More than 150 business meetings connected Korean medical and wellness providers with U.S. healthcare and tourism partners
Korea is stepping up efforts to attract medical and wellness travelers from the United States. The Korea Tourism Organization’s Los Angeles office brought around 180 industry representatives together for the 2026 K-Medical Tourism B2B LA event on September 17, creating a marketplace for cooperation between Korean healthcare providers and U.S. tourism and medical professionals.
Held at the JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. LIVE, the event was the first large-scale medical and wellness tourism roadshow organized by the Korea Tourism Organization in the United States. Twelve Korean medical and wellness institutions took part alongside U.S. healthcare professionals, tour operators, travel agencies and airline representatives.
More than 150 individual business meetings
Business development formed the core of the program. Through pre-scheduled appointments, the 12 Korean participating institutions held more than 150 one-on-one meetings with potential U.S. partners.
The discussions focused on specialized medical and wellness services as well as opportunities to develop future cooperation in the U.S. market. Representatives of Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Air Premia were also among the participants, underlining the role of air connectivity in developing international patient travel.
The event additionally brought together organizations from the tourism and cultural sectors, including the King Sejong Institute Center and the Korean Cultural Center Los Angeles.
Aesthetic medicine drives international interest
Korea’s positioning in the U.S. market builds partly on the international reach of K-Beauty and growing interest in aesthetic medicine. The roadshow therefore combined healthcare presentations with information on beauty treatments, wellness experiences and tourism services.
David Cho, CEO of CloudAA Academy, addressed this development in a keynote entitled “K-Glow Era: The Rise of Korean Aesthetic Medicine & Medical Tourism.” He examined factors encouraging U.S. consumers to travel to Korea for aesthetic treatments and the potential created by combining healthcare services with travel experiences.
Wellness presented as part of the travel experience
Beyond conventional B2B meetings, organizers used interactive activities to demonstrate how medical services can be linked with Korean wellness and culture. The K-Medi Wellness Trail Experience included AI-supported skin analysis and K-Beauty applications alongside Korean-inspired scent pouch making, virtual-reality cultural experiences and calligraphy.
The format reflects a broader approach in which medical treatment is presented as one element of a journey incorporating beauty, preventive wellness and cultural experiences rather than as an isolated healthcare service.
Korea seeks longer-term partnerships in the U.S.
For the Korea Tourism Organization, the Los Angeles event was designed not only to present individual providers but also to establish business relationships capable of generating future patient and traveler flows between the two countries.
By bringing medical institutions into direct contact with healthcare specialists, travel distributors and airlines, the roadshow placed commercial partnerships at the center of Korea’s efforts to expand its medical and wellness tourism presence in the United States.
Image Credit: © AI generated illustration with material courtesy of Korea Tourism Organization
