A conversation with MEDIPACT co-founders Kaylee Park (CEO) and Nurana Samadova (CMO) on safety, communication, and what real end-to-end support should look like for international patients in Korea.
Korea’s medical reputation draws patients from around the world, but the experience can still feel uncertain for non-Korean patients: different systems, unfamiliar expectations, and the simple stress of not knowing what questions to ask. In this interview, MEDIPACT co-founders Kaylee Park and Nurana Samadova share why they built a “one-stop” support model for international patients, how they approach clinic selection and patient safety, and how they ensure patients feel informed and supported from the first message to aftercare back home.
We match each patient with the most appropriate specialist for their needs, ensuring a safe and trustworthy treatment experience in Korea. – Kaylee Park, CEO & Co-founder, MEDIPACT
Could you briefly introduce yourselves, your role at MEDIPACT, and what a typical day looks like for you?
Kaylee Park: I’m Heejung, and my English name is Kaylee. I’m the CEO of MEDIPACT. I oversee business strategy, service development, and overall operations, leading our medical tourism services for international patients.
Nurana Samadova: My name is Nurana. I’m originally from Azerbaijan, but I’ve been living in Korea for 10 years now. I’m the co-founder and CMO of MEDIPACT, and I oversee overall marketing operations, including client experience and communications.
How would you describe MEDIPACT in one or two sentences to someone hearing about it for the first time?
Nurana Samadova: MEDIPACT is a one-stop support system for international patients coming to Korea for medical treatments, plastic surgery, K-beauty experiences, and aesthetic experiences. We help throughout the whole journey by coordinating procedures, providing language assistance, follow-up care, and everything in between.
The name MEDIPACT carries the idea of a promise to patients. What promise are you making, and why was that important enough to build a company around?
Kaylee Park: MEDIPACT is a combination of “medical” and “pact,” representing our promise to every patient. That promise reflects our commitment to safety, trustworthiness, and transparent communication, while delivering responsible, end-to-end care throughout the entire treatment journey.
How did the two of you first meet, and when did building a company together start to feel real?
Nurana Samadova: We met while working on a global influencer project together, and we clicked right away. We realized our goals and visions were aligned. While doing different collaborations with global influencers, we saw that we could combine our strengths and bring positive impact into the industry.
What specific problem in the medical tourism space convinced you MEDIPACT needed to exist?
Nurana Samadova: Through influencer campaigns, we connected foreign influencers with local Korean brands. One time we worked with a local aesthetic clinic where we brought foreign influencers. Korea has a top healthcare system and world-class doctors, but when it comes to full care and support for foreign patients, there’s often a lack of communication, plus language barriers and cultural misunderstandings. We realized those gaps needed to be filled, so foreign patients can receive the same quality of care as locals.
Nurana, you lead marketing and customer service at MEDIPACT after a career across tech, cosmetics, retail, and medical sectors. How do those experiences shape the patient journey and communication today?
Nurana Samadova: I’ve been in marketing and customer experience for a long time, across multiple industries. One thing I know for sure is that customer behavior differs, not only by industry, but also by person. People don’t have the same experiences, fears, or decision-making process. So we don’t focus on one funnel. We try to customize each patient experience to their needs. When I build communication and strategy, I focus on personalizing each interaction so we can cover their needs and build trust.
And Kaylee, you oversee the company’s vision, operations, and growth, with a background in public healthcare and service strategy. How does that influence how MEDIPACT works with hospitals and doctors in Korea?
Kaylee Park: My experience at a public healthcare center gave me meaningful insight into the medical field through conversations with diverse patients. Collaborating with doctors and nurses helped me build medical knowledge and a natural understanding of patient care. Also, having medical professionals in my network provides valuable perspectives on the health industry, and that informed how MEDIPACT should approach and shape medical tourism services.
Where do your strengths complement each other, and where have you had to learn to work through differences in style or perspective?
Nurana Samadova: Kaylee is Korean and I’m a foreigner, but I’ve lived in Korea for a long time so I understand the culture. Koreans are generally fast-paced. Kaylee is very knowledgeable about the medical industry, with an operational and structured mindset. She understands how services fit into medical workflows. I’m more human-oriented. I come from customer experience and marketing, so I focus on patient needs, fears, and cultural backgrounds. That creates harmony in our work. We also had to learn each other’s working styles and priorities, recognize our strengths, and combine them in a balanced way.
Why did you choose Korea as the base for MEDIPACT, and what are Korea’s strongest advantages for international patients?
Kaylee Park: Korea is globally recognized for advanced medical technology across plastic surgery, LASIK, LASEK, dental care, and even serious diseases. International patients come for skilled doctors and strong treatment outcomes. In many countries there are long wait times and limited diagnostic systems, but Korea’s efficient healthcare infrastructure provides quick examinations, accurate diagnoses, and fast results. That makes it a trusted destination for medical care.
Many patients abroad hear “Korea has great healthcare,” but don’t know what that means in practice. What should international patients understand about the Korean medical system before they come?
Kaylee Park: The most important thing is safety. In some countries, poor medical care causes serious problems, so people don’t fully trust the system. Korea maintains a safe medical environment supported by strict regulations and strong clinic expertise. When planning medical travel, safety and trust should be the priority.
Medipact becomes the bridge international patients rely on, where they feel guided, supported and trusted throughout their whole journey. – Nurana Samadova, CMO & Co-founder, MEDIPACT
Your services include consultations, bookings, interpretation, and curated care. Walk us through a typical patient journey, from first contact to returning home.
Nurana Samadova: The journey is simple and convenient. Patients reach out through WhatsApp, our website, or Instagram DMs. We collect their information and ask about their main concerns, why they want to visit Korea, and their biggest fears. After we understand the procedures they want, we do doctor matching. We research which clinics and doctors best fit their needs, then provide recommendations. We help with bookings for procedures and often hotel recommendations too. When they arrive in Korea, we support transportation and provide language assistance through the whole process. We accompany them and provide full support, including aftercare. After they return home, we stay in touch and respond quickly if they have questions or issues.
You also work with hospitals and influencers. How do you decide which partners to work with, and what standards do you use to protect patients and your brand credibility?
Nurana Samadova: With influencers, we don’t focus only on follower count. We look for creators who are responsible, whose content is authentic and based on real stories. In the medical field, you can’t promote just anything. You have to be truthful with your audience. We look at how they communicate with their followers, engagement, and whether they build trust through responsibility and honesty.
Kaylee Park: Korea has many clinics and hospitals, which can be confusing for international patients. Some people worry about malpractice and ghost surgery. That’s why we work with hospitals and doctors who have strong clinical expertise, a proven safety record, and a no-ghost-surgery policy. We match each patient with the most appropriate specialist for their needs, so they can have a safe and trustworthy treatment experience in Korea.
Nurana, you grew up between Azerbaijan and Russia, and later came to Korea through a government scholarship. How did living across different countries shape how you think about access to healthcare?
Nurana Samadova: Living in different countries made me realize accessibility differs by language and cultural background. In your own country, it’s easier to communicate and ask questions. That’s why we focused on making services more accessible and culturally comfortable for international patients. We want to build a bridge so when patients come to Korea, it’s easier, more convenient, and they feel confident asking the doctor the right questions.
Kaylee, you also have international experience in the UK and the US in nutrition. How does that influence how you serve non-Korean patients today?
Kaylee Park: My nutrition internships in the US and UK helped me understand multicultural backgrounds and different healthcare systems. It helped me see how patient expectations and decisions vary based on medical environments.
What have been one or two defining moments so far, either big wins or difficult setbacks, that changed MEDIPACT’s direction?
Nurana Samadova: When we started, we did market research and decided to begin with Mongolia, because many Mongolian patients visit Korea. But we didn’t realize that even with a Mongolian marketer on our team, it was still difficult to build rapport due to language barriers and cultural differences. That was a turning point. We had to rethink our strategy and focus on markets where we have clearer strengths and stronger understanding. Now we focus more on English-speaking countries and Indonesia, because we work with specialists who are local and have market knowledge. For future markets, we plan deeper, data-driven analysis to assess growth potential and accessibility, and then grow gradually.
Beyond business metrics, how do you personally define success as founders in the healthcare space?
Kaylee Park: To me, success in healthcare is improving a person’s life and well-being. Healthcare is not only treating physical conditions, but also supporting mental health and quality of life. Helping patients resolve concerns and experience positive changes is what I define as success.
In three to five years, what do you hope MEDIPACT will have changed for international patients coming to Korea?
Nurana Samadova: I hope MEDIPACT becomes the bridge international patients rely on, where they feel guided, supported, and trusted throughout the whole journey, from the beginning to the moment they fly back home. I want it to be not only a service, but a real support system.
Connect with Nurana & Kaylee
To learn more about MEDIPACT’s approach to international patient support in Korea, visit their website or connect with co-founders Kaylee Park and Nurana Samadova on LinkedIn.
Interview by Vasiliki Panayi, Founder & Editor-in-Chief of The Global Founder.
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