In Newsweek's evaluation of the world's best hospitals across 12 specialties, major hospitals in Korea ranked among the very top.
On the 11th, Newsweek released the rankings for the "2026 World's Best Specialized Hospitals." The results combine surveys of more than 40,000 medical professionals across some 30 countries conducted with the global research firm Statista.
Samsung Medical Center ranked third in the world for cancer for the second straight year, following Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and MD Anderson Cancer Center in the United States. Asan Medical Center placed fourth and Seoul National University Hospital eighth. Among the top 10 cancer hospitals, four are in the United States and three are in Korea. The remaining spots went to France, the United Kingdom, and Canada, one each.
Asan Medical Center ranked within the global top 10 in six specialties: gastroenterology (4th), endocrinology (4th), cancer (4th), neurology (6th), urology (6th), and orthopedics (8th). It is the only hospital in Korea to do so. It also ranked highly in cardiology (17th), pulmonology (20th), cardiac surgery (30th), pediatrics (58th), and obstetrics and gynecology (87th).
Earlier this year, Asan Medical Center ranked 25th worldwide, the highest among Korean hospitals, in Newsweek's overall world hospital rankings.
Samsung Medical Center climbed four spots year over year to 19th in pulmonology, keeping its No. 1 position in Korea for the third straight year. It is also in the global top 10 in three specialties, including gastroenterology (5th) and urology (10th).
Seoul National University Hospital ranked second in the world and first in Korea in urology. Its children's hospital (pediatrics) was also ranked 11th in the world and first in Korea. It earned strong evaluations across multiple specialties, including endocrinology (5th), cancer (8th), orthopedics (24th), neurology (26th), gastroenterology (34th), cardiology (48th), and obstetrics and gynecology (78th).
Severance Hospital was selected No. 1 in Korea in neurosurgery (13th) and obstetrics and gynecology (56th). It ranked highly in orthopedics (9th), endocrinology (12th), urology (21st), cancer (22nd), pulmonology (30th), gastroenterology (32nd), and neurology (38th).
Seoul St. Mary's Hospital ranked in the upper tier in endocrinology (11th), gastroenterology (12th), urology (17th), cancer (42nd), neurology (47th), pediatrics (86th), and orthopedics (93rd).
In addition, many Korean hospitals made the world's top 100. In cardiology, Korea University Anam Hospital (92nd) made the list. In endocrinology, Kyunghee University Hospital (28th), Gangnam Severance Hospital (54th), Hanyang University Seoul Hospital (65th), Jeonbuk National University Hospital (71st), Ajou University Hospital (81st), Seoul National University Bundang Hospital (84th), Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital (95th), and Korea University Guro Hospital (99th) received strong evaluations.
In gastroenterology, Korea University Anam Hospital (33rd) made the list, while in neurology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital (39th), Chung-Ang University Seoul Hospital (50th), and Gangnam Severance Hospital (95th) ranked within the world's top 100.
In neurosurgery, Gangnam Severance Hospital (35th) made the list, while in cancer, the National Cancer Center (47th) and Seoul National University Bundang Hospital (63rd) were ranked.
In orthopedics, Kyunghee University Hospital (23rd), Kangbuk Samsung Hospital (79th), Gangnam Severance (81st), and Seoul National University Bundang Hospital (90th) made the top 100, while in pulmonology, Inha University Hospital (35th), Ajou University Hospital (97th), and Chung-Ang University Seoul Hospital (99th) were ranked.
In urology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital (18th), Korea University Anam Hospital (28th), Gangnam Severance Hospital (45th), Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital (61st), and Ajou University Hospital (92nd) ranked within the world's top 100.