[ROUNDTABLE] AI-driven anti-aging fuels Korea's next medical tourism wave

Panelists at the Medicon Black Roundtable in Seoul said AI and anti-aging care are reshaping Korea’s medical tourism industry. Hosted by The Korea Times and the Korea Medical Tourism Promotion Association, the discussion brought together specialists from five medical tourism fields. They said Korea’s clinical strengths, K-beauty and wellness can expand the market beyond foreign patient attraction.

Foreign patients visiting Korea reached a record 2.01 million in 2025, up 71.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Total card spending by foreign patients topped 3 trillion won in the first half of this year, up 25.6 percent from the same period last year, according to a Korea Health Industry Development Institute analysis.

Medical-sector spending by foreign patients exceeded 1.4 trillion won in the first half of this year, up 38.6 percent and about 2.4 times the growth rate of non-medical sectors.

The roundtable included specialists from ophthalmology, plastic surgery, dermatology, dentistry and health checkups.

Kim Ji-hwan of Lienjang Plastic Surgery & Aesthetic Clinic said AI helps doctors understand foreign patients’ needs more accurately than translation alone.

Published Sep 10, 2026 3:24 pm KST

Updated Sep 10, 2026 6:00 pm KST

Specialists detail AI's role in their fields amid Korea's record visitors

Participants at the Medicon Black Roundtable pose in Gangnam District, Seoul, Tuesday. From left are Kim Jae-kyoung, managing director of Content and Business Planning at The Korea Times; Kim Sung-ho, director of Minish Dental Hospital; Park Ki-bum, CEO of Personal Beauty GU Clinic; Kim Jin-kuk, president of the Korea Medical Tourism Promotion Association; Dr. Lee In-sik of B&VIIT Eye Center; Park Jun-gyun, president of Medi Scan; and Bae Stefan SJ, general manager of Lienjang Plastic Surgery & Aesthetic Clinic. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Korea's medical tourism industry is on the cusp of its next leap, driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and anti-aging care converging to reshape treatment across specialties.

Panelists at the Medicon Black Roundtable on Tuesday said Korea already has skilled medical staff and technology and AI now makes possible what wasn't before.

Hosted by The Korea Times and the Korea Medical Tourism Promotion Association (KMTPA), the roundtable brought together specialists from Korea's five key medical tourism fields: ophthalmology, plastic surgery, dermatology, dentistry and health checkups. Panelists examined how AI and anti-aging could fuel Korea's medical tourism leap, from diagnosis to treatment.

"Combine Korea's clinical strengths with AI, K-beauty, wellness and its national brand, and medical tourism can go beyond simply attracting foreign patients," said Kim Jae-kyoung, managing director of Content and Business Planning at The Korea Times.

With anti-aging drawing growing interest, hospitals no longer need to offer a single specialty, panelists said, adding that bundling ophthalmology, dentistry, health checkups and other services could create a much larger market.

Kim Jin-kuk, president of the KMTPA, said his goal is to build a group that represents Korea's anti-aging and beauty industry, which remains fragmented.

"More people are coming to hospitals for presbyopia, but they also want treatment for their skin, hair and facelifts and want to know how to take care of themselves day to day. These should all come together under one roof," Kim said.

Medical tourism is emerging as one of Korea's next core industries. Foreign patients visiting Korea hit a record 2.01 million in 2025, up 71.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Panelists take part in the Medicon Black Roundtable in Gangnam District, Seoul, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Related spending has also risen. Their total card spending reached more than 3 trillion won ($2.24 billion) in the first half of this year, up 25.6 percent from the same period last year, according to a Korea Health Industry Development Institute analysis of domestic payment data from Hana Card's overseas-issued cards.

Spending in the medical sector reached more than 1.4 trillion won, up 38.6 percent, about 2.4 times the 16.3 percent growth rate of non-medical sectors.

Kim Ji-hwan, director of the Global Center at Lienjang Plastic Surgery & Aesthetic Clinic, said AI helps doctors accurately grasp foreign patients' needs, bridging language and cultural gaps more intuitively than translation alone.

"Expressions like 'it's a bit saggy right here' or 'we can lift it like this' are felt differently across cultures," Kim said. "When patients use AI to show what they want to look like, or doctors run simulations of what's possible, we can have a more accurate conversation than one filtered through interpretation."

Graphic by Cho Sang-won

Kim added that because foreign patients often have limited time to recover, treatments need to be fast. By accurately analyzing each patient's needs, he said, doctors can choose a more surgical approach for structural change, or a simpler regenerative one for others.

Dr. Lee In-sik of B&VIIT Eye Center said presbyopia is the key anti-aging issue in ophthalmology, and AI is bringing major improvements there as well.

"We're now treating presbyopia we couldn't treat before. With lens implantation, for example, years of AI research let us determine lens type and position through simulation. That's a major advantage," Lee said.

Park Jun-gyun, president of Medi Scan, a health checkup center, said the field has also seen major AI advances and is now branching into anti-aging.

"We use checkup data to detect diseases and underlying conditions, then connect that to anti-aging treatment, and patient satisfaction has been very high," Park said.

Kim Sung-ho, a director at Minish Dental Hospital, said AI is reshaping dentistry, including how the industry treats aging teeth.

"A hundred years ago, people didn't live long enough to notice teeth aging. Now that life expectancy has grown, people have started noticing the problem," Kim said. "AI can make processes like biting into rubber molds and mixing and pouring materials more advanced and their quality more consistent."

Park Ki-bum, CEO of Personal Beauty GU Clinic, said the global "longevity" trend, maximizing health span over lifespan, is now shifting toward holistic care, a lifestyle centered on sustainable well-being rather than disease prevention alone.

"About 70 to 80 percent of our clinic's visitors are foreign nationals, and their satisfaction is high. Having visited aesthetic and longevity clinics abroad, I can say Korea is clearly better," Park said.

Park added that Korea, especially the Gangnam district, where many hospitals are clustered, is seen by many global companies as a testbed. In that sense, he said, Korea can lead the global trend.

"We're developing an AI operating system so that when our clinic's brand expands overseas, local operations can run on it. We've also built a consultation module that recommends tailored content for each patient," Park said.

在首尔举行的Medicon Black圆桌会议上，与会专家表示，人工智能和抗衰老疗法正在重塑韩国的医疗旅游业。此次会议由《韩国时报》和韩国医疗旅游促进协会联合主办，汇聚了来自医疗旅游五大领域的专家。他们指出，韩国的临床优势、韩式美容和健康养生理念能够拓展市场，使其不再仅仅局限于吸引外国患者。

据韩国保健福祉部统计，2025年赴韩就医的外国患者人数达到创纪录的201万人次，比上年增长71.9%。

据韩国保健产业振兴院分析，今年上半年外国患者刷卡消费总额超过3万亿韩元，比去年同期增长25.6%。

今年上半年，外国患者在医疗领域的支出超过 1.4 万亿韩元，增长 38.6%，约为非医疗领域增速的 2.4 倍。

圆桌会议的参与者包括眼科、整形外科、皮肤科、牙科和健康检查方面的专家。

连藏整形美容诊所的金智焕表示，人工智能可以帮助医生比单纯的翻译更准确地了解外国患者的需求。

发布于2026年9月10日下午3:24（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年9月10日韩国时间下午6:00

在韩国游客数量创纪录之际，专家们详细介绍了人工智能在其各自领域的作用。

周二，在首尔江南区举行的Medicon Black圆桌会议上，与会者合影留念。从左至右依次为：《韩国时报》内容与商业策划部总经理金载京（Kim Jae-kyoung）；Minish牙科医院院长金成浩（Kim Sung-ho）；Personal Beauty GU诊所首席执行官朴基范（Park Ki-bum）；韩国医疗旅游促进协会会长金镇国（Kim Jin-kuk）；B&VIIT眼科中心李仁植医生（Dr. Lee In-sik）；Medi Scan总裁朴俊均（Park Jun-gyun）；以及Lienjang整形美容诊所总经理裴斯特凡（Bae Stefan SJ）。（《韩国时报》摄影师：沈贤哲）

在人工智能 (AI) 和抗衰老护理的融合推动下，韩国医疗旅游业正处于下一个飞跃的边缘，这将重塑各个专科的治疗方式。

周二，Medicon Black 圆桌会议上的小组成员表示，韩国已经拥有技术精湛的医务人员和技术，而人工智能现在使以前不可能的事情成为可能。

由《韩国时报》和韩国医疗旅游促进协会（KMTPA）联合主办的圆桌会议汇聚了韩国五大医疗旅游核心领域的专家：眼科、整形外科、皮肤科、牙科和健康体检。与会专家探讨了人工智能和抗衰老技术如何推动韩国医疗旅游从诊断到治疗的飞跃式发展。

《韩国时报》内容与商业策划总经理金在京表示：“将韩国的临床优势与人工智能、韩妆、健康产业及其国家品牌相结合，医疗旅游就不仅仅是吸引外国患者那么简单了。”

专家组成员表示，随着抗衰老越来越受到关注，医院不再需要提供单一专科服务，将眼科、牙科、健康检查和其他服务打包在一起可以创造更大的市场。

韩国抗衰老美容协会 (KMTPA) 会长金镇国表示，他的目标是建立一个能够代表韩国抗衰老和美容行业的组织，该行业目前仍然处于分散状态。

“越来越多的人因为老花眼来医院就诊，但他们也想治疗皮肤病、头发问题、做面部拉皮手术，并且想知道如何进行日常护理。这些都应该在同一家医院得到全面服务，”金说道。

医疗旅游正在成为韩国下一个核心产业之一。据韩国保健福祉部统计，2025年赴韩就医的外国患者人数将达到创纪录的201万人次，比上年增长71.9%。

周二，与会专家在首尔江南区参加Medicon Black圆桌会议。（韩国时报 沈贤哲摄）

相关支出也有所增长。据韩国保健产业振兴院对韩亚卡海外发行卡的国内支付数据分析显示，今年上半年，韩亚卡的总消费额超过3万亿韩元（约合22.4亿美元），比去年同期增长25.6%。

医疗领域的支出超过 1.4 万亿韩元，增长 38.6%，约为非医疗领域 16.3% 增长率的 2.4 倍。

连藏整形美容诊所全球中心主任金智焕表示，人工智能可以帮助医生准确把握外国患者的需求，比单纯的翻译更直观地弥合语言和文化差异。

金说：“像‘这里有点下垂’或‘我们可以这样提拉’这样的表达在不同的文化背景下有不同的含义。当患者使用人工智能来展示他们想要的效果，或者医生进行模拟来展示可能的效果时，我们就能进行比通过主观臆断更准确的沟通。”

插图：赵相元

金医生补充说，由于外国患者的康复时间往往有限，治疗必须迅速有效。他表示，通过准确分析每位患者的需求，医生可以选择针对结构性改变的外科手术方案，或者针对其他情况选择更简单的再生疗法。

B&VIIT 眼科中心的李仁植医生表示，老花眼是眼科抗衰老的关键问题，而人工智能也正在给这方面带来重大改进。

“我们现在能够治疗以前无法治疗的老花眼了。例如，在晶体植入术方面，多年的人工智能研究使我们能够通过模拟来确定晶体的类型和位置。这是一个巨大的优势，”李说。

健康体检中心 Medi Scan 的总裁朴俊均表示，人工智能领域也取得了重大进展，现在正向抗衰老领域拓展。

“我们利用体检数据来检测疾病和潜在病症，然后将其与抗衰老治疗联系起来，患者满意度非常高，”朴医生说。

米尼什牙科医院的一位主任金成浩表示，人工智能正在重塑牙科行业，包括该行业治疗老年牙齿的方式。

“一百年前，人们寿命太短，根本来不及注意到牙齿老化。现在随着预期寿命的延长，人们开始注意到这个问题，”金说。“人工智能可以使咬合橡胶模具、混合和浇注材料等流程更加先进，并使质量更加稳定。”

Personal Beauty GU Clinic 的首席执行官朴基范表示，全球“长寿”趋势（即最大限度地延长健康寿命）现在正转向整体护理，这是一种以可持续健康为中心的生活方式，而不仅仅是疾病预防。

“我们诊所大约70%到80%的顾客是外国人，他们的满意度很高。我去过国外的美容和养生诊所，我可以肯定地说，韩国的诊所明显更好，”朴医生说。

朴先生补充说，韩国，尤其是医院集中的江南区，被许多全球企业视为试验场。从这个意义上讲，他表示，韩国可以引领全球趋势。

“我们正在开发一套人工智能操作系统，以便我们诊所的品牌拓展到海外时，当地的运营也能基于该系统进行。我们还开发了一个咨询模块，可以为每位患者推荐量身定制的内容，”朴医生说。