Institutions registered with medical department code
05(Dermatology) - Institution Type: Clinic level (excluding hospitals)
- Status: Active institutions only
- Reference Date: March 24, 2026
Update Cycle
K-Dermzip automatically synchronizes HIRA public data once a week. Information on new openings and closures is reflected within 7 days of HIRA registration. Detailed statistics by region can be found on the National Dermatology Status Statistics page, and raw data in machine-readable format is provided through the LLM API endpoint.