Medical Tourism Emerges as New Growth Engine
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
One day in February, Kang Won-kyung, 50, who runs a plastic surgery clinic in Seoul, gave a final treatment to his Filipino patient who had undergone a facelift at the hospital and was scheduled to leave for her homeland the following day. ``I am worried about being stopped at immigration at the airport due to my appearance, which is starkly different from my passport photo,'' the patient said. But she couldn't help smiling when she looking at herself in the mirror. ``I'm so happy since I've become much prettier than expected.''
She first visited Kang's clinic last December. Having seen a promotional campaign for Korean hospitals in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, she decided to visit Seoul to upgrade her looks. Over the last three months, she has taken five round trips between Seoul and Manila to go under the knife and finally achieved her long-cherished goal.
Kang said he had less than 10 foreign patients in 2006. But he started to put his energy into promoting his hospital overseas from 2007 by organizing promotional campaigns, constructing homepages in diverse languages and hiring foreign language experts for patients' convenience. In addition, the clinic's name was also changed to one sounding more familiar to foreign nationals. Thanks to these efforts, the number of foreign patients who received treatment at the clinic last year topped 100 for the first time and he predicts more than 300 foreigners will visit in 2008.
The number of foreign patients in Korean hospitals has drastically increased over the last two years. According to The Korean Hospitality in Healthcare ― a support association ― about 16,000 foreigners visited Korea for medical treatment in 2007, an incomparable increase from 760 in 2005, due to ``low treatment prices compared to advanced countries,'' said Jang Kyong-won, a spokesman for the Council for Korea Medicine Overseas Promotions (CKMOP). ``We're looking to attract more than 100,000 overseas patients by 2012.''
High Quality at Low Prices
Anacli Dermatology-Plastic Surgery Clinic, Seoul, was given an award from the health minister in 2007 in recognition of its exceptional performance in attracting foreign patients. It was the first case for a clinic-sized hospital to receive a national prize.
``In 2007 we had more than 1,000 foreign patients,'' said the clinic's director, Jung Ga-yeon. ``Our customers commonly said high-tech treatment at reasonable prices was the foremost edge we have.''
According to the Korea Academy of Medical Science (KAMS), Korean medical technology in dentistry and cosmetic surgery is equal to that of the U.S., while medical fees here are much lower than those in the U.S., Japan and even China ― a fee for a certain treatment rated at 100 reaches 338 in the U.S., followed by 167 in China and 149 in Japan.
Apart from the price advantage, hospitals strive to create customer-friendly environments to attract overseas patients.
``We provide not only interpretation but guide services during the whole course of treatment. And these efforts work,'' Jung said.
Cheongshim International Medical Center, which opened in 2003 in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, is the first and sole international hospital in Korea. Despite its location outside Seoul, it has promoted itself to foreign customers from the very beginning and attracted about 24,000 foreign patients last year, generating about 30 percent of all profits from overseas patients.
Currently, the international hospital has 15 trilingual patient guides, four foreign doctors and 300 overseas agents promoting the hospital in every corner of the world.
``We have capitalized on our self-developed international network to draw patients,'' said Kang Heung-lim, spokesman for the hospital. ``We were also able to develop a variety of sought-after treatment programs by reflecting each country's unique medical policies.''
Medical Tourism
According to Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs, Korean medical institutions made $61.6 million from overseas patients in 2007, up nine percent from $59 million in 2006. The ministry sees the number of inbound tourists for medical treatment increasing.
As medical tourism is regarded as potential gold mine for Korea, local governments are poised to nurture it as their next growth engine.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government this year opened a support center for medical tourism to draw foreigners with the desire to upgrade their appearance. It also designated Gangnam-gu as a ``cosmetic surgery specialized district.''
The municipal government plans to push forward with a variety of promotional campaigns in association with scores of plastic surgery clinics and concerned institutions in Seoul.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said: ``We expect Korean medical tourism to grow quickly and sweep the rest of the world in the near future.''
The Government of Daejon has teamed up with 26 medical institutes including three general hospitals ― Chungbub National University Hospital, Yeungnam University and Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center ― to attract foreign patients. It also constructed a medical tourism-only Websites in English, Japanese and Chinese.
Jeju Special Self-governing Province has already started preparations to build a massive medical tourism complex by 2010. Busan, the nation's second largest city, Muju in North Jeolla Province, Wonju in Gangwon Province and many other counties here are set to transform themselves into Meccas for medical tourism.
``More than 1.4 million foreigners visit Thailand for medical treatment, spending hundreds of billions of won each year,'' said a health ministry official. ``We established a supportive body named to boost medical tourism here and currently have a plan to summit bills in September to form a foreign patient-friendly environment.''
Keys to Success
Yoon Hyung-ho, a research head for the Seoul government, has indicated the three factors keeping Korea from becoming a global hub for medical tourism ― high living costs, inflexible medical law and strict visa regulations.
The Korea National Statistical Office said Korean living costs increased 2.5 percent in 2007, the 11th highest among 30 member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The prices for foodstuff and accommodation, both of which significantly affect foreign visitors' bottom line, were relatively high in comparison to other advanced nations.
Medical experts said current medical law prohibiting profit-making corporations from running medical institutes also erodes the competitiveness of Korean medical tourism.
In response, the government will submit a bill in October to allow profit-making institutions to own or manage hospitals.
Indeed, a general hospital named ``Ever One,'' which is now under construction in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul, to be completed in June next year, is the first large-sized medical center to be run under a profit-making corporation's control. In the 19-story building, patients can receive all medical services including Oriental medicine and comprehensive physical check-ups in one place. It will run a hair salon, luxurious restaurants and pubs. Other convenient facilities include a sauna and fitness club.
Despite a seemingly complicated and money-consuming business structure, doctors don't have to pay attention to the hospital's promotional or managerial affairs since such issues are separately handled by its management-specialized unit.
The government anticipates the managerial measure to diversify the Korean medical industry, resulting in a sharpening of its international competitiveness.
The medical sector wants the government to allow non-visa entry to foreign nationals visiting Korea for medical treatment, saying this would serve as a catalyst to increase volume.
``It is also important for Korean medical institutions to secure international medical recognition such as the `Joint Commission International' to persuade foreign patients,'' said Jang Kyung-won, the chief administrator of the CKMOP. ``Hospitals should team up with travel agencies to develop customer-tailored programs especially for people from Asian countries.''