Home Healthcare in South Korea: A Literature Review on Access, Quality, and Cost

Background: South Korea faces significant healthcare challenges due to its rapidly aging population, necessitating alternative care models to hospital-based systems. In response, home healthcare has emerged as a promising strategy to support aging in place while maintaining care continuity and system sustainability. Methods: This literature review examines home healthcare in South Korea through the lens of healthcare access, quality, and cost, which are the three dimensions of the "Iron Triangle." Online databases were used to identify papers published from 2010 to 2025, from which 39 documents were selected which examine the impact of home healthcare in South Korea, specifically in terms of access, quality, or cost. Results: Results indicate that home healthcare effectively addresses healthcare access disparities, especially for elderly and disabled populations, by overcoming geographic and mobility barriers through integrated care models and remote technologies. Quality of care is enhanced through patient-centered approaches, multidisciplinary collaboration, and proactive home visits, leading to improved clinical outcomes and higher patient satisfaction. Economically, home healthcare demonstrates potential cost savings by reducing hospitalizations and emergency care usage, particularly for patients with chronic conditions and high utilization patterns. Conclusion: Sustainability remains contingent upon effective reimbursement and resource allocation policies. Policy implications include expanding healthcare infrastructure, investing in caregiver training, adopting advanced technologies to maximize the effectiveness of home healthcare, and promoting a sustainable and equitable healthcare system in South Korea. Strategic integration of home healthcare within national insurance and long-term care frameworks will be essential to realizing its full system-level benefits.