US patients in Korea: the numbers

The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) reported 173,363 US patients in Korea in 2025, 70.4% more than in 2024. All foreign patients together numbered 2,011,822 that year, up 71.9%. The sources we read give counts, not reasons.

Year	US patients	Change on the year before (as published)	Share of all foreign patients
2019	58,358	not published	11.7%
2020	18,004	not published	15.4%
2021	28,889	+60.5%	19.8%
2022	44,095	+52.6%	17.8%
2023	76,925	+74.5%	12.7%
2024	101,733	+32.2%	8.7%
2025	173,363	+70.4%	8.6%

Read these figures with four points in mind:

They include US Forces Korea. The Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) counts members of US Forces Korea and their families in the US figure. In 2025 that was 15,290 people, or 8.8% of the US total.
They count all departments. They are not a count of cosmetic patients only.
A foreign patient here is a foreigner who does not live in Korea and is not covered by Korean national health insurance. Each person is counted once per reporting institution, and consultations and remote care are left out.
The US share moved a lot. It was 11.7% in 2019, 19.8% in 2021 and 8.6% in 2025. When the US count grows more slowly than the total for all countries, its share falls even as the number of US patients rises.

The full series, with the other countries, is on our Korea medical tourism statistics page.

Getting in: K-ETA and the medical visa

K-ETA for US passports

The K-ETA is an online travel authorization run by Korea's Ministry of Justice. A notice on the K-ETA site, dated 23 December 2025, extended the temporary exemption by one year, to 31 December 2026 (Korean time). The Korean Embassy in the USA confirms that the United States is covered, and the exempt list in the Korean Embassy in Spain's notice names the United States including Guam.

Applying anyway. Exempt travelers can still apply for a K-ETA. A fee is charged, and the main benefit is skipping the arrival card. The K-ETA site shows the current fee and says decisions usually come within 72 hours.
Official site only. Apply on k-eta.go.kr or in the official K-ETA app. The site warns about look-alike agency and phishing sites.
Arrival card. In principle every foreigner entering Korea files an arrival card. The online e-Arrival Card can be filed from 3 days before arrival (Korean time), and holders of a valid K-ETA are exempt.
After 31 December 2026. We found no announcement. If your trip falls in 2027, check the K-ETA site and your embassy's notices before you book.

Our sources do not say whether the purpose of your trip changes any of this. See our visa and K-ETA guide for the full status and the official links.

The medical visa

KHIDI's Medical Korea page lists two medical visas: C-3-3 for treatment and travel of up to 90 days, with cosmetic and plastic surgery given as examples, and G-1-10 for treatment or recuperation that needs 91 days or more. You apply at a Korean embassy or consulate, or your clinic or a registered agency applies online for a visa issuance certificate that you then take to the consulate.

What the sources do not confirm

We did not read an official visa page for US passports. So we cannot tell you the visa-free stay for a US passport, the visa fee, how much money you must show, or whether you can apply for the C-3-3 online. KHIDI's page lists visa-free entry as a route but gives one blanket stay period that looks outdated. Check the Korea Visa Portal (visa.go.kr) and the Korean Embassy in the United States for your own passport, and check again shortly before you fly.

Money: won, US dollars, VAT and the ended refund

Won first, dollars as a guide. Every price on this site is the clinic's published price in KRW. The US dollar figure beside it is an approximation, and it moves with the exchange rate. Compare the won price, and confirm what it includes.

Comparing like with like. Cosmetic care is outside Korean national health insurance (비급여, "non-covered"), so each clinic sets its own prices. A price only means something with its conditions: the product and brand, the amount (units, cc, shots or areas), whether VAT is included, and whether it is a regular price or an event price. Korean price lists often say 부가세 별도, "VAT extra". Under the Medical Service Act a clinic may not charge more than the non-covered fee it has posted. Our guide to how Korean clinics quote prices explains the terms, and the price guides for Botox units and filler cc show how to read the most common ones.

10% VAT. Korea's standard VAT rate is 10%. Medical care is normally exempt, but cosmetic surgery and many cosmetic skin treatments are carved out of the exemption, so they carry 10% VAT. If a price is listed without VAT, the final bill can be higher.

The tourist VAT refund has ended. A special refund of this VAT for foreign tourists who had cosmetic procedures at registered clinics ended on 31 December 2025. The law text in force on 29 October 2026 still carries that end date. Two bills from members of the National Assembly would extend or bring back the refund, to the end of 2027 or the end of 2029. They were pending in the latest reports we found and are not law. Plan on paying the VAT with no refund, and be careful with older articles or agency pages that offer one. Our VAT guide has the details and the official law links.

Choosing a clinic: a filter and a checklist

This directory does not rank clinics. Use the lists below as a filter, then use the checklist.

"English support" on these lists is the clinic's own statement. We do not test it. Ask who speaks English (the doctor, a coordinator or an interpreter) and at which steps: consultation, the procedure, the consent form and follow-up. The law that registers clinics for foreign patients does not list an interpreter as a requirement.

Questions to ask before you book:

Registration. Is the clinic registered to treat foreign patients? Registration needs a board-certified specialist for each department offered and malpractice liability insurance. The registration certificate must be displayed where anyone can see it, and it is valid for 3 years. KHIDI explains the registration system.
Written information. A registered clinic must give a foreign patient, in a separate document, the diagnosis, the treatment method and the possible side effects. It must also give a treatment contract in the Ministry's form with the estimated fees, and the dispute-resolution steps if a medical accident happens.
Who treats you. Which doctor will do the procedure? The doctor decides the treatment and the amount after an examination.
Price conditions. Product, amount, VAT, and regular or event price, in writing.
Aftercare. Who can you contact after you fly home, in which language, and who treats a problem that appears there?
Agencies. If an agency books for you, ask which clinic is meant and what the fee is. Registered clinics and agencies may not charge commissions above the Ministry's rate or give false information.

Records and paperwork for a US insurer

Ask your insurer before you travel which documents it needs. We make no statement about what any US insurer or health program pays for care abroad, and whether a policy covers a cosmetic procedure or its complications depends on the policy.

What the Korean rules and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say:

Itemized receipt. The Korean rule that requires an itemized breakdown is written for members of national health insurance. We found no rule that explicitly gives it to tourists, so ask for one when you pay. Ask that it lists each item, the amount, the price, VAT and the date.
Records. You may ask to view and copy your own medical records, and the clinic may not refuse without just cause. The law does not say the copies come in English, so ask what the clinic can provide in English. The CDC advises getting copies of all records from the treating facility before you return home, in English, and sharing them with your clinicians at home.
Certificates. A doctor who examined you may not refuse without just cause to issue a diagnosis certificate or another certificate. The Ministry of Health and Welfare caps the fee for common certificates, including an English general diagnosis certificate, and a clinic may charge anything from zero up to the cap.
Your insurer's own form. A certificate in a format that is not in the official table, for example an insurer's claim form, is priced by the clinic. Ask the price in advance.

More in our guide to receipts and medical records.

Deposits, cancellations, interpreters and help lines

Deposits. Korea's Consumer Dispute Resolution Standards set yardsticks for refunds, not a statute that overrides a contract. For cosmetic surgery they give a patient who cancels a larger share of the deposit back the earlier they cancel, and nothing back on the day of surgery. Moving the surgery date does not count as cancellation. In July 2026 the Fair Trade Commission made 15 skin and cosmetic clinics change unfair terms for prepaid treatment. Get the deposit and cancellation terms in writing in a language you read, before you pay. See deposits and cancellations.

Interpreters and help lines.

The Korea Tourism Organization's 1330 Korea Travel Helpline takes calls in Korea on 1330, and from abroad on +82-2-1330. It gives tourist information and interpretation and takes complaints.
The Medical Korea Information Center, run by KHIDI, gives medical consultation in English, Chinese, Japanese and Russian. Its call line is +82-2-1577-7129, daily 09:00 to 18:00 Korean time. It also has desks at Seoul Station and at Incheon Airport Terminal 1. It helps with reservations and complaints, helps pass disputes to the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency (K-medi), and takes reports of illegal brokers.
K-medi has an English site, free consultation on weekdays, and application forms.

See interpreters and help for details.

Flying home

The CDC says air travel and surgery each raise the risk of blood clots, and travel soon after surgery raises it further. The CDC Yellow Book says medical tourists should not fly for 10 days after chest or abdominal surgery. Citing plastic surgeons' guidance, it says to wait 7 to 10 days before flying after laser treatments or cosmetic procedures to the face. For long flights it calls frequent walking and calf exercises reasonable. These are general statements, not rules for your treatment.

The surgeon who treated you should decide when you may fly. Before you book your return flight, agree the earliest date with the clinic. Before you travel, also agree a plan for complications with both your clinician at home and the clinic in Korea. Read downtime and flights first.

FAQ

Do I need a K-ETA to enter Korea with a US passport for a clinic visit?

As of 29 October 2026, US passport holders are exempt from the K-ETA until 31 December 2026, according to the K-ETA site and the Korean Embassy in the USA. Our sources do not say whether the purpose of the trip matters. Nothing is confirmed for 2027 yet, so check the official K-ETA site before you book.

Can I get the 10% VAT back on a cosmetic procedure in Korea as a US visitor?

No. The special VAT refund for foreign tourists who had cosmetic procedures ended on 31 December 2025, and the law in force on 29 October 2026 still carries that end date. Two bills to extend or restore it were pending, not enacted. Expect to pay the VAT, and ask each clinic whether its quoted price includes it.

Will my US health insurance cover treatment in Korea, and what paperwork should I ask for?

We cannot say what any US insurer or health program covers, so ask your insurer before you travel. For the clinic, ask for an itemized receipt, copies of your records in English and any certificate you need, and agree the price of each certificate first. A claim form from your insurer is priced by the clinic.

How many Americans get treated in Korea each year?

The Ministry of Health and Welfare reported 173,363 US patients in 2025, up 70.4% on 2024, out of 2,011,822 foreign patients in total. The US figure includes patients from US Forces Korea, 15,290 of them in 2025 according to KHIDI. The count covers all medical departments, not only cosmetic care.

Does "English support" mean I can do the whole visit in English?

Not necessarily. On our lists, "English support" is the clinic's own statement, and we do not test it. Ask who speaks English (the doctor, a coordinator or an interpreter) and for which steps: consultation, procedure, consent forms and aftercare. The registration rules for clinics treating foreign patients do not list an interpreter.

Sources

Rules and figures checked on 29 October 2026. Entry, tax and insurance rules change. Confirm them on the official sites and with your insurer before you travel.

Treatment at a clinic in Korea: a guide for US visitors