Korea's “Big Five” hospitals stood out for their expertise in the Asia-Pacific region. Asan Medical Center (AMC), in particular, is ranked as the top specialized hospital in the region for oncology, cardiology, and endocrinology.

Many Korean university hospitals, including the five largest hospitals, put their names on the Best Specialized Hospitals APAC 2023 list surveyed by the U.S. news magazine Newsweek in conjunction with global market research firm Statista.

Newsweek noted that Asia Pacific (APAC) is one of the world's most diverse and dynamic regions, with over 4 billion people and a GDP of over $30 trillion. Demographics in the region are shifting, and the proportion of people over 60 is expected to grow to over a quarter of the population by 2050, placing more demand on the healthcare system, adding that APAC is the fastest-growing area in the world for healthcare investment. Much of that focus on specialized care.

Against this backdrop, the magazine and the global surveyor ranked the leading hospitals in the Asia-Pacific region, encompassing Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand, for the first time to provide patients with a comprehensive resource for informed decision making in six key medical fields -- cardiology, endocrinology, neurology, oncology, orthopedics, and pediatrics.

The two organizations asked over 8,000 medical professionals, including doctors, nurses, physician assistants, and therapists, as well as staff working in the management and administration in the countries of the designated APAC region, to recommend hospitals in their field of expertise and in a secondary medical field from February to March 2023.

Korea ranked first in five of the six fields except neurology, and AMC was placed at the top in three.

Korea had the largest number of top pediatric hospitals led by SNUH

Pediatrics was the specialty where the largest number of Korean university hospitals was listed. Korean doctors increasingly shun this field, but 21 university hospitals are in APAC's Best Hospitals for Pediatrics. It marked the largest number among the nine countries. Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) was at the top for pediatrics.

However, only two Korean hospitals – SNUH and SMC (seventh) – were included in the top 10 pediatric hospitals in the region. Others among the 75 were the Catholic University of Korea-Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital (21), Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital (22), Korea University Anam Hospital (23), Yonsei University Severance Hospital (24), and Hanyang University Medical Center (29). Samsung Medical Center, one of the Big Five hospitals, ranked 50th.

In Newsweek’s “World’s Best Specialized Hospitals 2023” list released last September, Korea was also recognized for its pediatric expertise, with the second-highest number of university hospitals after the United States. At the time, 29 Korean hospitals were ranked among the 200 best pediatric hospitals in the world, compared to 61 in the U.S.

In endocrinology, the Big Five hospitals ranked first through fifth. AMC topped the list, followed by SNUH, Severance Hospital, SMCenter, and Seoul St. Mary's Hospital. Kyung Hee University Hospital was also on the top-10 list, ranking 10th.

Others among 75 institutions were Gangnam Severance Hospital (15), Korea University Anam Hospital (17), Chunbuk National University Hospital (18), Hanyang University Medical Center (20), Ajou University Hospital (21), and Korea University Guro Hospital (28). Korea has the largest number of hospitals in the endocrinology list, with 19, followed by Japan’s 12, Malaysia's and Singapore's (nine each), and India's (seven).

Big Five hospitals were also on the top-10 list of oncology. AMC topped the list, followed by SMC, Japan’s National Cancer Center Hospital, SNUH, and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Australia. From sixth to 10th were Severance Hospital, Keio University Hospital, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, National Cancer Centre Singapore, and the University of Tokyo Hospital. Other Korean institutions among the top 20 were National Cancer Center (12) and Seoul National University Bundang Hospital (SNUBH), with 14.

Korea also showed strength in orthopedics led by Severance and AMC

Korea was also strong in orthopedics. Twelve of the 50 best hospitals in APAC for orthopedics are Korean hospitals, more than any other country. Severance Hospital was the top APAC hospital for orthopedics, followed by AMC. In third place was the University of Tokyo Hospital. Kyung Hee University Hospital stood out by coming in fourth, ahead of the other Big Five hospitals, followed by SNUH (6) and SMC (9).

They were followed by Gangnam Severance Hospital (18), Kangbuk Samsung Hospital (19), Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong (23), SNUBH (24), and Seoul St. Mary's Hospital (29). The magazine recognized 50 institutions as APAC's best hospitals for orthopedics.

Neurology was the only field in which Korean hospitals did not take the top spot but took six places in the top 10.

Japan's Jundendo University Hospital and the University of Tokyo Hospital, AMC, took the top two spots. Following them were AMC (3), SNUH (5), SMC (6), SNUBH (7), Severance Hospital (9), and St. Mary's Hospital (10). Of the 75 top hospitals in APAC for neurology, 16 were Japanese hospitals, followed by Korea and Australia with 13 each.

AMC also took the top spot in the cardiology category. However, only three Korean hospitals made the APAC top 10 for cardiology, with Japan's National Center for Cardiovascular Disease Research in second place, followed by Singapore's National Heart Centre in third, SMCenter in fourth, and SNUH in fifth.

They were followed by Severance Hospital at No. 17, Korea University Anam Hospital at No. 25, SNUBH at No. 33, and Seoul St. Mary's Hospital at No. 46.