Arab
princes and U.S. celebrities fly in for futuristic bio-care at South Korean
"Life Center"
When Min Lee, 54, first toured Chaum Life
Center -- which is spearheading Korea's stem cell banking industry -- she
didn’t quite know what to make of it.
“It rather looks and sounds like something out
of a science fiction movie, with all the talk about stem cell treatments,” said
Lee, who accompanied her friend to a fitness class at the medical facility and
soon found herself touring the luxurious 20,000-square-meter premises in
disbelief.
Opened in 2010 and operated by Cha Hospital,
one of the larger hospitals in Korea, Chaum has more state-of-the-art
technology than a university hospital, but styles itself as a “Life
Center."
It has been the subject of significant media
attention recently for its glittering facilities, controversial stem cell
treatment, customized schools of therapy and hefty membership fees that match
its ritzy Cheongdam-dong location.
The deposit for a membership costs ₩170
million (approximately US$152,000, and returned after 10 years) and an
additional annual charge of ₩4.5 million (approximately US$4,000).
Memberships, which feature a number of
checkups and treatments, including stem cell banking, are sold only to Koreans.
International patients are billed according to the specific treatments
received.
“We are the only facility in the world that
incorporates Western medicine, Oriental medicine and alternative medicine,”
said Chaum’s global marketing representative Yuna Lee, who works on Chaum’s
medical tourism with various international agencies.
Stem cell banking -- one of Chaum’s biggest
draws -- is also the Center’s most controversial marketing vehicle.
“Stem cell treatment is not permitted in most
countries, and it is only permitted to some extent in Korea,” said Kyu Sung
Rim, president of Chaum. “Reproducing stem cells is not legal here yet, but we
are confident that it will soon be legalized.”
Acting on the premise of legalization in the
near future, Chaum extracts and stores the stem cells of patients, sending them
to its research laboratory in Bundang to be analyzed for the best possible
treatment of likely future illnesses.
“Once it becomes legalized, we will then be
able to reproduce stem cells and use them for the best possible treatment,”
said Rim.
NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens made headlines
in the United States when he traveled to Korea for a three-day stem cell
treatment for a knee injury at Chaum last September.
“Around 40 percent of our patients are from
abroad,” says JiHye Han of Chaum’s public relations team. “We have a lot of
Arab princes and princesses and VVIP patients from all over the world,
including Europe, the United States and especially China and Japan. Last year,
around 900 international patients came here for care.”
As a result of its significant contributions
to boosting Korea’s medical tourism, the Life Center recently signed a
Memorandum of Understanding with the Korea Tourism Organization for a joint
development project.
Apart from stell cell banking, Chaum offers a
dizzying array of treatment options that include the most comprehensive medical
checkup in the country, sleep therapy in the only sleep capsule machines in Asia,
acupuncture and “tea therapy,” as well as doctor-prescribed personalized menus
at the facility’s gourmet restaurant Les Trois.
Not all customers have been favorably
impressed.
“It’s rather difficult to navigate because the
building wasn’t originally built for its current purpose,” said Chaum member
Young-min Seo. “One of my sons had a checkup at Chaum, and while he said it was
nice that all the staff came to him instead of having to go to the various
checkup points himself, the staff seemed less experienced than those at
university hospitals.”
But most of the reviews have been laudatory.
It seems that the premise of customized, preventive and futuristic treatment is
proving irresistable for many.
"I like the idea of having stem cells
stored away for when I'm going to get sick," said Lee. "It's the best
kind of insurance."
Frances Cha, Seoul Editor
CNN
Chaum, Gangnam-gu Cheongdam-dong 4-1, Seoul, Korea (서울특별시 강남구 청담동 4-1); +82 2 3015 5077; www.chaum.net
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