[Newmeida Members] Medical tourism in Busan

I'm not sure if many of you know this but Busan is one of the cities that focuses on attracting the medical tourism clients to the city. When we talk about the scale, it's almost the same level with Seoul and can compete with other developed countries.

There are considerable reasons that Busan City is number one brand of South Korea for Medical Tourism industry. Let's have a look at some facts about it.

Busan attracts people with its beautiful beaches, including Haeundae Beach and Gwangalli Beach, as well as other natural attractions like the rugged cliffs of Taejongdae Park and the mountainous terrain of Geumjeongsan. The city is also famous for its seafood markets and cuisine.

In addition to its port, Busan has excellent transportation connections, including a high-speed rail line (KTX) and a domestic and international airport (Gimhae International Airport). This makes it easy for both domestic and international travelers to access the city.

Busan is known for offering specialized medical services in areas such as dermatology, ophthalmology, and dental care. These services are popular among medical tourists seeking aesthetic treatments.

Busan boasts modern and well-equipped healthcare facilities that meet international standards and places a strong emphasis on patient safety and the quality of healthcare services. Many hospitals and medical centers in the city have state-of-the-art technology and highly skilled medical professionals.

Patients around the world come to Busan to get better treatment for their illnesses which is hard to get in their home countries or to get the treatment at the lower cost. For example, the people visiting Busan from the U.S. choose Korea partly because of the differences in prices.

In the pictures above, you can see some small-and-medium sized clinics and hospitals in Seomyeon area. But that is not all. Because of my work, I could visit many larger hospitals such as PNU hospital or DIRAMS and they all welcome foreign patients and visitors. Both of them use advanced technologies, DIRAMS is, specifically, a huge clinic for treating cancer and holds most recent medical devices and PNU Hospital is famous for heart and liver surgeries.

The Korean Government also focuses on improving infrastructure and systems for the medical tourism industry, because of that, Korea has special hospitals for which patients can apply visa even for family members, in case they need one. Or if your passport allows, you can visit Busan without visa and get treatment at clinics and hospitals.

Many clinics which provide medical services to foreigners have interpreters, so even if you can't speak Korean, that really does not matter. Medical centers specialized in treating foreign patients called "외국인 환자 유치기관" and relevant agencies will recommend full package of services you can get even for your whole family.