[Beijing Diary] Korea, How Long Will You Keep Doing Plastic Surgery Only?

On the 29th, the 1st International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) was held at the Shunyi Hall of the Beijing International Exhibition Center in China. One of the hottest companies in the global investment market recently, the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, opened a booth. This is the company that quickly rose to become the number one in market capitalization in Europe after news spread that Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk lost weight using their ‘Wegovy’ injection. Wegovy has recently become a huge topic in China as well, being called the ‘magic diet drug.’

That’s not all. Global renowned pharmaceutical companies such as AstraZeneca and GE Healthcare set up massive booths to competitively promote their key products and technologies. By participating in this large-scale expo, which China claims is the world’s first to open with the theme of supply chains, they showed goodwill to the authorities while expressing their intention to enter the rapidly growing Chinese healthcare market. Notably, no Korean healthcare-related companies, including pharmaceutical, bio, cosmetics, or medical institutions, participated in this event.

Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk opened a booth at the 1st International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) held at the Shunyi Hall of the Beijing International Exhibition Center in China. (Photo by Hyunjung Kim)

Korea has a considerable track record in the Chinese healthcare market. Until 2019, before the spread of COVID-19, about 160,000 Chinese people visited Korea annually to receive medical services. Since the enactment of the Medical Overseas Expansion Act in 2016, the number of medical institutions entering China increased from two in the first year to a cumulative total of 72.

A representative Korean healthcare technology that gained fame in China is in the beauty sector, including dermatology and plastic surgery. In fact, more than half (37 institutions) of the medical institutions that entered China over the past eight years were dermatology and plastic surgery clinics, followed by dental clinics (16 institutions). There was even an attempt by a top-tier general hospital to create a joint venture hospital. Yonsei University Severance Hospital, Yuhan Corporation, and China’s Xina Group agreed to establish a joint hospital in Qingdao and held a groundbreaking ceremony in 2017. However, the planned site in Laoshan District’s International Ecological Health City was designated as a greenbelt, and construction was halted due to COVID-19, causing difficulties in further negotiations between the parties. Currently, all construction is reportedly suspended.

While the beauty sector has high growth potential and Korea possesses world-class technology, the opportunities before us are not limited to this alone. China’s healthcare market is truly at the beginning of rapid growth. Life expectancy is increasing sharply, birth rates are declining, and the society is quickly aging. Cancer incidence rates are rising, and demand for diagnosis and treatment related to spine and joint health is increasing. As the age of first marriage rises, demand for infertility treatment is also growing, and since the pandemic, there has been an increased emphasis on routine health management and checkups.

As seen in the case of Qingdao Severance, uncertainties that cause hesitation in large-scale investments exist in China. However, it is hard to find a market where healthcare services are growing so rapidly, where there are abundant high-income consumers, and where market changes can be predicted relatively accurately based on demographic structure. Without proper preparation, stepping in optimistically will only lead to failure, but with thorough preparation and strategic approaches, there is a high possibility of achieving results beyond expectations.

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