Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the essential structure of the lived experience of North Korean female defectors' experience of use for South Korean health care service. Methods: Eleven North Korean female defectors having experience of use for South Korean health care service were interviewed in depth from May to October in 2018. The data were analyzed with phenomenological research methods of Colaizzi. Results: The meaning of experiences of use for South Korean health care service among the participants were founded as six categories from thirteen theme clusters. The six categories were ‘Visiting a strange hospital with a number of health problems’;‘Gradual adaptation to the satisfactory medical environment in South Korea’;‘Preconceived notions being tolerated even when using health care use’;‘A hospital becoming a communication space in the difficult adaptation’;‘Peer counselor essential for health care use during the early settlement stage’;and ‘Lack of practical health care service support’. Conclusion: Based on the results;there is necessary to develop basic practical education about the use of health care service at the stage of settlement in South Korea and expand peer counselors to help North Korean defectors adapt early to South Korean society.