Medical tourists in South Korea in 2023, by country of origin
A medical tourist is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a person who travels across international borders to receive some form of medical treatment, most commonly dental care, cosmetic surgery, and fertility treatments. Japanese made up the largest share of medical tourists to South Korea in 2023, at around 31 percent of inbound tourists, followed by mainland Chinese tourists. The number of patients from all countries recorded the highest ever since, after recovering from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Korea first permitted foreign patients in 2009, and since then, around 3.8 million international medical tourists have come to Korea, with about 605.8 thousand in 2023 alone.
Why is Korea so popular?
South Korea is a popular destination for medical tourism, being one of the leading countries for inbound medical tourism worldwide. One reason is that Korea has modern and advanced medical facilities and staff. Korea also has a reputation for superior cosmetic surgeries and high-quality beauty products. Many foreigners visit Korea for cosmetic surgeries, and even more foreigners purchase Korean beauty products. In addition, some treatments are covered by the public health insurance system. This means even foreigners can receive treatment at low cost. Together with the increasing popularity of K-pop and K-drama, the number of Japanese patients grew by 762 percent compared to the previous year and Japanese made up the largest share of medical tourists to Korea in 2023.
Korean public health insurance in the red
A problem with medical tourists is they put strain onto the Korean public health insurance system. For years, there were claims that insurance payments were too low compared to the medical expenses. Public health insurance has been in the black since 2011, but this was because the average employer-insured employee paid twice as much as they actually benefited from. The average monthly payment was around 113 thousand South Korean won (95 U.S. dollars), and the total revenue of the national health insurance in South Korea amounted to around 81.7 trillion South Korean won. Hundreds of thousands of foreigners are exacerbating the situation and the government is taking action. For example, foreigners living in Korea for more than six months are now required to register for public health insurance. Prior to 2019, registration was optional for foreigners and as a result, foreigners took advantage of insurance coverage without paying for it.
