Medical tourism drives foreign card spending in Korea
Medical tourism has emerged as the fastest-growing category of foreign visitor spending in Korea during the first half of the year, as overseas travelers increasingly combined health care with leisure activities, according to data released by BC Card on Monday. Based on transaction data from approximately 3.3 million foreign-issued payment cards, BC Card found that spending on medical services rose 98 percent from a year earlier, the fastest growth among all spending categories. Other sectors also posted solid growth, including accommodation (50.2 percent), health and beauty stores (50.5 percent) and apparel (56.3 percent). Medical tourism remained heavily concentrated in Seoul, which accounted for 92.8 percent of all medical spending by foreign visitors nationwide. The data also pointed to a shift in treatment preferences, with demand expanding beyond the plastic surgery traditionally sought by overseas visitors to include dermatology, pharmacy purchases and traditional Korean medicine. "A new medical tourism ecosystem is taking shape, linking health care services with shopping and other
