Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Fertility

In brief

In 2025, obstetrics and gynaecology accounted for 1.3% of speciality visits by international patients, the seventh largest share, and grew by 62.6% on the year before.

26,647 international patients in 2025. Source: Korea Health Industry Development Institute.

Obstetrics and gynaecology covers women’s health from routine screening to surgery, together with fertility treatment. Patients from Japan accounted for almost a third of international visits in 2025, followed by patients from the United States, China and Mongolia.

Much of this care proceeds in stages: a consultation and tests first, then a decision on treatment. Fertility treatment in particular follows the patient’s own cycle, and its timing cannot be set by the travel calendar alone.

What is offered

• Gynaecological consultations and check-ups
• Cervical screening and pelvic ultrasound
• Treatment of fibroids, cysts and endometriosis, including keyhole surgery
• Fertility assessment for women and men
• Intrauterine insemination (IUI)
• In vitro fertilisation (IVF) and embryo freezing
• Egg freezing

How matters are arranged in Korea

• A clinic that creates embryos for fertility treatment must be designated by the Ministry of Health and Welfare as an embryo-producing medical institution (배아생성의료기관). Ask the clinic to confirm its designation.
• Korean law forbids paying for eggs or sperm, or offering anything else in return for them. Who may receive assisted reproduction, and on what terms, is governed by Korean law and professional guidelines that may differ from those at home; ask the clinic to confirm in writing that you are eligible before you travel.
• Patients not covered by Korean national health insurance pay the full cost. Ask for an itemised estimate that includes medication, monitoring scans, procedures and any storage fees.

Official fees in Seoul

The non-covered fees that hospitals and clinics in Seoul report to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. Ask for a written quotation all the same: it is the fee you will actually be charged.

Planning your stay

• A consultation with screening may be completed within a few days. A cycle of IVF usually requires a stay of two to three weeks, from the start of stimulation to egg collection and transfer, with monitoring scans throughout.
• Agree in advance how any eggs or embryos will be stored, for how long and at what cost, and what is to become of them should you not return.
• After surgery, allow time for a follow-up examination before flying, and ask the surgeon when it will be safe to travel.

The risks, plainly stated

Questions to put to the clinic

For a few words of Korean at the reception desk, Day1Korean has short conversations to listen to and repeat.

Who ought to treat you

A board-certified specialist in obstetrics and gynaecology (산부인과 전문의). For fertility treatment, ask about the doctor’s experience in reproductive medicine and about the clinic’s embryology laboratory.

Before you book, use our safety checklist to confirm the clinic’s government registration and the doctor’s licence.