All Activity

I am booked for my surgery for the end of June. I have my hotel and everything. I will be heading to South Korea on the 23rd and my surgery day is the 25th. I gave myself a few days to settle in. I am a bit concerned though that I will be spending most of the time there in a hotel because of swelling. I have heard people say some are worse than others but I also see so many people exploring the city they are in after surgery. Won't I look like a mess? LOL

I usually just check on Trip Advisor and other similar sites for stuff like this as you get mostly real reviews from real people. According to them, GLAD Gangnam COEX Center is the best but I would imagine it is a more expensive one by the looks of it!

A friend had lipo for love handles done and she said it was the most expensive lipo at the clinic she went to. This was in Canada. I am not sure what makes that one of the more expensive ones there but not in Korea. Maybe the tools and methods they use?

I read it mostly doesn't. This was something I was curious about. Everything seems to be fairly close so just leaving on time would or should be enough but I guess if you want to be sure or have less travel time between surgery and your hotel, it can't hurt to find something close by.

That is a good point. I will make sure I have digital copies of everything so I can just e-mail them to the clinic. That makes a lot more sense. Thanks for pointing that out!

If you find out that this isn't the case, should you report them? If this is a law requirement, I would imagine they would want to know about this. I never knew this was a thing.

I am just wondering once I book something with a clinic, should I try to get a hotel near the clinic? I am not sure how busy Korea is or how hard it is to get around. I have heard of people saying they were "late" to appointments because they stayed too far away.

They allow for this? I mean showing other people's before and afters. I would imagine if they do, the patients had to sign off on it. I figured everything they had just got posted online anyways.

I heard great things of the V-Beam for rosacea. I think it is for broken blood vessels and redness. A friend of a friend got this done in Korea and her skin looks completely different now. Not sure how long it lasts or what not. They do have a lot of k-beauty brands and lines for redness too. You can check on amazon.

They will have cameras directly on what is being performed but they don't record the entire room. It is actually rare for this in the US. I have never been to one that has and visible cameras anywhere.

That is one of the hardest parts! Narrowing down doctors and clinics because there are SO MANY! I was thrown off when I was looking. In my local area, we have like maybe 4 or 5 clinics within and hour of where I live. Over there, you will find like 5 clinics within a few minutes of each other.

Oh there are clinics that specialize in this kind of treatment? I had no idea. That would probably make them better than most clinics!

I must have had the wrong information. Thanks for pointing that out. I did look it up again and you are right, they are cheaper on average in Korea. I guess that makes sense considering everything else is plastic surgery wise.

So you want a neck lift and a partial face lift from the sound of it. You can start with that by looking into the top rated clinics or doctors in South Korea for those particular surgeries. You will likely end up with a sizable list but it can help you narrow things down.

Thanks everyone. I was just curious. I am not sure what my friend's sister will do but I will mention the Texas thing. Maybe she already knows about it, who knows. I mean there are clinics that offer help but it is so expensive, it is insane!

Is this a law in the US as well? I am not sure if they have cameras on operating rooms or not but I guess it makes sense for legal reasons. Can you request a copy of the tape too once the surgery is complete?

You'd be surprised by how many people are overwhelmed. Anything new is overwhelming, especially when it comes to medical related things. I had issues myself. One thing I will say is to trust your gut. If a doctor/clinic doesn't feel right, just find another one. There are TONS of them in Korea.

My sister got lipo. Not in Korea but in the states. She found out the cost differences after the fact. She paid $12,000 in 2019 and the same work would have cost her $8,500 in Korea to give you an idea.

Yes. This is one of the big red flags. I don't think people think much about it though unfortunately. I will say that I do wish there was an app for non-Korean natives/speakers to browse feedback from clinics from people. It is hard to find anything that doesn't have poor translations.

Holy cow! That sounds absolutely terrifying! I am sorry that happened to her but thank you for sharing. I know people don't like hearing about this stuff but it is better to be throughout with all doctors and clinics than risk anything like this!

I know, I just want to make sure people know all their options as laser costs and other options like this can add up fast. It is not always ideal to travel that far to get treatment either.

I wanted to post this as a PSA for new members and anyone considering a clinic in Korea. Most clinics are up to code, registered/licensed, and follow their strict laws but some skirt them. One of the biggest and easiest to spot red flags are a lack of CCTV in the operating rooms. Korea requires this BY LAW. If a clinic does not have cameras in the operating rooms, decline service with them and fine a different clinic.

You can join the Discord through the forum for some recommendations as far as clinics go or just search around. Most of them have great ratings. I would make sure no matter which clinic you are considering though that you make sure they are certified by law in Korea. They have a medical board that publicly shows this online. Expect to pay anywhere from 30% to 60% less compared to American prices. The cost depends on how much work you will need.

Not everyone gets relief from this stuff and do need other options. I have a friend that nothing worked for her and she did laser work and it made it much better. Her skin even looks younger too!

Something I was told awhile back was to go to a local clinic in the country I am in first. Most of the time, you don't pay for a consultation but if you do, it tends to be cheap. You will get a better understanding of what work you want or need done and be better prepared for when you talk to a Korean doctor, especially if this is your first surgery.