Medical Tourism City
Gangneung is equipped with an advanced healthcare system, thanks to the state-of-the-art medical equipment and technology and the medical professionals who are highly skilled and care about their patients. Early discovery and treatment of medical conditions is possible at the medical institutions in Gangneung, equipped with a wide range of advanced equipment ranging from TrueBeam 2.5 to CT and examination equipment. Also, cutting-edging medical equipment is used in disease treatment and management for a more thorough and specialized care.
There has been an endless stream of foreign doctors coming to Gangneung to receive training using the advanced healthcare system (state-of-the-art medical equipment and online patient information system). For instance, Gangneung Asan Hospital has been running a medical professional training program for doctors from Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, etc. Also, its dentistry department formed a cooperation agreement with schools of dentistry in Mongolia and Vietnam, after which a number of clinical training programs were provided to raise the standards of healthcare.
In Gangneung, there are medical institutions that specialize in specific types of diseases, and they also collaborate together for interdisciplinary treatment of diseases. For instance, Gangneung Asan Hospital runs a cancer center, where there is a medical team for each type of cancer, and Gangneung Dongin Hospital takes an integrative and complementary approach, incorporating the principles and methods of Western and Eastern (Korean) medicine. In addition, dental, orthopedics and plastic surgery hospitals and clinics have also disease-specific treatment services and engage in interdisciplinary treatment by creating a team of medical specialists and medical professionals from various fields concerned.
Medical tourists coming to Gangneung have a zero chance of getting lost. This is because the hospitals and clinics striving to draw in foreign patients are all equipped with a one-stop healthcare service system, integrating consultation, diagnosis, and treatment processes. Medical tourists can use the one-stop system 24/7 throughout the year, free-of-charge. There is a dedicated consultation and examination room for foreign patients and full-time coordinators on site 24/7 to provide dedicated and specialized healthcare services.
In Gangneung, medical professionals engage in charitable healthcare activities to help people living in poverty-stricken areas who would otherwise not be able to afford quality healthcare. While providing advanced healthcare services with love, they are helping to bolster the national image of Korea. For example, patients from Kazakhstan, who were selected for the program, were left in awe of the top-quality healthcare services, kindness shown by the medical staff, and the beautiful natural environment of Gangneung. As such, Gangneung is committed to creating a virtuous cycle through its charitable healthcare program to satisfy the medical professionals and medical tourists alike.
No matter how advanced the medical and information systems are, Korean hospitals and clinics may be unfamiliar to foreigners and cause some discomfort. However, it’s different here in Gangneung, thanks to the medical coordinators, who not only display excellent language proficiency, but also try to understand each patient’s medical and travel needs and preferences according to his or her age and home country in order to provide a more personalized service. Plus, the foreign tour guides who have settled in Gangneung are highly knowledgeable, and they help the medical tourists keep to their schedule from the moment they arrive in Korea until their departure. This is why our foreign medical tourists can be comfortable during their entire stay in Gangneung.
Gangneung has other notable strengths, aside from its state-of-the-art medical institutions, and one of them is its exquisite natural scenery. During interviews with the foreign medical tourists, all of them mentioned how beautiful the natural environment was in Gangneung. Gangneung is located next to the deep blue sea and contains dense green forests. The way it changes across the four seasons is also absolutely stunning. Its gorgeous scenery is one of the reasons it was chosen as one of the host cities of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games, so it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the medical tourists can also enjoy a nice relaxing vacation here.
The therapy and experience programs in the beautiful natural environment is also another unique strength of medical tourism in Gangneung. In 2015, Gangneung organized a medical tourism FAM tour, inviting Chinese media and travel agencies, and held a medical tourism exposition under the theme of “detoxification-emptying-filling (Haebichae).” You can enjoy Haebichae skin therapy, which incorporates traditional Korean medicine, the pine scent and coffee. You can also heal your body, mind and soul through jewel color therapy, or by experiencing the unique culture of Gangneung including the traditional food and tea houses.
Wellness, which refers to a combination of “well-being” and “fitness,” is characterized by excellent physical, spiritual and social health. In Gangneung, you can become closer to wellness through various sightseeing tours and leisure activities. Living up to its reputation as a marine tourism city, Gangneung has excellent marine tourism sites and programs including underwater sports and cruises. You can also check out museums on culture and history in nature, visit the famous coffee shops, and have therapeutic experiences at a spa or sauna.
Gangneung Asan Hospital is one of the seven hospitals operating under the Asan Foundation. It is a large hospital with 32 clinical departments. Because of its outstanding medical staff and well-established interdisciplinary treatment and care system, Gangneung Asan Hospital was chosen as the official medical institution to support the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games. It has promised to dedicate itself to ensuring that the athletes from around the world can stay safe during the games, using its top-notch medical infrastructure.