South Korea Weighs Paying for Hair Loss Treatment

South Korea's new president, trying to reconnect with disillusioned young voters, has returned to a possibility he raised in his unsuccessful 2022 campaign: paying for baldness treatment with public money. At a recent televised policy meeting, President Lee Jae Myung asked his health minister whether the national insurance system could begin covering hair-loss care, calling baldness a disease and arguing that young people with thinning hair see it as a "matter of survival." The proposal is now under review by the health ministry, the Wall Street Journal reports.

South Koreans are split on the idea. Kim Sang-jin, 33, who spends about $100 a month on shampoos, foams, and clinic visits, say the costs are onerous and the psychological burden is real. Seo Eun-ji, 26, who has struggled with thinning hair herself, argues that taxpayers shouldn't underwrite a largely cosmetic issue that skews male and can often be managed individually. The Korean Medical Association has also questioned whether a strained health budget should be stretched to cover hair-loss care. Jemin Park, 27, wants the government to instead invest in developing a true cure. National health insurance pays for treatments when the hair loss is caused by medical conditions. But Health Minister Jeong Eun-kyeong said it excludes people with hereditary hair loss because that does not threaten someone's life, per the BBC.

The national fixation on appearance forms the backdrop. In a society where job applications routinely require photos and "lookism" is an accepted term, hair can feel like a professional credential as much as a personal trait, per the Journal. Polling suggests more than three-quarters of South Koreans think everyone worries about hair loss, and roughly half say they're interested in treatments even if they show no signs of balding. Lee Won-woo, 33, said hair loss "has seriously eroded my confidence," per the BBC. But he doesn't think the insurance system can handle the cost of treating baldness. "It's a natural part of aging, not an illness or a disease," Lee said. "I understand the emotional pain, but that doesn't change the reality."