ashly117 Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 I feel rather embarrassed writing this, but it has to be done. I am famous on this forum with regards to the back of head augmentation surgery with the amazing Dr Song from Jogak. I am also less famous for writing a review on “Tony” the Airbnb host that accompanied me through this process. After listening to what happened with other fellow forum members, from reflecting on my own experiences, AND from confirming with my surgeon, I feel betrayed. And so I cannot confidently recommend him to anyone else. I can see how things could’ve put me in a bad position, but I was lucky. First of all, we have to understand that people won’t do good to others without expecting anything back in return. There has to be a business goal behind anything anyone does. No one will transport you freely from clinic to clinic and offer free translation from the goodness of their heart, unless this person was your immediate family member/best friend/partner . Tony is actually a broker, but he doesn’t tell you this. Brokering for surgeries in Korea is a way for a middle man to be involved in the process, and they take a cut from the surgery. Brokers usually ask for your name and DOB to set up appointments and to claim the cut. Let’s take ITEM for example. From browsing through my previous emails, I saw that ITEM quoted me at ~6.8 mil KRW for head augmentation surgery. But when I visited them, they quoted me at 8 mil KRW. They were willing to go slightly a bit lower if I payed by cash. At first I thought ITEM was crazy to increase the prices like that, but now I realize that it was because I had Tony by my side which caused the increase in price. ITEM pads up the prices to give X% of the surgery cost to the broker. I also remember when Tony was on the phone with ITEM after the initial consultation, he seemed visibly angry and started bad mouthing ITEM. I cannot be sure on what they discussed since it was all in Korean, but it seemed out of character at the time. I can see now that he could not reach a proper deal with ITEM since I strongly said my budget was between 6 - 6.4 mil KRW. See I didn’t know he would profit in such a sneaky way. All those times, I was feeling bad for this guy, and then I would buy him lots of dinners and lunches, which can drain your budget if you aren’t careful. This changes the context of decision making drastically which is very dangerous and shady. I was lucky to find Jogak because the doctor is very reasonable and was able to accommodate me for the price I had requested for. It's also a small clinic. I would say having a middle man is not a bad thing. Sometimes it’s a good thing. Tony actually achieved the results I wanted, but mainly because Jogak was very accommodative and I hated ITEM anyway… so he basically helped by not doing any severe damage which I’m grateful for. Again, I want to say that the experience with Tony wasn't too bad. He made my time in Korea kinda enjoyable. Everything I detailed in my previous review was true. I feel he has a good heart...but misguided. Learning the truth has changed the context drastically, which is why I retract my statements supporting him. I would’ve supported him if he was just transparent with his motives. Ironically, if he was honest and straightforward on why he does what he does, I would’ve paid him the cut he would’ve received from the clinics. I will not be staying with him on my future visits to Korea. Please don’t tell your Airbnb host that you’re coming to Korea for surgery. I’ve also recorded us having a conversation when I confronted him about all this. His general way of mumbling and stuttering and making unintelligible words should show that he’s a bit unhinged and tries to weasel his way out of basic common sense questions . Best to stay away from this guy. Here's the link (I've edited and shortened the convo as the original was like 45 min long): mod note: link *REMOVED* Also I would report the user @kkpeobe. She seems to be in leagues with Tony and actively PMs people around. She is indirectly responsible for causing massive problems in other people’s procedures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparklingeyes Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 Thanks for sharing OP, I appreciate your story and point of view. I agree that we need to be more careful abroad because we just don't know how the culture and habit there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yiseul Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 It was so obvious that “angel” Tony was a broker. I suspected him so right after the first post about him. The best thing to do for plastic surgery shopping is to be by all yourself. Don’t tell anyone about your surgery plan, appointments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perceval Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 For some odd reason after hearing about brokers in Korea, I had a gut feeling that Tony would be one of them... Thank you for sharing this with us. We really do appreciate your honesty man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlydzz Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 Thank u Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gats Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 Well done, maybe you can ask pf to remove your old posts recommending him since you were tricked? You were trusting and believed this guy was kind and just wanted to help, but as you learned everyone always has an ulterior motive. My hunch was he was either a broker or was interested in getting to know young women as no airbnb host would drive someone around for free with no strings attached. The plastic surgery industry is huge in Korea, people want to make money off you so you need to be careful and don't trust everything you hear. This even applies to doctors as we've seen plenty of clinics recommend procedures that a person doesn't need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mn31515 Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 Lessons learned: 1) Always trust your gut instinct 2) If it seems too good to be true, it's too good to be true Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eurasianbeauty Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 I'm glad the truth came out - with proof. Please do research on everyone you work with from clinics to translators to accommodations. Where there is smoke, there's fire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashly117 Posted March 23, 2018 Author Share Posted March 23, 2018 Thanks guys for the support. A couple of things I forgot to mention but worth noting: - This guy smokes. HARD. Second chain smoking is harmful for people recovering especially after surgery. - This guy is racist against black people. This is very disgusting. I've heard him use the "N" word a couple of times. - Will encourage you to pick doctors based off of their education alone (studying at SNU - Seoul National University is a good enough reason to pick a doctor in his mind) which makes no sense, as I'd rather place more weight on experience and quality of result. He pushed hard for this. Please use this thread to expose him whenever possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eurasianbeauty Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 Thank you for you honesty. I am glad I went with my instincts and stayed away from Tony. I am half Black and would not stand for being called names (nor for him to call anyone else a name). There is a large African American population in Korea and many Black people from around the world go to Seoul for surgery. Racism is wrong and being a POC, he should know better than to be racist against other minorities. I am glad the Black people here now know not to go with him. Why he would smoke when he has plastic surgery patients in and out of his home is beyond me. For those who don't understand how smoking can impact you, it gets in EVERYTHING. Hair, clothes, fabric... even if he is not in the same room as you, smoke travels through the air and vents. They tell you to not smoke weeks before or after surgery. And second hand smoke has been found to cause cancer. Your immune system is down after surgery. A smoky environment is the last place you should be in. I can tell you this because my mother smoked my entire life until she died. It's disgusting and unhealthy habit (she died from lung cancer). Please listen to the audio at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamie82 Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 Thanks for sharing... I too felt many things were not right and decided against him. What's more important is how the tactics evolve here on TPF. If you are here long enough, you'd notice it used to be illegal brokers masquerading as members of a group to get group surgery discounts many years ago. Then this changed to translators who seemed to go all out of their way for measly below market rate fees. Then this evolved to guest houses and eventually airbnb. Who knows what is next but be wary and trust your instincts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashly117 Posted March 23, 2018 Author Share Posted March 23, 2018 LOL. I can't believe the mod removed my link here. Tony probably complained, but that means he saw this ;D His reviews make him seem like an amazing person, but I plan on reporting his Airbnb profile because I personally believe what he does is unethical. If you guys agree, please do so too...I'd be happy to share his Airbnb link thru PM. I really think it would help other future patients. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yiseul Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 Even though I have no personal experience with Tony (after seeing first ever post about him, I directly thought he was a broker) what he does makes me disgusted. I am with you on reporting him to Airbnb. Send me his listing link, please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc_134 Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 I... am speechless. I am now reconsidering my trip to korea. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashly117 Posted March 24, 2018 Author Share Posted March 24, 2018 Yeah, no POC should have to feel unsafe like this. Racism is absolutely wrong and in especially today's world with social media, we are exposed to so many different cultures. And we realize that at our core we're very similar if not the same. Perhaps we still need a certain amount of intellect to understand this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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