Anma: Korea's licensed massage profession

안마사 제도와 안마원

Anma is a massage profession that Korean law reserves for visually impaired practitioners. That reservation is not a custom or a preference. It is written into the Medical Service Act, and the qualification is granted by a city or provincial governor to a visually impaired person who has completed the required schooling or training.

Reviewed 2026-09-27 · Updated 2026-09-28 · Written from the public sources listed below

Why it exists

The law makes anma a qualified activity and reserves that qualification for visually impaired practitioners as a way of supporting their livelihood. People have gone to court arguing that limiting it to visually impaired practitioners is unfair, and the Constitutional Court has upheld the arrangement more than once, including in a 2017 decision. The same decision also upheld the rule that only a qualified practitioner may open an anma business.

How to recognise one

The law names two kinds of anma business: 안마시술소 and 안마원. Those are the words to look for on a sign or a listing. A sign that says only 마사지, 스파 or 테라피 does not tell you whether a qualified practitioner works there, so do not read anything into it either way.

What a visit is like

Sessions are usually sold by time. English may be limited, and a written phrase, or a booking made by your hotel front desk, is the usual way around that. Ask the price before you start, and say at the start if you want the pressure lighter or firmer.

What this card does not claim

We are describing a qualification and a profession, not a health outcome. Nothing here is a medical service and nobody should present it as one.

Why we point you here: of everything sold under the word massage in this city, this is the part with a clear legal footing.