Seoul attracts a record number of foreign medical tourists, with spending reaching $860 million

Crowds of foreign tourists and local residents fill the streets of Myeong-dong, central Seoul, Sunday. (Source: Yonhap)

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday that just over 999,600 patients received care at hospitals and clinics in the capital last year, out of about 1.17 million people from 202 countries who came to Korea for medical treatments.

The number of foreign patients in Seoul more than doubled from 2023 and was over three times higher than in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. Nationwide, medical tourism also reached a record last year, the highest since Korea launched the initiative in 2009.

Foreign patients spent 1.2 trillion won ($860 million) on medical services in Seoul last year using overseas-issued credit cards - 85.7 percent of the national total.

Among medical specialties, dermatology topped the list with just over 665,000 patients, accounting for 64.2 percent of the total, followed by plastic surgery and primary care.

By district, Gangnam attracted nearly 380,000 foreign patients, followed by Seocho, Mapo, Jung and Songpa. Together, these five districts accounted for about 92 percent of all foreign patient visits.

Seocho District saw the sharpest year-on-year growth in foreign patients at 251 percent, followed by Mapo at 160 percent, Gangnam at 103 percent, Jung at 54 percent and Songpa at 48 percent.

The city government attributed the surge to a growing number of medical institutions catering to foreign patients. The number of facilities officially registered with the city - which requires securing liability insurance and meeting other requirements to treat international patients - more than doubled from 920 in 2020 to 1,994 in 2024.

Citywide, 1 in 10 medical institutions now serves foreign patients, compared to 1 in 3 in Gangnam and 1 in 4 in Seocho.

The city’s systematic support aimed at improving foreign patients’ satisfaction levels has also contributed to the growth. This includes marketing assistance, interpreter coordinators and expedited processing for the registration or modification of designated facilities.

Seoul expects the number of medical tourists to exceed 1.14 million this year, citing a rise in overall foreign visitors. In the first half of the year alone, about 8.82 million foreign tourists visited Korea - up roughly 1.12 million from the same period last year.

“As more foreign medical tourists choose Seoul for its advanced medical technology and infrastructure, the city is emerging as a true global hub for medical tourism,” said Kang Jin-yong, director of the city's Health and Medical Policy Division.

“We will continue to systematically manage designated medical institutions and expand various forms of support so that foreign patients can use medical services safely and conveniently.”

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