Orthopaedics

In brief

In 2025, orthopaedics accounted for 0.9% of speciality visits by international patients, the tenth largest share, and grew by 8.6% on the year before.

18,498 international patients in 2025. Source: Korea Health Industry Development Institute.

Orthopaedics treats the bones, joints, ligaments and spine. Patients from the United States formed the largest group of international orthopaedic patients in 2025, at more than a quarter, followed by patients from China, Mongolia, Vietnam and Kazakhstan.

Much of this care takes place in general hospitals (종합병원): 8,416 of the 18,498 international orthopaedic patients in 2025 were seen in one. The Ministry of Health and Welfare also designates specialist hospitals (전문병원), among them hospitals devoted to the joints and to the spine.

What is offered

• Diagnosis of joint, bone and spinal pain, including MRI
• Injections and other non-surgical treatment
• Physiotherapy and rehabilitation
• Arthroscopic surgery of the knee and shoulder
• Ligament reconstruction and the treatment of sports injuries
• Knee and hip replacement
• Spinal surgery, including minimally invasive procedures

How matters are arranged in Korea

• Patients not covered by Korean national health insurance pay the full cost. Ask for an estimate that includes the implant, the hospital stay, physiotherapy and follow-up visits.
• If you are considering a specialist hospital, ask whether it holds the ministry’s designation (전문병원) for joints or for the spine.
• Bring recent scans on disc together with their reports. The hospital may still wish to take its own.

Planning your stay

• After injections or arthroscopy, many patients are fit to travel within days. Joint replacement and spinal surgery mean a stay in hospital followed by a period of rehabilitation before the journey home.
• A long flight soon after surgery to the hip, knee or spine raises the risk of blood clots. Ask the surgeon when it will be safe to fly, and what should be done to prevent clots on the journey.
• Arrange physiotherapy at home before you leave, and take a written rehabilitation plan with you.

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 orthopaedic surgery (정형외과 전문의). In Korea, spinal surgery is performed both by orthopaedic surgeons and by neurosurgeons (신경외과 전문의); ask which the hospital uses, and how often the surgeon performs the procedure proposed.

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