Check Korean massage-voucher eligibility alongside the annual budget
This calculator covers South Korea’s locally administered community social-service massage vouchers using verified 2026 selection notices.
It helps an older applicant or their family prepare for a community-center discussion about eligibility and household expenditure.
Income thresholds, fees and recruitment dates vary by area, so a national flat-rate assumption can produce the wrong decision.
Three separate questions
- Do the notice’s income, age, target group, evidence and previous-use conditions allow further review?
- Does that particular notice accept new applications, only existing waiting-list applicants, or no applications on the assessment date?
- What would up to 12 months cost in copays, uncovered-session quotes and household extras?
The name refers to service delivered by qualified masseurs with visual disabilities; recipients do not necessarily need a visual disability.
The calculator does not diagnose a condition or establish treatment suitability, selection or payment.
Eunpyeong and Bupyeong: 2026 monthly packages
The following amounts were checked on 2026-10-15 and apply to the specified 2026 selection cohorts.
Eunpyeong’s attachment distinguishes the 2026 price from the older 2025-recipient total of KRW 168,000 and public support of KRW 151,200.
Bupyeong requires both the recipient category and the applicable income band.
Monthly 2026 selection-cohort service price, public support and recipient copay in Korean won| Area / fee category | Price (KRW) | Support (KRW) | Copay (KRW) |
|---|
| Eunpyeong: 2026 selected recipients | 180,000 | 163,200 | 16,800 |
| Bupyeong band 1: livelihood, near-poor, Basic Pension | 180,000 | 162,000 | 18,000 |
| Bupyeong band 2: other applicants at or below 120% | 180,000 | 144,000 | 36,000 |
| Bupyeong band 3: above 120% through 140% | 180,000 | 126,000 | 54,000 |
| Bupyeong band 4: above 140% through 150% | 180,000 | 108,000 | 72,000 |
Bupyeong band 1 includes confirmed Basic Livelihood Security, near-poor and Basic Pension categories; the other bands apply outside those categories.
Household and income eligibility still need local confirmation, and the calculator neither accesses benefit databases nor replaces recipient certificates.
Eligibility: keep local income and target-group rules separate
Eunpyeong, Seoul
The 2026 notice requires income at or below 140% of median income and an eligible target group.
The older-adult condition group requires full age 60 or above; registered physical or brain-lesion disabilities and qualifying disabled veterans with the specified condition have no age threshold.
Basic Pension alone does not waive income, and an older notice’s additional age-65 condition is not imported.
Bupyeong, Incheon
Income must be at or below 150% or the applicant must receive Basic Pension.
The 2026 older-adult wording includes birth year 1966 and earlier; registered-disability, qualifying veteran, pregnant and qualifying under-two-year postpartum groups require their own evidence.
Medical Aid case-management referrals require birth year 1971 or earlier and local confirmation of the flexible-age exception.
Use the income band established under the local household and income rules rather than dividing a salary figure by a median-income number.
At the 120%, 140% and 150% boundaries, confirm the official assessment before choosing a band.
Choosing a condition group is not a diagnosis, and veteran status alone does not prove the accompanying medical requirement.
Prepare evidence and distinguish confirmation states
- Prepare identity documents and the notice’s benefit-application and service-user agreement forms.
- For applicable condition groups, confirm a diagnosis, medical opinion, prescription or accepted evidence issued within six months before application.
- Ask the caseworker about the notice’s G, M, I, R81 and E10–15 condition codes and the document’s actual wording.
- Collect the applicable disability, disabled-veteran, pregnancy, postpartum, rare-disease or severe-disability evidence separately.
- Check inpatient and simultaneous treatment or care-benefit restrictions, previous use and the registered provider’s schedule.
Unconfirmed does not mean medically ineligible
A document that has not been obtained yet means preparation is pending, not that a condition is absent.
Missing evidence remains pending, while a clearly exceeded income limit or an unmet target-group age rule is reported separately.
Change an assumption to confirmed only after checking the actual source.
Formula: monthly packages versus per-session fees
Monthly package: monthly support = monthly service price − monthly copay
Supported-period copay = monthly copay × assumed voucher months
Supported-period support = monthly support × assumed voucher months
Per-session notice: monthly price and copay = corresponding per-session fee × monthly sessions
Complete plan: uncovered cost = (planning months − assumed voucher months) × monthly sessions × actual uncovered-session quote
Scenario total = supported-period copay + uncovered cost + monthly extras × planning months
Do not multiply the built-in monthly copay by sessions again.
Four sessions per month is an initial planning assumption, and the actual schedule and duration require local and provider confirmation.
For months outside the voucher, use an actual private-session quote rather than treating the notice price as a retail cash quote.
Unknown required quotes or extras keep the total unresolved instead of becoming zero.
Worked examples: 12-month references and uncovered months
Example 1 · Eunpyeong 2026 cohort, 12 supported months
Assume all 12 months are used; eligibility and actual selection require separate confirmation.
KRW 16,800 × 12 = KRW 201,600 copay; KRW 163,200 × 12 = KRW 1,958,400 support; combined notice value = KRW 2,160,000.
Four planned sessions monthly produce 48 sessions, but changing the session count does not multiply the monthly package copay again.
Example 2 · Bupyeong’s four 12-month fee bands
Bands 1–4 produce reference copays of KRW 216,000 / 432,000 / 648,000 / 864,000.
Their corresponding support amounts are KRW 1,944,000 / 1,728,000 / 1,512,000 / 1,296,000.
Confirmed Basic Pension receipt allows review of the income exception and band 1 above 150%, while selection and use restrictions remain separate.
Example 3 · Fictional per-session notice with six voucher months
This is a formula example, not an actual local tariff.
Assume a KRW 45,000 service price and KRW 5,000 copay per session, four sessions monthly, six voucher months within a 12-month plan, a KRW 50,000 uncovered-session quote and KRW 10,000 monthly extras.
Voucher-period copay is KRW 120,000, support KRW 960,000, uncovered cost KRW 1,200,000 and extras KRW 120,000, giving KRW 1,440,000 household cost.
Meeting conditions does not reopen a closed application window
- Eunpyeong: application 2026-01-14 through 2026-01-23; service period 2026-02-01 through 2027-01-31.
- Bupyeong: this August notice accepted applications 2026-08-05 through 2026-08-12; service period 2026-09-01 through 2027-08-31.
- Bupyeong restriction: the 446 massage places were for unselected March 2026 waiting-list applicants; new massage applications were not accepted under that notice.
Both recorded windows had ended by the source-check date, 2026-10-15.
That describes these particular notices rather than a permanent ban on later recruitment.
For a newer notice, enter its area, official URL, rule date, selection year and real opening and closing dates.
Already selected recipients can still budget their confirmed remaining months separately from new-application availability.
Reassessment and priority require local confirmation
Eunpyeong: one reassessment
New applicants take priority, with one reassessment allowed when no new eligible applicants exist.
After one previous service period, confirm both the absence of new eligible applicants and local reassessment permission; two or more previous periods exceed this built-in profile’s scope.
The stated priorities are rare or intractable conditions, severe disability and older age.
Bupyeong: confirm its own permission
Do not transfer Eunpyeong’s repeat-use limit to Bupyeong.
Check Medical Aid case-management referrals, a first community-service application and a first massage-service application, and ask the local authority about repeat-use permission.
Unconfirmed priority evidence alone does not automatically fail eligibility.
Step-by-step use and saving the review
- Select a profile matching the registered residence and selection year, then read the notice.
- Enter confirmed age, income band, recipient group, evidence and previous-use facts.
- Keep assumed supported months within the planning period and do not add already used months to a new entitlement.
- Enter sessions, actual uncovered-session quotes and extras, preserving confirmed, assumed and unknown states.
- Read eligibility, recruitment and scenario total together; the conditional total additionally requires actual selection and confirmed necessary costs.
- Save a TXT review or print/save PDF, then take the recorded sources and checks to the community center.
Annual budget here means a plan of up to 12 months, not a calendar-year voucher settlement statement.
Zero voucher months is allowed, but the fully uncovered period needs an actual quote.
Inputs remain in browser state without automatic storage; save a review explicitly if you need to keep it.
Family planning tips and limits
Preparing for a parent
Check the parent’s registered residence and applicable notice before obtaining documents or using another area’s fee.
Ask about applicant and relative application rights and any identity or relationship documents needed for representation.
The support figure represents service-voucher value, not a promised cash transfer to a family bank account.
Existing recipients and partial support periods
Adjust assumed months to the remaining voucher-generation period and provider schedule after accounting for months already used.
Separate uncovered months, travel and supplies to see what cash the household may need.
The official service-package value and a private cash quote are different inputs and are not automatically reported as savings.
This tool does not assess treatment effectiveness, clinical suitability, provider quality or medical safety.
Confirm termination after non-use or inpatient stays, copay prepayment, per-visit settlement and refunds in the applicable notice and provider arrangements.
Recalculate saved budgets when evidence or fees change.
Frequently asked questions
Must the applicant have a visual disability?
The program name refers to qualified masseurs with visual disabilities.
Applicants must meet their local income, age, condition or registered-disability requirements; a visual-disability registration by itself does not establish eligibility.
Does everyone aged 60 qualify?
The older-adult group also requires the specified condition, income and evidence.
Enter full age at the notice assessment date for Eunpyeong; Bupyeong’s 2026 older-adult wording includes birth year 1966 and earlier, subject to the community center’s assessment.
Does Basic Pension waive the income limit?
Bupyeong states at or below 150% of median income or Basic Pension receipt, with the latter in fee band 1.
Eunpyeong’s 2026 notice applies the 140% condition and does not inherit this exception.
Will two visits instead of four halve the monthly copay?
The built-in profiles use monthly packages and the calculator does not automatically prorate them.
Confirm missed visits, unused points, carryover, termination and actual payment procedures with the registered provider and local authority.
Why can conditions allow review while recruitment is closed?
Eligibility and recruitment are separate.
As of 2026-10-15, Eunpyeong’s January and Bupyeong’s August windows had ended; the latter was restricted to unselected March applicants, so new applicants need a later notice.
Can a previous recipient apply again?
Eunpyeong gives new applicants priority and allows one reassessment when no new eligible applicants exist.
Bupyeong reapplication permission and limits require separate confirmation; a first-application priority does not automatically accept or exclude every previous recipient.
Does Not confirmed mean zero cost?
No: it means a necessary income band, fee, quote or extra cost is unresolved.
For an actual zero, enter zero and mark it confirmed; a default zero assumption does not establish free service.
Can I use the same amounts in 2027?
Distinguish a 2026 selection cohort whose announced 12-month service period extends into 2027 from a new 2027 selection.
Changing a built-in selection year withholds public amounts; enter the new notice only after checking its fees, eligibility and duration.
Official sources and update boundaries
Sources checked: 2026-10-15.
Direct National Law Information OPEN API verification covered the Social Services Voucher Act, Articles 9–11 (MST 257855, effective 2025-01-03), and its Enforcement Rule, Article 3 (MST 269841, effective 2025-03-11).
The Medical Service Act, Article 82 (MST 290667, effective 2026-10-02), concerns qualified masseurs, not a nationwide income threshold or fee table.
Legal provisions establish application, investigation and issuance decisions; local notices supply the specific prices and conditions.
For each new recruitment or selection year, recheck local income tables, copays, duration, evidence, priority and reapplication rules.
For an area outside the built-in profiles, obtain the actual local evidence before using custom-notice inputs.