By Jung Min-ho
In an effort to attract more foreign medical tourists, the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) has opened a website to provide medical information in four different languages.
The city government said Friday that information about hospitals, their specialties as well as tourist attractions is now available on the website (www.medicaltourseoul.com) in English, Chinese, Japanese and Russian.
In cooperation with the Korea Tourism Organization, SMG selected 101 hospitals for the website. Information about accommodation, restaurants and tourist attractions nearby the hospitals can also be found there.
SMG said the purpose of the website is to provide more credible information to those who cannot speak Korean. By doing so, the city government aims to eradicate illegal brokerage activities, which create many problems such as tax evasion.
Experts say a lack of accurate information written in foreign languages has been the issue that hinders the growth of Korea's medical industry, despite the country's world-class workers and facilities.
The problem has given greater power to middlemen, who have wide connections both with Korean hospitals and local agents in other countries. Some brokers are known to take 90 percent of the money paid.
SMG believes more credible information and direct communications between hospitals and patients are the best ways to tackle the issue of illegal brokers.
Last year, 155,000 foreigners visited Seoul for medical purposes. SMG aims to increase the number to 400,000 by 2018.
"The website will be helpful to achieve the goal," Kim Eui-seung, general-director of Tourism & Sports at SMG, said. "We will continue to try to help hospitals gain foreigners' trust."
Also to help small- and medium-sized clinics better communicate with foreigners, SMG will provide interpretation services at their request. It plans to increase the number of its interpreters to 250 from the current 92 by 2018.
Moreover, a one-stop information center will be set up by 2018 to help patients find hospitals here and receive consultation with full interpretation services.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number of foreigners who visited Korea for medical services was 266,500 last year, a fourfold increase from 60,000 in 2009. The ministry has said its goal is to increase the number to 1 million by 2020.
With some of its major industries such as shipbuilding staggering over the past few years, central and local governments are desperately trying to find new growth engines and see medical tourism as one of these.
In an effort to attract more foreign medical tourists, the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) has opened a website to provide medical information in four different languages.
The city government said Friday that information about hospitals, their specialties as well as tourist attractions is now available on the website (www.medicaltourseoul.com) in English, Chinese, Japanese and Russian.
In cooperation with the Korea Tourism Organization, SMG selected 101 hospitals for the website. Information about accommodation, restaurants and tourist attractions nearby the hospitals can also be found there.
SMG said the purpose of the website is to provide more credible information to those who cannot speak Korean. By doing so, the city government aims to eradicate illegal brokerage activities, which create many problems such as tax evasion.
Experts say a lack of accurate information written in foreign languages has been the issue that hinders the growth of Korea's medical industry, despite the country's world-class workers and facilities.
The problem has given greater power to middlemen, who have wide connections both with Korean hospitals and local agents in other countries. Some brokers are known to take 90 percent of the money paid.
SMG believes more credible information and direct communications between hospitals and patients are the best ways to tackle the issue of illegal brokers.
Last year, 155,000 foreigners visited Seoul for medical purposes. SMG aims to increase the number to 400,000 by 2018.
"The website will be helpful to achieve the goal," Kim Eui-seung, general-director of Tourism & Sports at SMG, said. "We will continue to try to help hospitals gain foreigners' trust."
Also to help small- and medium-sized clinics better communicate with foreigners, SMG will provide interpretation services at their request. It plans to increase the number of its interpreters to 250 from the current 92 by 2018.
Moreover, a one-stop information center will be set up by 2018 to help patients find hospitals here and receive consultation with full interpretation services.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number of foreigners who visited Korea for medical services was 266,500 last year, a fourfold increase from 60,000 in 2009. The ministry has said its goal is to increase the number to 1 million by 2020.
With some of its major industries such as shipbuilding staggering over the past few years, central and local governments are desperately trying to find new growth engines and see medical tourism as one of these.
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