The number of foreign patients visiting Busan increased by over 40% in the previous year, indicating a significant recovery to pre-pandemic levels.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare reported that 11,566 foreign patients visited Busan in 2022, a notable increase compared to 8,193 in the previous year.
The trend has been upward since 2017, reaching 19,748 in 2019, but saw a sharp decline to 5,030 in 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Last year’s figures represented a 58.6% recovery compared to 2019. Gyeongnam, on the other hand, experienced a decrease of 15.7%, with 1,371 foreign patients visiting the region.
The government announced a strategy to attract foreign patients, aiming to welcome 700,000 by 2027, focusing on improving immigration procedures, regional bias relief, strengthening industry competitiveness, and promoting global awareness of Korean medical care.
Busan plans to develop specialized medical technology, foreign patient attraction models, and wellness medical tourism convergence clusters.
