The number of foreign patients visiting Korea reached 1.17 million last year, marking the largest scale ever recorded. Among all the medical specialties, "dermatology" ranked first, particularly with an increase in visits from patients from Taiwan, Japan, China, and the United States.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare noted on 2nd that the number of foreign patients visiting Korea in 2024 is projected to be 1.17 million, a 93.2% increase compared to 610,000 from the previous year. These patients are foreigners who do not reside domestically, and the figure represents those who received treatment without being subscribers or dependents of the National Health Insurance.
Last year, the annual number of foreign patients surpassed 1 million for the first time, achieving the largest performance since the government began actively attracting foreign patients in 2009. From 2009 to 2025, the cumulative number of foreign patients visiting Korea reached 5.05 million.
The number of foreign patients visiting Korea significantly declined during the COVID-19 pandemic but is currently recovering and increasing. The number of foreign patients, which was 490,000 in 2019, dropped to 120,000 in 2020 and later increased to 240,000 in 2022, 610,000 in 2023, and is projected to reach 1.17 million in 2024.
Last year, foreign patients from 202 countries visited Korea, with the highest numbers coming from Japan, China, the United States, Taiwan, and Thailand in that order. Japan and China accounted for 60% (702,000), followed by the United States with 8.7% (102,000) and Taiwan with 7.1% (83,000). Regionally, East Asian patients comprised the largest share at 69.3% (810,000), followed by North America at 10.0% (117,000) and Southeast Asia at 9.6% (112,000).
The growth rate of foreign patients compared to the previous year was highest for Taiwan (550.6%), followed by Japan (135.0%) and China (132.4%). The Ministry of Health and Welfare explained, "The increase in the number of patients visiting dermatology has influenced this growth."
A total of 705,000 patients received dermatological treatment, making up 56.6% of all medical specialties. Following that were plastic surgery (11.4%), internal medicine integrated (10.0%), and examination centers (4.5%). Compared to the previous year, dermatology (194.9%), traditional medicine integrated (84.6%), and internal medicine integrated (36.4%) saw the highest growth rates.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare interpreted that the increased favorability for Korean cosmetics has led to more visits to domestic dermatology and plastic surgery clinics. A ministry official stated, "Last year's international perception survey of Korean medical services indicated that the Korean cosmetics industry ranked first among 19 competitor countries in the bio-health sector, and the high favorability for Korean cosmetics among foreigners is presumed to be a reason for increased visits to our dermatology and plastic surgery clinics."
By type of medical institution, clinics (82%) were overwhelmingly the most utilized. Last year, due to the backlash against the medical school quota expansion policy, residents collectively left university hospitals, leading to ongoing conflicts with the government, while the number of foreign patients using clinics increased compared to the previous year. However, the number of foreign patients visiting general hospitals and tertiary hospitals decreased during this period. The number of patients using clinics surged by 138.4% compared to the previous year. Traditional medicine clinics (113.2%) and dental hospitals (24.7%) also showed high growth rates. In contrast, general hospitals and tertiary hospitals saw decreases of 14.4% and 7.6%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Regionally, Seoul attracted 1 million foreign patients, accounting for 85.4% of the total. Following Seoul were Gyeonggi (4.4%), Busan (2.6%), Jeju (1.9%), and Incheon (1.8%).
Jeong Eun-young, Director General of the Health Industry Policy Bureau of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, stated, "The government has achieved the target of attracting 700,000 foreign patients, which was presented in the 'Foreign Patient Attraction Activation Strategy' announced in May 2023, ahead of schedule last year." She added, "The foreign patient attraction business, which combines healthcare and tourism, is a high-value-added industry, and the government will expand support to create a sustainable industrial ecosystem while continuously improving regulations and systems that are felt on the ground." She emphasized, "We will also conduct careful monitoring to ensure that attracting foreign patients does not lead to a shortage of healthcare supply for our citizens."