A medical interpreter for your clinic visit in Korea
If you live in, study in or are visiting Korea and your Korean does not stretch to a doctor's appointment, Verata translates the consultation while it happens. You speak English and the doctor hears Korean; the doctor answers in Korean and you hear English — as captions on the screen and as a voice. It runs in the browser on your own phone: nothing to install, no account to create, and a visit is free for 15 minutes. It is machine interpreting with clinical glossaries behind it — not a substitute for a certified interpreter where one is required.
What goes wrong without an interpreter
Reception, the questions before the examination, the diagnosis, the instructions for the medicine — each step needs exact words, and a general translation app makes you type while the doctor waits. Symptoms get simplified, and the one number that matters — how much, how often, until when — is the one most easily lost.
How a visit works with Verata
- 1. Open the link on your phoneBefore or at the visit, open the free trial in your browser and choose English. No sign-up.
- 2. Show the screen to the clinicTell them it translates both ways. Most clinics have not seen it; the screen explains itself in Korean.
- 3. Talk as you normally wouldThe language being spoken is detected automatically. Each sentence appears as captions in both languages and is read aloud in the other one.
One phone between the two of you
For a normal consultation your phone is enough: captions in both languages on one screen, the doctor's Korean read aloud to you in English, your English read aloud in Korean.
A second screen for the doctor
The same session can be opened on a clinic tablet or monitor as a view-only second screen — it shows the captions and does not switch on a microphone. Clinics that adopt Verata run it from their own account and connect you by link or QR code instead.
Languages
This page is about English and Korean. The same tool also pairs Korean with the languages below.
What it costs you
Nothing. The trial is free: 15 minutes per visit, and the link stays valid for 2 hours so it survives the waiting room. Clinics that adopt Verata pay ₩300 per minute from a prepaid balance — a 10-minute consultation costs them about ₩3,000, and they can top up from ₩10,000. That is their side, not yours.
What is kept
Audio is never recorded — speech is streamed to produce the translation and discarded. Captions live only for the session. During the current evaluation period the translated text of a visit is kept for 30 days so that translation mistakes can be found and fixed; it is not shown to anyone at the clinic. The full statement is on Data & Privacy.
Limits, and how to use it safely
- Verata is machine interpreting, not a certified human interpreter. Where the law or the clinic requires a certified interpreter — consent for surgery, a legal statement — ask for one.
- It is a communication tool, not medical advice. The doctor decides; Verata only carries the words.
- Not for emergencies. If someone is in danger, call 119 — do not stop to open a translator.
Doses, quantities, dates and how often to take something must be confirmed between you and the doctor — repeat the numbers back.
Questions about this page
Do I need to install anything or make an account?
No. It opens in the browser on your phone, and the trial asks for nothing — no email, no card.
How long is a free visit?
15 minutes of translation per visit, and the link stays valid for 2 hours from when you open it. A typical consultation takes well under that.
Will the clinic agree to use it?
It is a screen with Korean captions on it — nothing for the clinic to install or sign. Show it at reception and let them read. If they want their own account, point them to the page for clinics below.
What about doses, dates and amounts?
Machine translation can get a number wrong. Repeat every dose, quantity, frequency and date back to the doctor and have them confirm — on the screen, if you like. Treat the printed prescription as the final word, not the translation.
Can I use it in an emergency?
No. In an emergency call 119 and follow the staff — they have their own procedures for foreign patients. Verata is for the consultation room, not for the seconds that count.
Is what I say saved?
The audio is never recorded. During the current evaluation period the translated text is kept for 30 days to correct translation mistakes, then deleted; it is not shown to the clinic. Details are on Data & Privacy.
Which languages besides English?
Korean paired with Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese and Thai as well. Each has its own free trial page.