Rehabilitation Across Borders: A Comparison of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy Services in India and South Korea

Rehabilitation is an essential component of healthcare for individuals living with disability, injury, neurological disorders, chronic diseases, developmental conditions and age-related functional limitations. Physiotherapy and occupational therapy are two important components within multidisciplinary rehabilitation. Although both professions contribute to improving functional independence and quality of life, their organization, regulation, accessibility and integration within healthcare systems differ across countries. This comparative narrative review examines physiotherapy and occupational therapy services in India and South Korea, with particular attention to professional regulation, rehabilitation infrastructure, workforce information, public and private service delivery, community-based rehabilitation, home-based care and technology-assisted approaches. Government publications, national statistical sources, regulatory documents and peer-reviewed literature were examined to identify major characteristics of rehabilitation systems in the two countries. India has developed a national regulatory framework for specified allied and healthcare professions and provides rehabilitation through government hospitals, disability rehabilitation programmes, district-level services and private healthcare facilities. South Korea has an established statutory framework for physical therapists and occupational therapists and a structured system of designated rehabilitation medical institutions. Both countries have significant rehabilitation capacity, but they face different challenges related to accessibility, workforce planning, population needs and service integration. The comparison suggests that India and South Korea can benefit from reciprocal learning rather than one-way policy transfer. India can draw lessons from South Korea’s structured rehabilitation institutions, workforce information, health-system organization and technology-assisted care, while South Korea can learn from India’s experience with community-oriented, geographically distributed and resource-adapted healthcare approaches. Practical cooperation through joint research, professional exchange, tele-rehabilitation, assistive technology and community-based pilot programmes could translate this mutual learning into measurable improvements in rehabilitation services.