Gangnam-gu Launches Effort to Attract Japanese Medical Tourists... Up to 50% Discount

[Seoul District News] Gangnam-gu Offers Up to 50% Discount and Free Interpretation Services for Japanese Tourists Using Local Partner Medical Institutions in July and August

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Gangnam-gu (District Mayor Seongmyeong Jo) will conduct a special discount promotion for medical institutions targeting Japanese tourists until August.

Following the government's recent decision to allow foreign tourists to enter the country, a surge in visa issuance for Korean tourism in Japan has occurred, prompting the district to actively attract medical tourists from Japan.

This promotion involves 15 partner medical institutions in Gangnam-gu offering up to 50% discounts in popular fields among Japanese patients such as plastic surgery, dermatology, and traditional Korean medicine. Additionally, the 'Gangnam Medical Tour Center,' which provides comprehensive services including medical tourism consultations for foreign medical tourists, offers free interpretation services by global healthcare coordinators.

Gangnam-gu plans to promote the event using Japanese SNS platforms (Instagram, Ameba Blog), SNS of each medical partner institution, and influencers, and will produce and upload videos showcasing Gangnam's excellent medical tourism infrastructure on YouTube.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019, the district attracted about 130,000 foreign medical tourists, accounting for 26.4% of the total inbound medical tourists nationwide, ranking first in the country and establishing itself as the 'Number One Medical Tourism Hub in Korea.'

Hong Jongnam, Director of Tourism Promotion, stated, “The district has continued various promotional activities such as 'SNS events' and 'online medical consultations' targeting foreigners to secure overseas medical tourists in line with the phased recovery of daily life. As explosive growth in medical tourism demand is expected due to the compensatory psychology suppressed by COVID-19, we will continue leading marketing efforts to uphold Gangnam-gu’s reputation as the 'World’s No.1 Medical Tourism City.'”