South Korea is one of the most famous medical tourism destinations in the world. According to the Korea Tourism Organization’s ‘2017 survey on Korean medical and wellness tourism,’ Korea was the third country after the United States and Germany as the destination for medical tourism. Around 500,000 foreigners traveled to South Korea in 2019 as medical tourists, and about 65% of them chose Seoul. Why Korea you might ask? As for the many reasons why many foreign patients chose South Korea is due to their technological excellence, advanced medical system, and reasonable price.
Medical Procedures in Demand
South Korea provides a number of high quality medical services for patients. It is especially well known for being the Asian hub for cosmetic surgeries, and for its high quality skin care treatments. The growing Korean wave has certainly contributed to the increasing number of medical tourists who visit Korea for various plastic surgeries and cosmetic procedures. Not only that, from infertility treatment to cancer treatment to organ transplantation and ophthalmology, South Korea gives a broad scope of excellent medical services that aim to satisfy different patients’ various needs.
Accessibility and Infrastructure
The capital city Seoul South Korea, is well-connected to all major cities of the world by air, making the country easily accessible. The city is forming into a one stop destination where international patients can effectively visit any medical centers they want by using public transportation without difficulty. The medical centers in South Korea are well equipped and offer a wide range of medical services as there are over 20,000 healthcare facilities only in Seoul. What makes medical centers in Seoul stand out from the rest is the concierge services for medical tourism that support the entire process. From entry into Korea, information on medical institutions, hotel reservations and even translation services, such convenience enables foreign patients to receive information on medical programs and services easily.
World state-of-the-art Medical Technology
Quality of life in South Korea has greatly improved, owing the advanced of medical technology.
It boasts world-class healthcare technology system that includes medical equipment and facilities, leading its way in innovative tech equipment. Moreover, South Korea not only it ranks third among countries with the maximum number of CT scanners and MRI machines, the clinical outcomes rank amongst the highest globally for cardiovascular diseases, joint replacements, cancers, spinal disorders, and transplants. You can now see why South Korea is a top choice as but it puts forward people with top quality facilities with the newest equipment backed by its world leading IT systems and reaching impressive medical achievements.
Expenses
Healthcare facilities in South Korea not only does offer superior service, but it is relatively more affordable compared to other developed countries. For example, getting a laser eye surgery done in South Korea would cost a patient around USD $1300-$2000 while the same cost them around USD $4000-$8000 in the US. It’s been calculated that patients save up to 30-40% of the expenses they would pay for the same kind of medical procedures in the US since it is 5-10 times cheaper in South Korea. In addition, with healthcare expenses throughout Europe and the United States increasing, many patients are turning toward Asian markets, especially South Korea for medical procedures. It’s a no brainer why so many patients choose Korea as their favorite stop for medical procedures!
Seoul Medical Tourism Alliance
As Seoul boasts its place at the center of Korea’s medical tourism, the government has worked together with many leading organizations in Seoul to promote medical tourism here.
For example, the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) decided to select and operate outperforming organizations including healthcare centers, medical tourism agencies, and hotels as its collaborating partners to establish a medical tourism that foreign tourists can trust. The purpose of this alliance is to provide the best medical and tourism services to foreign patients visiting Seoul in a comfortable environment. Gangnam B&VIIT Eye Center is thrilled to announce our affiliation with Seoul Medical Tourism Alliance, as we were selected as an institution created for the purpose of revitalizing medical tourism for international visitors in the city of Seoul. We are excited to be a part of making South Korea a fast growing leader in the medical tourism industry!