South Korea saw a big rise in medical visitors from other countries in 2024. The Ministry of Health and Welfare shared that 1.17 million foreign patients came to Korea last year. That’s almost double the number from 2023, when 610,000 patients visited.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of medical tourists grew each year. But in 2020, because of the virus, the number dropped to only 120,000. Since then, it’s been slowly going up again. Now, in 2024, it has reached its highest point since the country started welcoming medical tourists in 2009.
In total, over 5 million foreign patients have come to Korea for medical care since 2009.
People came from many countries, but the biggest groups were from Japan, China, the U.S., Thailand, and Taiwan. The biggest increases were seen in visitors from Taiwan (up 550.6%), Japan (up 135.0%), and China (up 132.4%) compared to 2023.
Most visitors came for services like skin care, plastic surgery, general medicine, and health check-ups. Small clinics treated the most patients—about 82% of them. The Seoul area had the most medical tourists, with 85.4% of all visits happening there.
This is the first time more than 1 million foreign patients came to Korea in a single year. It’s a big step forward for Korea’s medical tourism industry.
Jung Eunyoung, a health official, said the increase happened faster than expected because of a special government plan started in 2023. This program aimed to bring in 700,000 patients by 2027, but Korea reached that goal much earlier. The government plans to keep helping this industry grow by improving rules and support systems so more people can get care while visiting Korea.
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