A spine MRI images the discs, the spinal cord and the nerve roots without radiation, and it is the test that explains most persistent neck or lower-back pain. One region takes about twenty minutes, and the partner centres price it per region rather than per spine.
Per region. Cervical, thoracic and lumbar are separate studies.
No ionising radiation.
MediOne's published non-covered price for one spinal region, ≈₩450,000. The whole spine in one sagittal study is ≈₩650,000.
Hanaro's Platinum program, men's price, ≈₩3,200,000, which lists cervical and lumbar MRI together.
One week is the earliest an imaging slot can be held, and there is no referral step before it.
English report in your hands in about a week. You also get a consultation on preliminary findings on the day of the screening, before you leave.
Programme contents and prices from each partner centre's own foreigner-facing published list, read 2026-08-05: KMI Global, Hanaro Medical Foundation's English site and MediOne's English site. Standalone per-test prices are MediOne's 비급여 (non-covered) posting, the itemised list 의료법 제45조 requires a clinic to publish, read the same day. Scheduling and report turnaround are Meridiko's own operating figures, confirmed 2026-08-06, not a centre's published ones (https://global.kmi.or.kr/examination/foreigner_examination; https://en-mobile.hanaromf.com/program/prog01/prog01_01.jsp; https://en.medionemedicalcenter.com/m1; https://medionemedicalcenter.com/115), measured 2026-08-05.
Disc herniation and degeneration, spinal stenosis, nerve-root compression, cord signal change, and most tumours or infections of the spine. It is the standard test when pain radiates into an arm or a leg.
It does not tell you that a finding is the cause of your pain. Disc bulges are common in people with no symptoms at all, and a spine MRI read without the clinical picture produces more anxiety than answers.
Suits: Anyone with neck or back pain that radiates, persistent numbness or weakness, or pain that has not settled over weeks. Also anyone whose earlier X-ray or CT was inconclusive.
Should not have it: People with certain implanted devices or metal, which is an MRI safety question rather than a spine question. Anyone whose pain is new and improving is usually better served by waiting than by imaging.
A spine CT shows bone in more detail and costs a fraction as much (MediOne prices a spinal CT at ≈₩91,000 against ≈₩316 in dollars for the MRI). The MRI is what shows soft tissue: discs, cord and nerves. For pain radiating into a limb, that is the difference that matters.
The Advanced tier on this site includes one MRI region and lets you choose brain, cervical or lumbar. Hanaro's Gold adds a brain MRI and its Platinum adds cervical and lumbar. If you want more than one region, MediOne's per-region pricing at ≈₩450,000 is usually cheaper than moving up a tier.
