time now for our life and info segment where we focus on information useful for
your everyday live today we're once again going to talk about the medical
tourism industry here in South Korea but this time we're going to focus on
foreign patients coming here for traditional Korean medicine now hundreds
of thousands come here for medical treatment and it turns out more and more
foreign guests visit here for something different I'm happy to say we have our
Cheshire Yong in the studio to talk more about it so what exactly is Korean
medicine and how many foreign visitors are coming here to get this kind of
treatment well about Korean medicine is known
mostly for acupuncture that's where the fine thin needles are inserted onto your
specific pressure points of your body to stimulate blood flow which is supposed
to help your body get better now out of roughly 400,000 visitors about 22,000
people who are visiting the Korean medicine last year and now the annual
average increase of that number of foreign patients is the second heist
only after plastic surgery well it might surprise you somewhat
sheong but I actually go for acupuncture two or three times a week for relaxation
purposes and I have to say it does work how do you feel nice and calm afterwards
and it's very cheap too especially if you have medical insurance only costs
like seven or eight US dollars a time but other people who come they come for
muscular pain and whatnot so what kind of ailments can be cured through this
kind of Korean medicine and acupuncture well at the moment there is no official
record that says which specialized departments within Korean medicine
people seek out the most but after we after careful reporting I found that
these days many patients come here to get their back pain treated since Korean
medicine offers non-surgical treatment for them so the two things Korean
medicine doctors do acupuncture and tuna treatment now tuna treatment may sound
unfamiliar but this is a tradition Kurian way of correcting a patient's
spine it looks similar to physical therapy done by Western therapists but
is different in that Korean medicine doctors apply gentle pressure to
specific punch of the spine to restore the balance to the body's
musculoskeletal system the whole set of ear bones using bare hands the doctor
performs a treatment on patients who lie down on a bed it usually takes less than
30 minutes and you really get serious bruises or hurt during the treatment so
well enough talking let's hear how the patient feels after they're tuned
ization I'm totally satisfied I regularly come to the hospital for the
treatment and every time I receive it I feel better the effect of the treatment
is noticeable yeah the kind of looks like Cairo prati doesn't it but a less
painful version of it I am rather adverse to having my neck pulled around
quickly so that looks right up my street but looking at that interview I'm kind
of curious about how foreigners find out more about this Korean medicine
treatment what drives them to come here is it family or friends and what makes
them choose to get Korean medicine over more Western styles of medicine I will
write mostly from friends and families and some patients choose Korean medicine
over Western because they are sceptical of their local hospitals now let's take
a listen to some doctors to see what this really means while higher awareness
of Korean medicine does attract patients to South Korea some patients don't trust
some local hospitals because they recommend surgery right away these
people visit for Korean medicine which offers non-surgical treatment in
Mongolia local doctors recommended surgery and my family was worried but I
heard that Korean medicine of his ways to soothe the pain so I came to receive
the treatment here now I'm satisfied and thankful
well that's definitely helpful to hear that sheong but I still find perhaps
some foreigners would feel kind of reluctant to go to one of these Korean
medical centers here in Korea given the language barrier that does exist because
you know you're talking about sensitive medical ailments here you want to make
sure you're getting the exact treatment you should be getting is it a bit bit of
a problem here do we need to worry too much if we don't speak Korean that well
well if that's the case no need to worry because do we actually have a Western
that our Western doctor practice in Korean medicine now without further ado
let's just see what he has to say the language barrier is much more easy to be
overcome and I do understand the Western people way of thinking as I can explain
as they can understand and not the Korean way but let's call it an
international way of explanation so it's for them much more easier to understand
what I mean and then it's more easier to follow the treatment yeah
well that's interesting I didn't realize there was a Western doctor out there who
can do Korean medicine acupuncture militaria okay well it's good to know
and I'm sure you could check out what hospital he works out there Shion always
a pleasure thank you ever so much for coming in and sharing your report with
us today my pleasure Thanks