The Hospital‐based Influenza Morbidity and Mortality (HIMM) surveillance system is an emergency room (ER)‐based influenza surveillance system in Korea that was established in 2011. The system was established under the assumption that integrated clinical and virologic surveillance could be performed rapidly and easily at seven tertiary hospitals' ER. Here, we assessed the correlation between data generated from the HIMM surveillance system and the Korean national influenza surveillance systems during the 2011–2012 influenza season using cross‐correlation analysis and found strong correlations. Rapid antigen‐test‐based HIMM surveillance would predict the start of influenza epidemic earlier than pre‐existing influenza‐like‐illness‐based surveillance.