• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.1052-1059
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• 2009

Health care has become one of the paramount issues of the 21st century as governments and individuals grapples the complex problems associated with contemporary medical care such as cost, affordability, and shifting demographic trends. The purpose of this study was to develop the critical success factors of medical tourism for health-care organizations and to measure the wights of these factors. For this purpose, we gathered the data from doctors, travelling agencies and scholars. about the success factors of medical tourism. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was carried out to determine the factors as the Critical Success Factors of medical tourism. We did also the research to evaluate the validity and reliability of these factors. After that the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was applied to analyze the weight and significances among these factors. Factor analysis resulted in 15 major factors (Eigenvalue > 1.0). The AHP analysis showed the list of Critical Success Factors weighted by its significance priorities. The recommendable degree of reliability and validity suggests that these factors could be the valuable refences for the policy making process of the medical tourism in Korea.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.107-114
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• 2013

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to analyze actual status of foreign patients who visited hospital of Korean medicine and suggest developmental direction of korean medical tourism. Methods : This study includes 675 foreign patients who visited spine-specialized hospital of Korean medicine from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012. Based on computerized medical records, patients' age, gender, country, date of initial and last visit, chief complaint, treatment period and species of treatment were collected. These data were used for analyzation of actual condition of medical tourism at hospital of Korean medicine. Results : A total of 675 foreign patients visited spine-specialized hospital of Korean medicine. 395 patients(59 %) were female and the forties was the most common by ages. Patients from Japan were the most common followed by Russia and United States of America. Patients visited hospital 5.1 times during 27.4 days in average. There were 526 cases of spinal pain and only 52 cases were non-musculoskeletal disease. The most frequently performed treatment was general acupuncture treatment while moxibustion and bee venom acupuncture were remarkably infrequently treated. Conclusions : The result of this study suggests potential possibility of development of Korean medical tourism focused on disease cure as well as current trend of beauty and Korean medical experience at the Korean medical tourism field.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.238-242
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• 2021

Through diversification of 4th industries and transportation and globalization, tourism was developed for medical purposes, not limited to touring tourist attractions. The trend of medical tourism in Korea is shifting from large and medium-sized hospitals to professional medical services in one area of small hospitals rather than professional medical services. However, small hospitals lack medical coordinators and interpretation services, and tourists who visit Korea for treatment lack information on small hospitals. Therefore, a platform is needed to match small hospitals with medical tourists. In this study, using Platform as a Service (Paas) in cloud computing, clinic administrators can access the app to introduce information about their hospitals with simple manipulations. Tourists also want to propose a customized platform to select the right area for them to check information about small-scale hospitals and choose the treatment and tourist attractions they wants. In this study, using Platform as a Service (Paas) in cloud computing, clinic administrators can access the app to introduce information about their hospitals with simple manipulations.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.1663-1674
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was a methodological research to develop an instrument to assess the medical tourism satisfaction of foreign tourist. A primary instrument with 63 questions was developed based on literature review. A group of experts revised individual questions and removed 9 irrelevant questions. This secondary instrument, then, was distriuted from Jury 1, 2012 to October 20, 2012. It was tested with 589 members of foreign tourist. After factor analysis on the final 42 questions, 7 factors were identified; quality of medical service, correspondance, tourism connection, sympathy, convenience, believability, and economical efficiency. The total variance explained was 60.9%. This instrument was statistically reliable and valid to measure medical tourism satisfaction of foreign tourist.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2017.05a
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• pp.507-509
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• 2017

Medical tourism is a newly-prevailing industry accompanied by the change of lifestyle to a health-seeking life in the 21st century, which not only attracts foreigners using high-end medical technologies and equipments but also linking recuperation and leisure and cultural activities to the tour. many chinese tourists enter seeking both medical and tourism purposes. However, since the system for medical tourism is not well supported and there is no medical insurance for Chinese people, it is necessary to link safe hospitals and guides for these Chinese people and to develop systems that will provide proper information to Chinese people. This paper will introduce and propose a medical tour service system which effectively links hospitals, chinese tourists and brokers.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.167-188
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• 2021

This study was carried out to identify the key drivers behind the rapid growth of the cosmetic medical tourism industry in recent years and determine the future growth engines. Unlike previous studies that have focused on cosmetic medical tourism in the United States, Japan, and China, this paper examines the related trends in ASEAN countries, where the interest in cosmetic surgery has recently surged among young people, as part of the efforts to promote the expansion of the industry in this particular region. The results of the empirical study showed that those from the ASEAN region traveling abroad for cosmetic surgery found the medical professional's expertise in cosmetic surgery technology, medical care system, and administrative convenience in relation to communication and accessibility appealing, and this is what led to an intention to visit. As for another process that formed the intention to visit, it was the sociocultural attitudes towards appearance arising from the attractiveness of celebrities, and this had an impact on the intention to visit abroad for cosmetic surgery. Especially it was newly discovered, based on an empirical analysis, that sociocultural attitudes towards the appearance and attractiveness of celebrities could be a key influencing factor when it comes to the intention to visit another country for cosmetic surgery.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2018.05a
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• pp.555-557
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• 2018

The average lifespan of humans is expected to rise to 100 years, not 80 years, as a result of the advances in medical technology, and soon the age of 100 era is expected to open. The fourth industrial revolution, which is the core of the convergence, is emerging as a major issue in the modern society. Therefore, the importance of services along with medical technologies is increasing. Accordingly, medical tourism, a combination of medical technology and tourism, is emerging as a promising industry, and countries around the world classify the medical tourism industry as one of the core strategic industries and nurture it actively. In accordance with this, contents and marketing that can impress a user with a management strategy are developed and provided, but the management system maintains the existing ones, which is a limitation. Therefore, there is a need for an efficient medical tourism management system along with a user-oriented system such as marketing and contents.

• Journal of Arbitration Studies
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.111-128
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• 2016

Trade between nations has been considered as exchange for material things. According to recent changes in the paradigm of global trade, trade is shifting focus on the exchange of an immaterial being. Among them, the service sector is growing fast and the health service has shown exceptional growth as the healthcare market is consistently expanding. It is also part of the global service targeting people all around the world. People visiting other countries for medical service tend to spend more money and stay longer than a traveler. For these reasons, global medical service is in the spotlight as a promising and higher value-added business. The global medical service industry has been developed around Asia, specifically Thailand, Singapore, India, etc. Compared to them, Korea has come late into the market of global healthcare and the Korean government is striving to attract foreign patients. Nevertheless, there is a lack of effort to make foreign patients visiting Korea revisit Korea. Regarding foreign patients' medical disputes, these are not yet a problem officially; however, the government cannot leave the matter as it is. Medical dispute related with foreign patients is a highly complex issue due to different languages, nationalities, cultures, etc. Particularly, Korea's medical tourism is developed with Chinese visiting Korea for plastic surgery and cosmetic procedure. Thus, the Korean medical tourism market can be crowded with a lot of minor medical agencies, so-called brokers, getting foreign patients connected to the medical institutions. Consequently, Korea has received a large number of complaints and dissatisfaction. No one can predict and know what's supposed to happen in the future. Efforts of the Korean government and medical institute attracting foreign patients could be in vain. In order to take a step forward, this paper will do research on present conditions and look for strategies of improving this industry, focusing on the part of medical agency and contributing to the improvement of the Korean medical tourism industry.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.10-19
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• 2012

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the priorities among the environmental factors on, and to build core strategies for fostering Korean medical tourism. Methods: We used an A'WOT hybrid method which combined SWOT with Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), that is, the strategic factors in each strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats group were selected by medical tourism experts' opinion, and then the importance of the factors in each SWOT group were pair-wise compared. Results: The results presented that the opportunities and the strengths groups are relatively more important than the other groups. The key competitive factors include high-quality human resources of traditional medicine, modernized system of Korean medical institutions, and local governments' willpower to promote herbal industries. Conclusions: Based on the results of analysis, it is suggested for government to build a timely strategic plan, to enhance cooperative activities with the private sector, to organize local resources, and to provide marketing support.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.295-301
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• 2023

Since its inception in 2009, medical tourism in South Korea has continued to progress. Reaching its peak in 2019, the industry experienced a sharp decline in inbound patients after the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 due to international border closures and a surge in patient numbers. However, from 2021 onwards, there has been a gradual increase in inbound patients. The purpose of this study was to classify the top 12 countries based on the number of actual patients entering the country from 2014 to 2022, using statistics from the Korea Health Industry Development Institute. It also analyzed the changes in the number of foreign patients visiting Korea and the evolving proportion of actual patients compared to short-term visa arrivals on a yearly basis. Through this content, we aim to examine the trends on a country-by-country basis and identify the direction in which the future of South Korean medical tourism should progress. By focusing on healthcare, we intend to pinpoint areas that require attention and improvement, as well as highlight any existing issues. Through modifications and enhancements based on these considerations, we aspire to attract a significant number of foreign patients, thereby promoting South Korea's medical technology on a global scale.