Some countries have the best doctors in the world, but the cost of medical care is very high, or the healthcare system is not yet developed enough, so people are interested in medical tourism to travel abroad for medical care.

Today, we’re going to talk about medical tourism in South Korea.
South Korea is known to many people around the world for its K-Pop, K-Dramas, Samsung cell phones, modern cars, and semiconductors. However, South Korea is also known for its healthcare, which is among the best in the world.

Newsweek released the “World’s Best Hospitals 2024” ranking on its official website on February 29, selecting 250 of the best hospitals out of more than 2,400 hospitals around the world.

Mayo Clinic in the U.S. took the top spot, followed by Cleveland Clinic in the U.S., Toronto General Hospital in Canada, Johns Hopkins Hospital in the U.S., and Massachusetts General Hospital in the U.S., ranked second through fifth.

Seoul Asan Medical Center was the highest-ranked Korean hospital, ranking 22nd in the world, up seven spots from last year. This is also the sixth consecutive year it has been ranked first in Korea.

Eighteen Korean hospitals were ranked in the top 250 again this year.

18 hospitals were included. Seoul Asan Medical Center was the highest-ranked hospital at No. 29, followed by Samsung Medical Center and Seoul National University Hospital in the top 50.

Seoul Asan Medical Center moved up one spot from last year’s 30th place, followed by Samsung Medical Center at 40th (43→,40) and Seoul National University Hospital at 49th (55→49).

In addition, 18 other hospitals ranked in the top 250, including Severance Hospital 67th, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital 91st, Seoul National University Bundang 93rd, Ajou University Hospital 119th, Gangnam Severance Hospital 133rd, Kangbuk Samsung Medical Center 140th, Yeouido St. Mary’s Hospital 142nd, Korea University Cancer Center 144th, Chung-Ang University Hospital 190th, Inha University Hospital 192nd, Ewha Womans Medical Center 202nd, Kyung Hee University Medical Center 229th, Konkuk University Hospital 233rd, Daegu Catholic University Hospital 243rd, and Chungnam National University Hospital 247th.

According to the above statistics, 7.2% of the top 250 hospitals in the world are located in South Korea. Another piece of information about Korean healthcare that you shouldn’t miss is that, in addition to the general hospitals mentioned above, the quality of popular mid-level and private hospitals is also very high.

One of the reasons for this is the quality of Korean medical students, who typically become doctors, and the following story will be very interesting. The quality of education in South Korea is one of the best in the world.

Traditionally, the most outstanding universities in Korea are the so-called “SKY” universities: Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Korea University. However, when analyzing SAT scores and GPAs in South Korea, it turns out that students are admitted to SKY after filling up medical schools across the country.

Considering that the quality of students who go to SKY is comparable to that of top tier universities in the U.S., barring language issues, it’s not that difficult to get into the top tier universities in Korea, you can imagine the level of academic ability of Korean medical students.

While being a good student doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be a good doctor, it’s a good foundation for being a good doctor. As a reflection of this, South Korea has a world-class medical technology and system.

With a mortality rate of 34.8 (per 100,000) for ischemic heart failure, a liver transplant survival rate of 86.88% for more than one year, a five-year cancer survival rate of 70.6%, and the third highest number of cosmetic procedures in the world, Korea boasts the best medical technology. In addition, 67.2% of all doctors are specialists, and according to NUMBEO, Korea ranks second in the Healthcare Index in terms of overall quality, including healthcare system, medical professionals, equipment, staff, doctors, and cost.

At the IMTJ Medical Travel Summit 2019, Korea was awarded the grand prize for “Medical Tourism Destination of the Year” for the second year in a row, and was also highly recognized for its medical technology innovation, infrastructure improvements, and contributions to the international community.

As of 2019, Seoul’s international patient population includes 115,392 patients from China, 62,224 from Japan, 28,515 from the U.S., 15,186 from Russia, 15,146 from Mongolia, 3,941 from Canada, and 3,705 from the UAE, totaling 190 countries.