On the 19th and 20th, 8 Excellent Local Hospitals Including Korean Medicine and Ophthalmology Participate, Providing Over 100 Consultations for Patients from the Middle East
[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Gangnam-gu (District Mayor Seongmyeong Jo) held the ‘Gangnam Medi Dr. Genie (Dr. Genie) Goes’ medical consultation event, involving eight excellent local hospitals, at the Fraser Place Central Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 19th and 20th to attract medical tourists from the Middle East region.
The Middle Eastern countries are emerging new markets for medical tourism. According to patient dispatch agreements signed with the Abu Dhabi Health Authority in 2011, the UAE Ministry of Health in 2013, and the Kuwait government in 2016, the number of medical tourists visiting Korea nationwide steadily increased to 7,238 in 2017, 6,888 in 2018, and 8,963 in 2019. Although the number of tourists decreased to 1,949 over the past two years due to COVID-19 entry restrictions, the district held its first face-to-face consultation this year to attract patients from the Middle East, a new market for medical tourism, in line with the recent increase in overseas arrivals.
The consultation targeted government-sponsored patients and their families from the Middle East region, who have an average stay of over 28.5 days, identifying them as potential customers and providing ‘visiting 1:1 customized’ medical consultations to attract medical institutions in Gangnam-gu.
Medical staff from eight excellent local medical institutions ? ▲Kim Jeongguk Korean Medicine Clinic ▲Irium Eye Clinic ▲Gwangdong Hanban Hospital ▲Globi Plastic Surgery ▲Imunwon Korean Medicine Clinic ▲Jaseng Oriental Medicine Hospital ▲A-Top Plastic Surgery ▲Nanuri Hospital ? directly participated, offering consultations on vision tests, hair and scalp checks, spinal and joint diseases, cosmetic surgery, and obesity oriental treatments, resulting in about 100 consultation cases.
In particular, the oriental hair loss treatment and ophthalmology fields were popular, as hospitals brought scalp check and dry eye management medical devices to the site, allowing simple examinations during consultations. Family tourists visited with their children and showed interest in eye health and vision correction surgeries related to lifestyle habits involving frequent use of computers or smartphones.
Additionally, various programs such as skin measurement and making oriental medicine mist were conducted.
Seongmyeong Jo, Mayor of Gangnam-gu, stated, “Gangnam-gu has continued leading marketing efforts to attract overseas medical tourists by implementing ‘SNS events,’ ‘online medical consultations,’ and building the online exclusive platform ‘Medical Gangnam.’ We will continue to uphold the reputation of ‘Gangnam, the world’s No.1 medical tourism city’ through focused promotion to pioneer emerging markets such as Middle Eastern countries.”
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