A group of Americans visited South Korea not only to go shopping and traveling but get high-quality, state-of-the-art medical treatment at relatively lower costs.

In a Health Promotion Center at Inha University Hospital in Incheon, Thursday, they had a comprehensive checkup, including x-rays and blood tests.
They listened carefully to doctors and looked excited regarding the "new" experience.

They were among 29 Americans whose two-week trip to Korea included a medical program jointly developed by the LA branch of Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) and an LA-based travel agency Aju Tours.

Although some individual foreigners have visited Korea for medical treatment, this was the first group of tourists to come to Korea on a ``medical tourism'' package.

The government and some hospitals are joining hands to promote medical tourism programs, capitalizing on reasonable prices and quality medical skills, especially in cosmetic surgery and other treatments.

David Sutherland, 40, never received such a comprehensive health checkup in his homeland. Each of the American tourist paid $450 for the checkup.