Strategy for Revitalizing the Korean Medical Tourism Industry: A Focus on Global Case Studies

This study analyzes the global medical tourism industry to propose strategic measures for revitalizing Korea's medical tourism industry.As global interest in health rights increases, medical tourism, which enables individuals to access high-quality healthcare services while enjoying leisure activities, has rapidly grown.While the medical tourism industry has expanded significantly, particularly in Asian countries, Korea has yet to secure a competitive edge in the global market despite its strengths, such as advanced medical services and the positive image of the Korean Wave.To address this, the study analyzes cases from countries with well-established medical tourism industries and proposes improvement measures for Korea based on the findings.Korea must implement institutional reforms and enhance its infrastructure to position itself as a global leader in the medical tourism industry.This study suggests key improvements such as simplifying the medical visa issuance process, improving accessibility between medical institutions and airports, expanding multilingual translation services, and developing customized medical tourism packages.Moreover, it emphasizes the importance of developing AI-powered platforms utilizing smart technologies to maximize patient convenience and establishing region-specific medical tourism clusters to generate synergy with local economies.With active policy support from the government and local authorities, as well as cross-industry collaboration, Korea has the potential to emerge as a global leader in the medical tourism industry.