Recently, many outdoor billboards tout expensive and unnecessary plastic surgery procedures such as breast enlargements and eyelid reshaping all over town, but especially in the subway. At Myeong-dong station for instance, there are many examples of this type of advertising, but also more extreme procedures. There are even plenty of foreigners who visit Korea to undergo some form of plastic surgery. Generally, it is agreed that ‘medical tourism’ is prevalent and a growing trend in Korea these days.

What makes medical tourism so appealing is that foreigners tend to think that Korea is a ‘beautiful country’ and no one will even know they had any procedures done during their trip. For this reason, the number of people coming to Korea for the purpose of medical tourism has gone up by 77% annually. However, with the influx of medical tourists come increased levels of risk associated with the procedures up to and including losing your life. 
There are a remarkable number of problems associated with medical tourism from serious side effects to even death. One Chinese female in her 50s was left brain dead after undergoing cosmetic surgery in Korea. The news was reported in the Chinese press. Nevertheless, there remains a constant influx of willing patients voluntarily making the trip for cosmetic surgery.

There are two aspects to increasing medical tourism: one is commercial profit, the other is the ethical problems that have resulted from the growing number of procedures being demanded. First, as medical tourism develops, we can’t ignore the profit. 6,000 Chinese citizens visited Korea as medical tourist over the last year. The income generated by medical tourism is estimated to be up to one trillion won over the last five years.

As medical tourism has developed commercially, illegal brokers have begun popping up everywhere. In exchange for their services, brokers earn a 30 to 50% commission paid in cash. Procedural expenses priced through brokers are often 4 to 5 times the actual price. It is obviously an illegal practice yet it is growing along with demand. In addition, many hospital officials have forgotten the significance of human dignity and see the medical tourist as a mere cash cow.

This is where the second aspect comes into play, the question of ethics. There is one point which should never be forsaken for anything during a surgical operation and that is the safety of the patient. However it seems with the increased in demand for procedures resulting from medical tourism, doctors are giving more weight to efficiency over safety. With this in mind, it is no wonder medical tourism has resulted in many side effects and even tragic deaths.

A lot of medical tourists don’t want to stay Korea for a long time, but nevertheless seek out a dramatic change through cosmetic surgery. Doctors have to do the operations in excessively limited time frames in order to meet a patient’s demand. Therefore, in some cases unqualified nursing assistants are performing surgeries, while doctors provide them with only rough explanations on the process.

To resolve this problem, hospital officials need to recognize that they are dealing with a patient’s life. They ought to be careful throughout any cosmetic surgery procedure. They must not perform the operation hastily even if the patient demands it and they should clearly explain all the possible side effects.

A medical tourist should also check to see if their hospital of choice is certified by the Joint Commission International (JCI). The JCI provides a global Gold Seal of Approval to suitable medical institutions after screening their international health care services. Finally, all travelers must be alert to the possibility of danger, before making any trips.

There have been many side effects to medical tourism in Korea that have been reported in the international press, so it is also a problem that is damaging our reputation and the prestige of our nation. The government should recognize this shortcoming and restrict the behavior of these illegal brokers and inconsiderate physicians. The Ministry of Health and Welfare already presented a policy paper on this matter, so now it’s up to the government to adopt it into law and enforce it.