Liver Disease: Understanding Your Liver Health in Korea

The liver is the largest internal organ, performing critical functions including detoxification, protein synthesis, bile production, glucose regulation, and drug metabolism. Liver disease encompasses a spectrum from mild, reversible conditions to severe, life-threatening cirrhosis and liver failure.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) — now renamed metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) — is the most common liver condition globally and in Korea. It is driven by obesity, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and high-triglyceride diets. In many people it causes no symptoms and is discovered incidentally on ultrasound. A proportion of NAFLD cases progress to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), fibrosis, and cirrhosis. Alcohol-related liver disease is also a significant concern in Korea given the country's drinking culture. Viral hepatitis remains a global concern: Hepatitis B is preventable by vaccination and has been part of Korea's national immunisation schedule since the 1980s, dramatically reducing new infections; Hepatitis C is now curable with direct-acting antiviral medications in an 8–12 week course.

Korea's approach to liver health benefits from a strong preventive care infrastructure through NHIS national health screening (which includes liver function tests), a long-running vaccination programme that has sharply reduced new hepatitis B infections, and advanced hepatology services at major hospitals including liver transplant programmes. For NAFLD and alcohol-related liver disease — both highly relevant in Korea's population context — lifestyle modification (weight loss, exercise, reduced alcohol intake, diet improvement) remains the most effective treatment. Even modest weight loss of 7–10% can significantly reduce liver fat and inflammation.