Chuluunbaatar Odgerel, a Mongolian patient, consults with medical staff at Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital in Seoul’s Gangseo District on Feb. 12. Courtesy of Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital
Chuluunbaatar Odgerel, 43, let out a sigh of relief in an exam room in Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital in Seoul when doctors showed her biopsy results. A week earlier, she had undergone robotic surgery to remove a suspected thyroid tumor. Results showed it was benign, not cancerous.
The journey to board a flight from Mongolia to Korea had been emotionally taxing for Odgerel. An 8 centimeter tumor on the left side of her thyroid had been pressing against her esophagus, causing significant discomfort, but visits to multiple hospitals in Mongolia failed to produce a clear diagnosis. One hospital warned it could be cancer and suggested surgery that would involve a long incision across her neck and removal of the entire thyroid.
After careful consideration, she decided to travel to Korea. Explaining her decision, she said that while China and Turkey were also options, she had heard many positive things about Korea’s advanced medical technology. A strong recommendation from a friend who had undergone thyroid surgery in Korea also helped convince her.
Immediately after the surgery, the pressure on her esophagus vanished. No scar was visible on her neck because robotic thyroid surgery involves inserting surgical instruments through the mouth or armpit. Relieved, Odgerel left for the airport that day. She plans to return in two months for a follow-up examination.
Foreign language notices at plastic surgery clinics
The Korean wave is spilling into the medical sector. Statistics published by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute show the number of overseas patients visiting Korea reached a record 1.17 million in 2024, nearly doubling from a year earlier.
Of patients from 202 countries, Japan made up the largest share with 440,000, followed by China at 260,000 and the U.S. at 100,000. Combined medical and tourism spending by patients and their families totaled about 7.5 trillion won ($5.2 billion).
Aside from cancer care or surgery, a visit to Garosu-gil in Gangnam offers another glimpse of “K-medical tourism.” On the street lined with dermatology and plastic surgery clinics, foreign tourists can be seen with bandaged faces or thick masks, browsing for cosmetics.
Inside a large health and beauty store, a foreign customer whose entire head was wrapped in compression bandages, suggesting recent facial contouring surgery, handed cash to the cashier. A young man who appeared to have undergone rhinoplasty used a translation app to ask staff where to find the cosmetics he was looking for.
Source: Korea Times News
