Medical Tourism in South Korea

Jenn Pedde is the community manager for the University of Southern California’s online Masters in Social Work. She spent 2.5 years teaching in South Korea and now helps students across the US earn an MSW degree from one of the nation’s top tier institutions.

Thailand is well known for its inexpensive and high quality cosmetic surgery, which attracts medical tourists from all over the world. But another Asian nation, South Korea, is also experiencing a boom in medical tourism. The South Korean government has supported the industry with investments and favorable policies designed to establish South Korea as the premier medical tourism destination in Asia, though the country still lags behind other medical tourism capitals in total patients.

Already known throughout the continent for cosmetic surgery, South Korean doctors also excel in other fields, and the Korean Health ministry hopes that promoting these additional sectors will attract even more patients. Thus, South Korean doctors are also becoming known for their proficiency with cancer treatments, liver transplants, dental care, and ophthalmology.

South Korean authorities initially made limited efforts to encourage medical tourism, allowing the industry to grow on its own through its reputation. Since 2008, however, both the government and private groups have worked to make the medical climate more favorable for foreigners and helped spread the word around the world. The Korea Medical Tourism Association was formed in 2008, and the Korea Global Healthcare Association, a non-profit group, organized a three-day conference in 2010 that attracted thousands of participants from hospitals, state agencies, and abroad.

These efforts have paid off as the number of medical tourists coming to South Korea has increased dramatically in the last few years. In 2008, only a little over 27,000 patients traveled to South Korea for treatment, according to a Ministry of Health and Welfare report. That number more than doubled to 60,000 in 2009 and increased again in 2010 to 81,000 foreign patients.

At first, South Korea’s medical tourists came from nearby in Asia, but more and more people are coming from farther away. The United States sends the largest number of tourists, but patients from Russia, Mongolia, Hong Kong, and Vietnam spend the most money. The government is also trying to expand its marketing efforts to rich oil nations in the Middle East.

Expanding their reach will help South Korea catch up to Asian rivals Thailand and Singapore, the current leaders of medical tourism. According to official statistics, 750,000 patients traveled to Thailand for medical reasons in 2008, and 350,000 traveled to Singapore in 2007.

Lower prices and high quality care are what set South Korea apart from other countries. Costs are roughly 30% of what they are in the United States and 60% of the prices in Japan. Costs appear to be increasing, however, as doctors charge foreigners two to three times as much as they do locals, which may hurt future growth.

The South Korean government has made growing this highly profitable industry a goal. The government hopes to reach 300,000 medical tourists per year by 2015 and has recently adopted policies to encourage this rapid expansion. In June 2011, the government announced that foreigners could receive compensation in the event of medical malpractice. At the same time, they changed a law allowing hospitals to sell pharmaceuticals, put more resources towards training medical translators, and planned to introduce an annual survey to foreign patients in order to discover their medical needs and desires so that South Korea can better cater to its foreign patients.

Growth in South Korea’s medical tourism industry is promising, but it will take more than just word of mouth marketing to reach the government’s goals. The language barrier and limited awareness of South Korea as a medical tourism destination are the industry’s biggest immediate hurdles. Competing with well-established medical tourism industries in Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia, and inexpensive upstart practices in China will continue to be a challenge in the years to come.