Moon So-yeon, head of the Korea Tourism Organization's medical wellness team (right), and Kim Su-jin, head of the KTO's Almaty branch [Kim Myung-sang]
Moon So-yeon, head of the Korea Tourism Organization's medical wellness team (right), and Kim Su-jin, head of the KTO's Almaty branch [Kim Myung-sang]

"Our goal is to raise the share of medical tourists from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan to more than 20 percent over the medium to long term," officials said.

Moon So-yeon, head of the Korea Tourism Organization's medical wellness team, and Kim Su-jin, head of the KTO's Almaty branch, laid out that blueprint at the 2026 Central Asia Emerging Market Korea Medical Tourism Road Show.

The Korea Tourism Organization has identified Central Asia as one of its next-generation medical tourism hubs and is moving quickly to develop the emerging market. The plan is to replicate the success model built in Kazakhstan and extend it to neighboring countries such as Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

"Korean medical tourism is growing rapidly in Central Asia," Moon said. "In Kazakhstan, medical tourists already account for more than 20 percent of all visitors to Korea. We intend to bring Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan — both markets with strong potential — up to that same level."

Industry observers see Uzbekistan, whose population is nearly double that of Kazakhstan's roughly 21 million, as an even larger opportunity. Uzbekistan's economic growth rate accelerated from 6.7 percent in 2024 to 7.7 percent last year.

"More than a decade of consistent marketing centered on Almaty, our Central Asian hub in Kazakhstan, has activated private-sector networks and brought that market to maturity," Kim said. "The time has come to focus on developing Uzbekistan as an emerging market — it has a larger population and a rising economy."

The first Korea-Central Asia Summit, which will bring the leaders of five Central Asian nations — including Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan — to Seoul in September, is expected to give medical tourism an additional boost. Greater diplomatic engagement is widely seen as paving the way for efforts to lower institutional barriers.

"Central Asian countries have been the fastest-growing core markets in Korea's inbound medical tourism sector over the past several years," Moon said. "We expect the relationships built at this road show to deepen further after the leaders meet. We will keep our focus on helping Central Asia grow from an emerging market into a top-tier one."


terry@heraldcorp.com