Seoul leads South Korea's medical tourism surge as estimated spending nears $860 million

A record year puts Seoul at the center of medical travel

South Korea treated 1.17 million foreign patients in 2024, up 93 percent from 2023, with 85.4 percent receiving care in Seoul and its surrounding metropolitan area. Figures from the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) show how strongly the capital region dominated the country's busiest year for international medical care.

Foreign card payments at medical providers reached about 1.4 trillion won nationwide. An estimate applying the metropolitan area's share of patients to that national spending puts medical outlays associated with Seoul near $860 million. The calculation uses the distribution of patients as a guide to spending, while the 85.4 percent figure covers the wider metropolitan area, including surrounding cities.

Dermatology drove much of the increase. About 705,000 foreign nationals received skin care, accounting for 56.6 percent of foreign medical visits. Clinics delivered about 82 percent of visits, placing smaller medical facilities, rather than only major hospitals, at the heart of the expansion.

Seoul's appeal combines Korean beauty treatments, advanced hospital care, concentrated shopping districts and a weaker won that gives visitors more purchasing power. Government measures have also made travel and treatment easier through streamlined visas, multilingual assistance and tax refunds on approved procedures.

Visitors in Myeong dong and Apgujeong combine clinic appointments with shopping, carrying treatment brochures alongside duty free purchases. Hospitals promote packages bringing together medical care, sightseeing and practical assistance. For the city, the result is a visitor economy in which clinics, hotels, restaurants and retailers increasingly serve the same travelers.

As of September 7, 2025, the record also brings practical concerns: whether clinics can maintain staffing, whether patients understand their treatment and whether reliable aftercare remains available once visitors return home.

What the patient and spending figures show

The 2024 total brought the cumulative number of international patients treated in South Korea since 2009 to about 5.05 million. Annual arrivals also passed the government's original goal of attracting 700,000 foreign patients by 2027, reaching that milestone three years before the target year.

The main developments unfolded over several years:

• 2009: The starting year for the cumulative patient tally, which reached about 5.05 million by the end of 2024.
• 2023: The government announced an industry plan to attract more international patients, improve services and reduce administrative obstacles.
• 2024: Foreign patient numbers reached 1.17 million, an increase of 93 percent from 2023.
• December 2024 to February 2025: More than 3.5 million foreign visitors entered South Korea, nearly 20 percent more than a year earlier.
• 2027: The original deadline for the government's annual target of 700,000 foreign patients.

Overseas card payments processed in South Korea provide one measure of the medical business. Those payments totaled about 1.4 trillion won in 2024, with a reported average of roughly 1.53 million won per person. The card figures capture a different part of the market from the wider patient counts and economic estimates.

Broader estimates put spending by foreign patients and their companions at about 7.5 trillion won. That figure includes cash, Chinese payment platforms and spending outside medical facilities, such as hotels, restaurants and transportation. It therefore measures a much wider range of activity than payments to clinics and hospitals alone.

The estimate of nearly $860 million associated with Seoul comes from the national medical card total and the metropolitan area's patient share. Cash payments and companions' travel expenses sit outside that calculation. An independently measured spending total for Seoul city itself was not given.

Skin treatments become the main entry point

Dermatology was a small part of South Korea's foreign patient market 15 years earlier. By 2024, it had become the leading department, reflecting the international reach of Korean skincare and the concentration of clinics in districts such as Gangnam and Apgujeong.

Popular appointments include laser facials, fillers, Botox, treatment for scars and pigmentation, and skin boosters developed by local brands. Clinics often package procedures around stays of three to five days, allowing visitors to combine treatment with shopping and sightseeing.

English, Chinese and Japanese language support is common across leading clinics. That assistance helps visitors arrange appointments, discuss procedures and navigate a medical setting during a short trip. The close spacing of clinics also makes Seoul convenient for travelers fitting care into a busy itinerary.

Different types of treatment involve different recovery needs, making the appointment itself only one part of the trip. The growing popularity of short visits puts particular weight on clear explanations before treatment and arrangements for care afterward.

The beauty boom reaches beyond dermatology. Plastic surgery remains part of the draw, while traditional Korean medicine clinics have expanded multilingual services and programs tailored to overseas patients. Their treatments include acupuncture, herbal therapies and chuna manual therapy.

Foreign visitors seeking traditional Korean medicine often want help with chronic pain, rehabilitation or wellness routines that are less available in their home health systems. These services broaden the market beyond the skin treatments most closely associated with Korean beauty trends.

Major hospitals attract patients seeking complex care

Seoul's university hospitals and specialist centers attract another group of visitors: people seeking cancer treatment, cardiology, orthopedics, internal medicine or comprehensive health screenings. Their needs can involve larger facilities, more extensive testing and longer arrangements for care.

Academic studies and international rankings cited in assessments of Korean medicine point to high survival rates five years after diagnosis for major cancers and low mortality relative to peers. Hospitals also market advanced imaging and surgical equipment as reasons to travel for treatment.

Facilities use PET CT, CT scanners with 64 slices and MRI scanners operating at 3.0 Tesla. These technologies produce detailed images that help doctors investigate disease and plan treatment. Hospitals also use CyberKnife and Da Vinci robotic systems in their treatment services.

Many procedures cost less than in North America, Western Europe or parts of East Asia. That price gap appeals to patients from the United States, Russia, Mongolia and Kazakhstan, including those seeking internal medicine or full health checkups.

Hospitals increasingly combine medical services with airport pickups, translation and dedicated medical coordinators. Digitized records help patients share information with doctors at home, while growing use of telemedicine allows some follow up consultations to take place remotely after departure.

A weaker won gives visitors more purchasing power

The won fell to its weakest level in more than two years around the turn of 2025 and remained soft. Visitors paying with dollars, euros or yen could buy more won with their own currency, making Korean treatments and other purchases feel cheaper.

An Italian traveler surveyed by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) described how currency conversion affected shopping decisions:

I kept converting prices into euros while shopping, and Korean cosmetics were much cheaper than I expected. I bought a lot as gifts.

A Korean American tourist speaking to the KTO described the same effect on everyday spending:

With my income in dollars, everything felt like it was on sale.

Foreign spending on medical services rose roughly 80 percent to nearly 489 billion won between December and March compared with the same period a year earlier. Dermatology and cosmetic procedures led that increase.

The currency movement supported both the decision to visit and the amount travelers could spend during a trip. For someone already planning to shop or see Seoul, favorable exchange rates made it easier to add a treatment or choose more services within a budget set in their home currency.

Japan and China lead a widening patient market

Japan was the largest source of foreign patients in 2024, sending roughly 441,000 people, according to KHIDI figures. China followed with about 260,000, ahead of the United States with about 101,000, Taiwan with around 83,000 and Thailand with about 38,000.

Japan and China together accounted for roughly 701,000 patients out of the national total of 1.17 million, or about three in five. Their combined weight helps explain the prominence of services designed around visitors from nearby Asian countries.

Japanese patients included large numbers of younger women. Visitors from neighboring Asian markets often favored cosmetic procedures and skincare, fitting appointments around shopping and entertainment. Patients from the United States and parts of Eurasia more often sought internal medicine, orthopedics and full screenings requiring larger facilities.

The patient base also widened through growth from Southeast Asia, Mongolia and Kazakhstan. Russian demand increased despite the absence of direct flights, while Mongolia and Kazakhstan continued to send patients for checkups and specialist care.

Gangnam links clinic visits with retail spending

Gangnam is one of the clearest concentrations of the medical travel business, particularly around Apgujeong and Gangnam Station. Dermatology and plastic surgery clinics serve international clients throughout the day, while retail signs advertise tax refunds on eligible procedures.

Coordinators guide visitors through consultations, and many clinics assign translators who remain with patients from intake to discharge. Such services have become part of the competition for travelers who need both treatment and help navigating an unfamiliar system.

A nurse assistant at a skin clinic near Gangnam Station described the change in its patient mix to the tourism agency:

Since January, about 70 percent of our patients have been foreigners coming for fillers, laser treatments and Botox. Most are from China, Japan and Thailand.

Spending associated with these visitors extends well beyond medical appointments. Overseas card data recorded about 279 billion won at department stores, 188 billion won at duty free shops and 183 billion won at restaurants in 2024.

South Korea also processed more than one million tax refund claims for beauty and plastic surgery, totaling about 95.5 billion won. The volume illustrates how closely eligible treatments have become connected with the broader travel experience.

Gangnam's clinic districts bring several parts of that experience into a small area. A visitor can attend a consultation, receive language assistance and shop or eat nearby, directing spending toward surrounding businesses as well as the medical provider.

Government support turns toward services and oversight

The Ministry of Health and Welfare attributes the rapid growth partly to its 2023 industry plan. The program sought to attract more foreign patients, improve service quality and reduce the administrative work involved in arranging treatment.

Policy measures include streamlined visas, certification of hospitals serving foreign patients, stronger oversight of brokers and projects grouping medical tourism services in designated areas. Certification and broker oversight are especially relevant for visitors choosing care from abroad, when comparing providers can be difficult.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare outlined its intended next steps in its statement on the 2024 results:

We will expand public support to form a sustainable industrial ecosystem and continue streamlining laws and systems to make an impact on the sector.

Industry planners expected further growth in 2025 as backlogs cleared, airlines added capacity and hospitals expanded international centers. KHIDI officials suggested annual patient numbers could reach the mid one million range if travel remained stable and clinics maintained staffing.

Staffing and service quality matter because international care continues beyond a booked procedure. Hospitals need people who can explain treatment, coordinate records and respond when a patient develops a problem after leaving the clinic or the country.

Patient safety depends on credentials and aftercare

Rapid expansion has exposed weaknesses alongside the commercial success. Investigations have documented illegal brokers soliciting customers online without the required certification, sometimes directing patients toward clinics focused on volume rather than outcomes.

Language and cultural barriers can also leave patients with rushed consent discussions or unclear instructions after treatment. Consent means understanding the proposed procedure and its risks before agreeing to it, so communication is part of medical safety rather than simply a travel convenience.

South Korea's strict defamation laws have placed pressure on dissatisfied patients seeking to describe negative experiences online. Lawsuits have been filed over critical reviews, adding another difficulty for patients trying to share their experiences.

Patient injuries and rare deaths during cosmetic procedures have prompted warnings from foreign embassies and risk advisories. A nationwide doctors strike in recent periods also caused pockets of disruption, complicating postoperative care at some clinics.

Public agencies and local governments have responded with safety campaigns and patient guides. The Gangnam Medical Tourism Center offers vetted referrals and licensed interpreters to help visitors assess credentials and communicate with physicians.

Practical precautions recommended by experienced clinicians include checking a surgeon's specialty and license, confirming who will perform the procedure and asking exactly what aftercare is included. Patients should also allow recovery days and establish whether remote follow up will be available after they return home.

Those arrangements are especially useful for visitors combining medical appointments with short holidays. A treatment schedule needs to leave room for recovery and a clear way to contact the provider if questions or complications arise.

The benefits spread across Seoul's visitor economy

Medical travel has become a substantial part of Seoul's wider tourism business. More than 3.5 million foreign visitors entered South Korea between December 2024 and February 2025, nearly 20 percent more than a year earlier, despite political unrest and traffic disruption in the capital.

The weaker won directed spending toward both clinics and retailers. Myeong dong, which had suffered during the pandemic, regained business as shoppers combined visits with facials on the same day and checkups the next day.

The broader estimate of 7.5 trillion won in spending by patients and their companions captures the connection between treatment and ordinary travel costs. Hotels, restaurants and transportation providers all share in spending generated by a medical visit.

Benefits are concentrated around Gangnam, Jamsil, Hongdae and historic corridors near hospitals in the city center. Appointment schedules extend into late evenings, and nearby stores lengthen opening hours to match.

Seoul's position rests on that combination of medical services and urban convenience. The 2024 figures show the scale already reached, while the 2025 outlook depends on stable travel, adequate staffing and clinics maintaining the services international patients need before and after treatment.

The Bottom Line

• South Korea treated a record 1.17 million foreign patients in 2024, up 93 percent from 2023.
• Seoul and the surrounding metropolitan area received 85.4 percent of those patients.
• National medical card spending reached about 1.4 trillion won. Applying the metropolitan patient share produces an estimate associated with Seoul near $860 million.
• Dermatology accounted for about 705,000 foreign patients and 56.6 percent of foreign medical visits; clinics handled about 82 percent of visits.
• Japan and China were the largest patient markets, followed by the United States, Taiwan and Thailand.
• A weaker won supported purchasing power, while medical spending between December and March rose roughly 80 percent to nearly 489 billion won.
• The government passed its target of 700,000 annual foreign patients three years before the 2027 deadline.
• Illegal brokers, communication gaps and uncertain aftercare remain practical concerns for patients arranging treatment abroad.
• Further growth in 2025 was expected to depend on stable travel and sufficient clinic staffing.