How Himedi Vets Clinics in Korea — Checkup Centers: Yonsei Mirae IFC Medical Center
The Busan International Finance Center houses Korea’s leading financial institutions.
Busan has its own International Finance Center. Just as Seoul's Yeouido houses a landmark IFC in the heart of its financial district, Busan's IFC anchors the city's commercial center. Inside it sits a 6,600-square-meter health screening center — the largest in Busan.
Yonsei Mirae IFC has become the checkup hub for Busan's major corporations and global companies providing employee wellness benefits. On Monday, April 13, 2026, I underwent a health checkup here myself. After the screening and a meeting with Professor Baek Seung-hyuk, the center's Chief Director, we decided to actively introduce Yonsei Mirae IFC to our American customers visiting Busan.
Medical Quality & Safety
Professor Baek Seung-hyuk was a leading colorectal cancer specialist at Severance — one of Korea's most globally competitive medical institutions. He trained in HIPEC (Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy) at the Washington Cancer Institute in the United States, and in July 2014, became the first surgeon in Korea to perform the procedure at Severance Hospital. HIPEC targets stage IV colorectal cancer patients with peritoneal metastasis — after surgically removing the tumor, heated chemotherapy at 41–43°C is circulated through the abdominal cavity to treat residual cancer cells. By 2020, he had performed nearly 400 cases.
In April 2021, he opened Yonsei Mirae IFC. When I underwent my screening on April 13th, he was personally performing colonoscopies on-site. It is rare to find a dedicated screening center where a specialist of this caliber personally performs procedures. Professor Baek takes genuine pride in the endoscopy team he has built at Yonsei Mirae IFC. The team operates at a level he is confident putting his name behind.
Professor Baek Seung-hyuk, a globally recognized top colorectal cancer surgeon
The left wall proudly displays profiles of the gastroenterology endoscopy team
As a center led by one of Korea's top colorectal cancer specialists, endoscopy is performed with the Olympus EVIS EXERA III (290 series) — the top-tier system available. To carry over Severance-level competitiveness beyond endoscopy, the center invested heavily in its diagnostic imaging infrastructure. The center operates a 3.0T MRI — twice the magnetic field strength of the 1.5T systems standard in most hospitals. Its 128-slice MDCT captures 128 cross-sectional images in a single rotation at 0.4-second speed. For context, 64-slice is the current standard at most major hospitals. The additional resolution is especially valuable for cardiac and vascular imaging — detecting issues that lower-tier scanners may miss.
This is not a clinic that acquired one or two flagship machines. The full diagnostic infrastructure — from MRI to CT to endoscopy to mammography — is built at a level typically found in Korea's top university hospitals.
An international patient undergoing an advanced 3T MRI scan at Yonsei Mirae IFC
Customer Experience
Yonsei Mirae IFC satisfies Himedi's core customer experience standards: direct English communication, privacy by design, clear ownership of international patients, and transparent pricing.
What stood out most was clear ownership and direct English communication.
Clear Ownership starts with the Chief Director. A specialist who built his reputation as one of Korea's top colorectal cancer doctors is on-site every day, personally performing colonoscopies. That presence shapes the entire service culture. When I arrived for my checkup as a first-time visitor, I never felt lost. At every turn — literally, at every corner — staff approached me proactively, guiding me to the next step. An American patient might perceive this as fast-paced. But having experienced multiple large screening centers, I recognized it as genuine care. At other high-volume centers, staff move patients quickly because the volume demands it. At Yonsei Mirae IFC, patient volume is more manageable — so the proactive guidance is exactly that: guidance, not rush.
Staff were very proactive in guiding patients during my checkup
This commitment extends further. The Chief Director is preparing a dedicated reception lounge for international patients on the 2nd floor. The screening center itself is on the 3rd and 4th floor. For American patients arriving for the first time, the stretch from subway exit or taxi drop-off to the reception desk is the first hurdle. The route is unfamiliar, and large numbers of local Korean patients move through the space quickly. A dedicated 2nd-floor lounge — with English-speaking staff and a calmer pace — allows international patients to ask questions, complete registration comfortably, and orient themselves before heading upstairs. This is a meaningful difference.
Privacy by Design takes a different form here than at boutique clinics. This is a large-scale screening center — private rooms for every station are not the model. But during my visit, the space felt open and comfortable. The building's high ceilings and generous floor area mean that even when the center is busy, patients are not crowded together. Between stations, artworks by established Korean artists are displayed throughout the space, drawing the eye and maintaining a calm atmosphere.
Professor Baek also runs a center in Gangnam, but space limitations have made expansion difficult. Yonsei Mirae, by contrast, is the largest in Busan and notably spacious
Artwork by Korean artists is displayed throughout the space, creating a calm and welcoming atmosphere.
On-the-Ground View
Among American visitors to Korea, the trend of adding Busan to their itinerary is clear and growing. Why would our customers want a health checkup in Busan?
Looking back at our conversations with customers, two patterns emerge. First, Busan schedules tend to be more relaxed than Seoul. A health checkup takes just two to three hours in the morning — it fits naturally into a less structured day. Second, the wellness travel trend is accelerating. Visitors come to Busan for the ocean, the pace, and the healing — and increasingly, they want to combine that with a health checkup, a dermatology visit, or a spa treatment. Caring for yourself is becoming part of the trip.
Professor Baek opened this center in 2021 — in the middle of the pandemic — and has been building it as an international-ready screening center from the start, true to the IFC name. The post-pandemic surge of American travelers hit Seoul first. Now it is reaching Busan. As that wave builds, the center is preparing a dedicated international reception lounge to ensure the experience meets the moment.
Book Through Himedi
If you're considering a health checkup in Busan and want guidance based on Himedi's vetting framework, please contact Himedi.
Written by Himedi Inc.
