By Park Jin-hai
The government plans to provide financial support for the development of Korean traditional medicine in a bid to make it new growth engine for medical hallyu or Korean wave.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said it launched so-called “Well-KOM Care” project to nurture Korean traditional medicine to lead medical tourism. Well-KOM is the abbreviated term for “Get Well, Korea Medicine, Care.”
A total of 500 million won ($446,000) has been earmarked for this project, and the amount is projected to double next year. It is the first time the government has included traditional medicine in its medical hallyu package and allocated a budget to that effect.
Last year provincial governments and hospitals all geared up to attract foreign patients as part of the “medical tourism” campaign. Until now, the emphasis of the medical tourism campaign was overly tilted towards western medicine and surgical its related surgical procedures barely leaving out the field of traditional medicine.
“The year 2013 will be remembered as a great leap forward in the traditional medical field. We have a 5-year master plan to incubate the field. Whereas some 9,366 foreigners visited Korea for the traditional medicinal treatment in 2002, but it will be up to 15,000 in 2015,” said Kang Seuk-hwan, director of the traditional Korean medicine division of the ministry.
The ministry this year will dedicate resources to laying the foundation for the long-term project. As a first step, it will assist in educating some 50 medical coordinators of the field in Daegu. It also aims to make a network linking clinics, agencies and regional offices within May.
“All of these boil down to the fact that now the focus of medical tourism has shifted from the numbers to the quality of service,” added Kang.
A number of traditional medical clinics including Mi Korea Medical Clinic have already enthusiastically embraced the change.
Mi Clinic in Myeongdong, central Seoul, renovated the entire clinic in the traditional Korean housing style. It has wooden doors with iron door knobs and serves “omija (schisandra chinensis) tea,” a traditional Korean drink made with fruit herbs. It even uses traditional rice wine in its treatment - all of these to evoke the exotic and unique Korean image to visiting foreigners.
Mi Clinic received the highest number of foreign patients visiting here last year for oriental treatment totaling 9,366 patients or 20 percent of the market in 2012, according to data provided by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute. Jaseng Hospital of Oriental Medicine came next, claiming some 1,500 patients or 16 percent.