"One in Five Foreign Patients Seeks Plastic Surgery"... What K-Medical Tourism Needs for Growth [News SeolCham]

K-Medical Tourism Rises Alongside Hallyu Boom
High Spending on Plastic Surgery and Dermatology by Foreign Patients
"Lower Medical Visa Barriers, but Foster Essential Medical Services"

Editor's Note'Seolcham' is a newly coined term meaning to refer to detailed explanations. In [News Seolcham], we aim to pinpoint and explain in more detail the parts of the news that require fact-checking or further explanation.

Due to the influence of Hallyu, the beauty and plastic surgery sectors have grown into a core pillar of Korean medical tourism. The rising global attention to Korean culture, including K-pop, dramas, and movies, has increased foreigners' interest in Korean-style beauty.

According to the 'Medical Tourism Status' report by the Korea Tourism Data Lab on the 8th, the medical expenditure of foreign patients visiting Korea last year reached 1.3032 trillion KRW. Medical spending, which was 408.5 billion KRW in 2019, slowed during the COVID-19 period but gradually increased to about 270.6 billion KRW in 2022 and 589.6 billion KRW in 2023.

In particular, the beauty and plastic surgery fields accounted for the highest proportion of foreign medical expenses. Over the recent three years (2021?2023), the proportion of foreign medical expenditure by department was ▲Plastic Surgery 37.65% ▲Dermatology 17.13%, with more than half of the spending in the beauty and plastic surgery sectors.

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The proportion of foreign patients visiting plastic surgery clinics is also high. According to the '2023 Foreign Patient Experience and Satisfaction Survey on Using Korean Medical Services' released by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute on the 2nd, among 1,500 foreign patients who received treatment at domestic medical institutions in 2023, 287 (19.1%, multiple responses allowed) visited plastic surgery. This ranked third after Internal Medicine Integrated (381 patients, 25.4%) and Health Screening Centers (331 patients, 22.1%), meaning that one in five foreign patients visiting Korea sought plastic surgery.

The report explained, "Due to the influence of Hallyu and others, there is a strong purpose for plastic surgery and beauty." In fact, when asked whether the experience of Korean culture influenced their choice of Korean medical services, 41.3% of respondents answered "Yes." Especially among patients from Southeast Asia (70.8%) and the Middle East (70.2%), more than seven out of ten said Korean culture influenced their decision to visit Korea.

Currently, foreign medical tourism for cosmetic plastic surgery is booming. According to the 'Status of Foreign Patient Attraction Support Projects' submitted by Nam In-soon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, to the Korea Health Industry Development Institute in October last year, the number of VAT refund cases for cosmetic plastic surgery from January to June last year was 413,276, far exceeding 50,255 cases in 2022 and 383,665 cases in 2023.

The government aims to increase the number of foreign patients receiving treatment in Korea to 700,000 by 2027. Economic effects can be expected through the consumption of patients who stay in Korea and use medical services. In 2023, foreign patients who used Korean medical services spent an average of 8,910.9 USD (approximately 13 million KRW) including medical expenses domestically.

There are also calls to lower visa barriers to successfully attract more medical tourists. Thailand, considered a major medical tourism country, has been actively promoting medical tourism since 2022 by providing a one-year medical tourism visa to foreign patients and up to three accompanying family members. Thailand's advantages include affordable medical costs and abundant tourism infrastructure. Singapore does not require a separate visa for foreigners visiting to receive medical services. In contrast, Korea's medical tourism visa (C-3-3) mostly allows stays of less than 90 days, and the issuance of the treatment and recuperation visa (G-1-10), which permits stays up to one year, is known to have strict conditions.

There is also advice to focus on fostering essential medical services to expand the medical tourism sector beyond just beauty and plastic surgery. Bloomberg News reported, "While Korea's medical tourism is booming, it is facing difficulties due to a shortage of doctors in essential medical fields," adding, "Plastic surgeons earn high incomes, but doctors in essential fields such as obstetrics and emergency medicine do not receive the respect or compensation they deserve."