Patients who travel to Korea for treatment abroad tend to find that the medical care they receive exceeds their expectations.

A survey by the country's tourism organisation and its Health Industry Development Institute found that 80.3 per cent were pleased with the healthcare they received, with 87 per cent of those receiving medical skincare expressing satisfaction.

The survey was presented at the International Medical Travel Conference in Seoul and Ohm Kyong-sop, Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO) vice-president for tourism technology, told the Korea Times: "Satisfaction levels were higher than expectation levels, meaning people visit Korea without high expectations but are satisfied after receiving medical service."

The vice-president predicted that the country could become a "major player" in healthcare tourism, noting: "Besides Japan, no country in Asia showed dominance in terms of recognition level of medical tourism."

However, he warned that the area could fall behind its rival if it fails to become competitive.

The South Korean government has recently been trying to attract medical tourists by revising its immigration policies to allow foreign patients and their families to obtain long-term medical visas, the New York Times reports.