"Want to Be Like Koreans" Foreigners Sweeping Gangnam... 2nd Place China, Who's 1st?

Medical Tourism Booms Again as COVID Restrictions Ease
Foreigners 'Wrapped in Bandages' Return in Crowds

At the Vietnam 'Medipharm Expo (Ho Chi Minh International Medical, Hospital, and Pharmaceutical Exhibition)' held last week at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC) in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, a remarkable scene unfolded. The promotional exhibition hall set up by Gangnam-gu, Seoul, saw a continuous stream of Vietnamese buyers throughout the three days. Most of the visitors to the exhibition were travel agencies specializing in medical tourism, local hospitals and clinics, and companies engaged in VIP marketing.

An official from the Medical Tourism Team of Gangnam-gu Office, which had a booth at the expo, said, "We felt the local Vietnamese interest not only in plastic surgery and dermatology but also in ophthalmology and urology," adding, "We confirmed that there is a high level of interest and trust in Korean medical technology, creating favorable conditions for expanding demand for our medical tourism."

Foreign medical tourists, which sharply declined due to COVID-19, have recently increased significantly, mainly among tourists from Japan and Southeast Asia. Gangnam-gu participated in the 'Medipharm Expo' held from August 3 to 5 at six hospitals and clinics in the district and in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. (Photo by Gangnam-gu)

No statistics yet for this year... On-site atmosphere shows increase from Japan and Southeast Asia

Interest in the Korean medical tourism market is not only evident in the local atmosphere of Southeast Asia. Foreigners with faces wrapped in bandages are once again increasing on the streets of Gangnam. Although statistics show that recovery is still less than half of the pre-COVID-19 levels, the recent on-site atmosphere reported by industry insiders is quite different. In particular, Gangnam-gu is home to nearly half of the plastic surgery and dermatology clinics in Korea, making it a hub for medical institutions frequently visited by medical tourists. The atmosphere in Gangnam serves as a barometer for the related market.

According to the Korea Health Industry Development Institute and Gangnam-gu Office on the 10th, the number of foreign patients treated at hospitals and clinics in Gangnam-gu last year was 59,891, more than double the 23,734 patients during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic the previous year. This accounts for 41% of the total medical tourists in Seoul (146,310) and 24% of the nationwide total (248,110) during the same period.

Although the number of medical tourists in Gangnam-gu is still significantly below the pre-COVID-19 figure of 131,808, the recovery trend is steep. Chinese medical tourists, who previously accounted for around 40% of the total, have been gradually replaced by visitors from Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, and other Southeast Asian countries, whose visits to Korea have increased significantly.

Hwang Jo-eun, director of Healing Paper, the operator of the plastic surgery and dermatology information app Gangnam Unnie, said, "Consultation requests and bookings from Japanese medical tourists have recently increased noticeably on a weekly basis," adding, "As travel restrictions due to COVID-19 have eased, pent-up demand for medical tourism is also rising."

The Gangnam-gu Office, which monitors the flow of medical tourists through local hospitals and clinics, shares a similar view. A Gangnam-gu official said, "Overall, there is a clear increase in medical tourists from Thailand and Vietnam, and visits from Japanese and Indonesian medical tourists have also risen significantly recently," adding, "If visa issuance issues are resolved, the recovery in demand could accelerate further."

"Significant growth expected if visa issuance improves" "Expansion needed in fields like cancer surgery"

According to last year's statistics, the number of medical tourists in Gangnam-gu by country was as follows: the United States (10,684), China (8,830), Thailand (8,800), Japan (8,415), Mongolia (2,983), and Vietnam (2,806). Although American patients ranked first unexpectedly in last year's statistics, this is understood to be due to the demand from U.S. military personnel stationed in Korea, expatriates, and Korean-Americans who prefer treatment in Korea. China’s recovery remains slow. Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia, as well as Mongolia, face obstacles in visa issuance due to issues like illegal residency.

Industry insiders expect that with government-level policy efforts and resolution of visa issuance problems, recovery to pre-COVID-19 levels could be possible within the next one to two years.

Lee Sang-dal, director of MD Surgical Clinic, said, "If medical tourism expands beyond plastic surgery and dermatology to include areas where our medical standards are globally high, such as cancer treatment, heart surgery, and liver transplantation, the ripple effects on the related industry will be even greater," adding, "Efforts at the local government level as well as a comprehensive government-wide approach to connect and support these areas are necessary." Another industry insider said, "If the government or local governments collaborate well with technologically capable and scalable companies operating related medical platforms and effectively utilize the latest data generated there, even greater synergy effects can be achieved."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.