S.Korea's medical tourists rebound to 50% of pre-pandemic levels

South Korea's medical tourism industry, which experienced a severe setback due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has shown considerable recovery, with the number of foreign patients visiting the country rebounding to 50% of pre-pandemic levels.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare on Monday, South Korea welcomed a total of 248,000 foreign patients in 2022, marking a substantial 70.1% increase from the 146,000 recorded in 2021.

Since the South Korean government authorized medical institutions to attract foreign patients in 2009, the number of international visitors seeking medical treatment had consistently grown, culminating in a record-breaking 497,000 in 2019. However, the pandemic and ensuing travel restrictions led to a sharp decline, with the number of foreign patients plunging to 117,000 in 2020.

Data from 2022 reveals that the US (17.8%) and China (17.7%) constituted the highest proportion of foreign patients in South Korea, followed by Japan (8.8%), Thailand (8.2%) and Vietnam (5.9%). Significantly, the number of Chinese patients rose by 56.8% compared to the previous year, despite lingering travel restrictions.

Japan witnessed a remarkable upswing, with the number of patients primarily pursuing plastic surgery and dermatology treatments multiplying more than sixfold within a year. This development propelled Japan from 8th to 3rd place in the nationality proportion of foreign patients visiting South Korea.

By treatment category, integrated internal medicine treatments, encompassing general internal medicine, infectious diseases and gastroenterology, were the most sought-after, representing 22.3% of patients. Plastic surgery (15.8%), dermatology (12.3%) and medical check-up centers (6.6%) trailed closely. Impressive growth rates were observed in dermatology (201.0%) and plastic surgery (177.7%) compared to the previous year.

As South Korea's medical tourism industry advances in its recovery, the government remains steadfast in achieving its goal of attracting 500,000 foreign patients by 2026 through the implementation of its "Second Comprehensive Plan for Medical Overseas Expansion and Support for Attracting Foreign Patients."

Write to Min Su Han at hms@hankyung.com