Chinese Pump Money Into Korea’s Plastic Surgery Industry

In China, the South Korea plastic surgery industry is a promising sector for future financial investment. China’s stringent visa regulations, which until April 2014 only permitted tourists to stay in South Korea for one month, have recently been relaxed – meaning that the number of Chinese medical tourists traveling to South Korea is destined to grow.

Indeed, the numbers of Chinese cosmetic surgery tourists traveling to South Korea every year are climbing. According to Want China Times, over 4.68m medical tourists have traveled from China to Korea from January to September 2014, pumping money into the South Korea plastic surgery industry goldmine – a sector which already grosses around $5 billion USD in annual revenue.

Having also experienced substantial growth as a result of Korea’s medical tourism boom, feeder industries such as the medical equipment, pharmaceutical and construction industries are also attracting foreign investors from China. Certainly, sectors related to the country’s plastic surgery industry are likely becoming very attractive to Chinese investors too, particularly as their own citizens form a large portion of the market for cosmetic medical care in South Korea.