A doctor is treating a foreign patient in this photo provided by Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital.
SEOUL, July 3 (Korea Bizwire) — The proportion of foreign patients visiting plastic surgery and dermatological clinics in South Korea, most of whom come for ‘beauty’ purposes, has more than doubled in the last 13 years, data showed Sunday.
Among all 293,350 patients from various medical departments last year, 82,374 visited plastic surgery and dermatology departments, according to the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI).
This accounted for 28.1 percent of all patients, twice as many as in 2009.
The proportion of foreign patients visiting plastic surgery clinics increased from 4.4 percent in 2009 to 15.8 percent last year, while the proportion of those visiting dermatology clinics rose from 9.3 percent in 2009 to 12.3 percent last year.
In contrast, the share of foreign patients visiting departments related to internal medicine dropped from 28.5 percent in 2009 to 22.3 percent in 2022.
Among all foreign patients visiting plastic surgery clinics in South Korea, 24.2 percent were Thai nationals, followed by Japanese (18.6 percent), Chinese (13.9 percent), and Americans (11 percent).
As for foreign patients visiting dermatology clinics, 23 percent were Chinese, followed by individuals from Japan (19.1 percent), the U.S. (15.1 percent), and Thailand (12.3 percent).
Thai and Japanese patients accounted for approximately 70 percent of all procedures in plastic surgery and dermatology departments.
“The increasing number of foreign tourists coming to the country, the lifting of travel restrictions and the issuance of tourist visas, as well as promotions on social media, largely contribute to this phenomenon,” said the KHIDI.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
