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I am not sure if this is a good place to ask but I know a like of kpop stars get work done. They are always so beautiful and attractive. I am mixed race (part Korean) and would love to get work done that is on par with what these people get. I have wanted to appear more Korean honestly. I feel like people confuse what I am too often. Anyways, does anyone know? Or know where I can find this kind of information?

This is what honestly got me looking into it. The price differences are insane and Korea seems to have higher quality standards for it. This is why I asked. It has crossed my mind but I didn't calculate anything. I am quite jealous haha Yeah I think as people have said, it is only worth it if I am already going there for a trip and just happen to get it done. As much as I want to go and do it, I think I will save and plan. Make a vacation out of it.

I will be honest, this kind of information is often hidden. Doctors won't say anything and the stars that get work done usually don't want people to know. That being said, it is rumored that a number of K-Pop starts have gone to Dream Medical Group/SNSD Clinic. Dr. Jaegwon Wang at Oracle Clinic is said to be one that has worked on a number of them. Again, these are just rumors!

I saw that another place was recommending the Gangnam UNNI website https://www.gangnamunni.com/us, but it seems pretty bad. On the main page, I click "Facial Contouring", then "Clinics", and there's only two there -- "Jfeel Clinic" and "Reverse Clinic". After doing more research, these seem like relatively small, unknown clinics. When I click on them, their specialties are extremely basic stuff, IE: "Botox, fillers, lifting, skin, and dieting". I saw that you guys warn about fake info from aggressive clinics & PR companies, but I don't see any info here on how to choose a clinic. Stuff I found from a web search: There are huge 20+ story hospitals dedicated to plastic surgery. These seem like the best options for foreigners looking for major surgeries. Examples: BK hospital https://bkhospital.com/english/. "Offers a full range of procedures with multilingual support." ID hospital https://eng.idhospital.com/ or https://en.idhospital.com/ Specializes in facial bone surgeries https://en.idhospital.com/facial-contouring They advertise Active CCTV cameras and NO shadow doctors. Guide to Getting Plastic Surgery in South Korea as a Foreigner https://medicaltourismabroad.substack.com/p/guide-to-getting-plastic-surgery-in-south-korea-as-a-foreigner - lists BK and ID hospitals. Plastic Surgery in Korea: A Foreigner's Guide https://www.yourkorea.life/blog/health-wellness/plastic-surgery-korea-foreigner-guide-144/ How to Find Safe Plastic Surgery Clinics in Korea https://kculture.com/how-to-find-safe-plastic-surgery-clinics-in-korea/ They have a clinic search, but there are hundreds of results, and I don't see a way to filter them. The info on each clinic/hospital is also very basic. Categorized recommendations: Plastic Surgery in Korea for Foreigners: A Guide to Procedures, Costs & Top Clinics https://us-uk.bookimed.com/article/plastic-surgery-in-korea/ More, with no sorting https://bookclinics.com/republic-of-korea/seoul Medical tourism agency: https://www.beautytherapykorea.com/post/plastic-surgery-korea-guide-foreigners Could make things easier if you're willing to pay more. But a concern I read is that they might push partner clinics. Whatclinic.com: Clinics in Seoul https://www.whatclinic.com/cosmetic-plastic-surgery/south-korea/seoul They have 35 Jaw Contouring Clinics in Seoul (compared to the two from gangnamunni) https://www.whatclinic.com/cosmetic-plastic-surgery/south-korea/seoul/jaw-contouring Pitangui Medical & Beauty: https://www.whatclinic.com/cosmetic-plastic-surgery/south-korea/seoul/pitangui-medical-beauty Lots of good reviews, but most of the links on their website are broken, and the address is different. https://www.pitanguiplasticsurgery.com/ Grand Plastic Surgery: https://www.whatclinic.com/cosmetic-plastic-surgery/south-korea/seoul/grand-plastic-surgery Also has lots of good reviews. Their website is better, but still shows a different address https://eng.grandsurgery.com/about/location.php Only 1 floor vs the whole buildings for BK and ID? But the whatclinic link says "plastic surgery hospital in Korea with a total of 21 floors". AB plastic surgery: https://abplasticsurgerykorea.com/ The first result when I search for "south korea plastic surgery". They have visual representations of their main surgeries: https://abplasticsurgerykorea.com/facial-contouring/chin-tip-surgery JK plastic surgery: https://www.jkplastic.com/en/ Seems to specifically solicit foreign patients They're one of the more expensive clinics, and specialize in eye surgery according to https://seoul.clinic/jk-plastic-surgery-review/

This. Also some information about what you asked: I would say most clinics at this point offer free online consultations. These are done via Skype, Zoom, or FaceTime. They will likely request medication information and photos and then talk about what your goals are for your surgery and this can all be done before traveling. As for scheduling, you may have to pay a consultation fee which will be added to your total surgery cost so reserve the time/date of your surgery. This may or may not include a deposit to avoid last minute cancellations from people abroad. Once you have a date set, you will get a basic quote for estimated costs (which can end up being more or less post surgery depending on various things), sign forms, and you may need to get medical clearance from a local doctor which includes blood work and a physical exam a week or two out from surgery. Most clinics require you to stay in the destination for at least two weeks post-surgery to ensure proper recovery and attend follow-up appointments, and some offer all-inclusive packages to simplify the process making it easy for people traveling from far away nations.

You can get botox in Korea as low as $20 a session compared to what I have seen in the US - the cheapest being $250, that is a massive savings! I am only just looking into this but based on what I have read, it seems worth it for the cost alone. You have to consider the travel cost however so making it more of a vacation than just a trip for botox is probably more worth it.

It is known as "Plastic Surgery Capital of the World" for a reason! You will find the best doctors, get the best services, and have the best experience finding a doctor in this location. People from around the world go here. It was the first area I looked into when trying to find a doctor.

It isn't normal but it isn't not normal. Every clinic is different. Some will have one doctor that does everything, others will have specialized doctors that do only certain surgeries. It is not unheard of so nothing to worry about!

A standard BBL tends to be the most expensive averaging around $10,000. Implants are around $8,000 on average. A standard lift tends to be around $4,000 to $6,000.

It would probably help to use "Gynecomastia Reduction" when looking around. That is the medical term. I was looking for enhancement work but did see WJ Wonjin Plastic Surgery offers what you are looking for.

This. You have to understand that this sort of surgery only offers a temporary fix and in some cases it can't be repeated. So once the sagging returns, it is there for good. You would have to get looked over by a surgeon to know if it would be a good surgery or not.

This is what I hear and also have read online. You will either get as good of a job or better. I find their aftercare to be above and beyond compared to the US, Canada, etc. so I would absolutely choose Korea if I were getting breast implants.

The quality is on par with the US, and in same cases better. Overall it is better imo. You end up spending up to 50% less money for the same quality but many Korean clinics also have more comprehensive aftercare that is included in the total cost. Things like lymphatic massage, scar treatment, and stem cell therapy can be included in the package which is amazing. You will be hard-pressed to find this sort of thing included for free in the US!

Check this this reply I did earlier it might shed some light on planning:

It depends on how much time you're going to have. With only 10 days, it's better to reach out and probably decide on a clinic and book surgery. The first thing is to find out what the treatment cycle is like for what you want to have. Example: Rhinoplasty treatment cycle is about 8 days. Prep and consult day: 1 Day 2 – Surgery Day 3 – Follow-up Day 4 – Recovery / rest Day 5 – Follow-up Day 6 – Recovery / rest Day 7 – Recovery / rest Day 8 – Stitch removal and post consult Now factor in travel days (arrival / departure), that's about 2 days. That's a 10-day trip if you already have the surgery day locked in. If you plan to consult with a few places first and then decide, you have to factor in consult days. Maybe you need 2 to 3 days to consult. Then factor in the delta or difference between your decision and the next available surgery date. Let's assume this can range between 3 to 7 days. Now factor in travel days (arrival / departure), that's about 2 days. So if you want to consult first and then decide, on the low end you need about 14 days, and on the high end about 19 days.

I read this on another site. A lot of people say this. You do not want to be fresh from a surgery on a long flight!! I am not sure how long I will need but I am intending on staying at least 3 or 4 days after just to be sure.

Geurim Plastic Surgery in Gangnam tends to be at the top of the list for a lot of people. I have not had this work done but I do know someone who has gone to this clinic and had great results. You can look up reviews and before/after pictures. It is much cheaper in Korea as well.

There are a number of things you can do. You want to meet face to face with your surgeon if/when possible to confirm their credentials, name, etc. You can made sure they are board certified by the Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons. You may also be able to check this in the US (if you are in America) via the American Board of Plastic Surgery. Another common one is to request footage of your surgery. Beginning in 2021, Korea has a law that mandates any operation under anesthesia has to be recorded via cameras in the rooms and patients can request the footage and it must be provided. Red flags include extremely low costs for surgeries, allowing or outright skipping in-person consultations, and receiving uninformative, vague, or questionable answers when you raise concerns about your surgery.

Hi everyone, It's been quite some time and I wanted to provide an update about my surgeries, especially since I feel it's quite rare within this community to see follow ups after years. Quick recap: Nose: is fine. it's definitely gone down a lot, but it seems more of a natural drop than a complication. I have not experienced any complications with it. However, I am keeping an eye out that it may happen anytime due to the silicone, and am prepared to do DCF in America for revision in the future. Eyes: I am relatively dissatisfied with the one eye I mentioned. What happened is that my eyes healed differently, and one eye is more almond shaped, and the line is slightly lower, and the other eye (the one I'm not happy about) is rounded, with a thicker line. My eyeliner needs to be slightly adjusted for both, and to me, its very obvious that my eyes are actually different shapes and sizes. I say sizes because as the round eye's line is higher, my eye has become bigger. However, I will say with makeup and on certain days (lol), the difference isn't really that discernable. Obviously though to me, it is. My eyes were always a bit different in size, but when I was monolidded, the difference wasn't this big as the shape was the same (almond eyes). I plan on getting revision DES within the next 2 years back in Korea, looking for specialists who are skilled with my eyes as now it's become a bit more complicated. My eyes are still a bit fatty, which contributes to my line looking dark (and as a result, obvious that I got work done). While in Korea, I also plan on getting other treatments done (ulthera/shurink, filler, botox, fat dissolving injections), and will write up a review as well. I am actually unopposed to working with Luho, but only if I can get the main doctor, Park Il as he is very skilled with my situation. I will look for other doctors as well and am looking to do some preliminary research. I also want to state that I do think I have become prettier than I was pre-surgery. I don't think my eyes, despite its unevenness and my qualms, have made me uglier or wish I didn't get the work in the first place. Happy to answer any questions, but will not share photos out of privacy concerns.

I was looking at this clinic online. I am not sure if it is my browser or what but the website seems to be a bit broken. I am wondering if this is a legit clinic or not. Has anyone been? Or has anyone been in contact with the clinic?

Hi everyone! I am not new to plastic surgery but I am new to getting it done overseas. I have been in contact with a clinic in Korea and I found out last night that I will need to pay a fee in order to book my appointment. I am planning on going in May to get neck done (neck lift) as I have had a bit more sagging than I would like going on. The cost was just too high to get it done locally so this is what led me to look in to options in other countries. I am just not sure if this is normal. They did say the money I pay will be part of the total cost so it will be deducted when I arrive to pay the rest. Is it normal for a clinic to require money upfront when scheduling online?

I have seen operations done for as little as 3 grand but you have to be careful. If they are undercharging for a more complex surgery, it is a red flag. I'd say recovery time in total is anywhere from 6 months to 2 years. That is for a full recovery. Mine took about 9 months. I spent 28 days in Korea.

This was one of my bigger concerns. Even though I know a lot of people online say they had no issues, I worry that words can be crossed and not understood resulting in less than desirable results.

Yup! Some places have multiple doctors that specialize in certain areas. You will find this outside of Korea as well. It makes sense when a clinic offers various surgeries and beauty treatments. A doctor that does hair transplants, for example, is very unlikely to know how to do a tummy tuck!

I don't think so. If you factor in the costs for travel and stay, plus food and shopping you end up paying more. I think the above poster is right, make it a vacation and tack on getting botox as a spa treatment of sorts while there rather than just going to there only for botox.

I have no experience personally with this surgery or going to Korea. I am still in the planning phases myself. I have seen flights as low as $400 to Seoul which is the main city hub for plastic surgery in Korea. The average cost for hotels appears to be $40 per night. So between the hotel (assuming you stay 2 weeks) and get cheap flights, you are looking at around $1000 for that plus surgery cost.

I went to MACS last year in October!! Yes, they do have the advanced x-ray/scanner that generates a 3D image of your skull. I guess my case as different, I'm biologically female but wanted a more masculine face shape (I'm transsexual). I asked about double jaw and V-line but Dr. Kim told me for what i wanted, he recommended a custom made chin implant and zygoma reduction instead. It came out to be fairly expensive but I would not trust any other clinic to handle my case! I'm 6 months post-op now and could not be happier.

I am paranoid about ending up with a ghost doctor. I have read horror stories online and while I know it is more rare now as Korea is cracking down on a lot of these fake docs, I am still concerned. Are there signs to look out for, like red flags and such to let me know a doctor is not legit? I read that it was estimated around 100,000 people were victims of ghost surgery between 2008 and 2014 alone. I have for sure already decided to get my work done in Korea, I just want to narrow down my options and make sure I don't have any regrets.

I know sometimes booking can be a few weeks and that is my concern. I don't want to go to Korea and not be able to book my surgery on the same trip. I also know some of these places are rather busy, especially this time of the year it seems. I would like to book and plan everything for late April or early May. Should I contact clinics while at home and will this guarantee that I can book my surgery for the same trip? I will only be able to be in Korea for 10 days.

Hi, I’ve recently undergone a lip lift, corner lip lift, and tip plasty at Retmus and wanted to share my experience! A lip lift is something I have always considered doing. So when I came across Retmus and read about how they specialized in lip lifts and the technique that Dr. Chung uses to minimize scarring, I immediately thought it was time and booked my consultation. My consultation was thorough and pretty straight forward. Dr. Chung recommended for me to do a tip plasty, upper lift lift, and corner lip lift. For my consultation I hired an english interpreter. Even though the doctor speaks and understands english, you’ll still need an english interpreter. So I hired an interpreter for my consultation, surgery, and stitch removal day. For my surgery, I was really nervous and anxious. But at the same time, I was excited for the change. I remembered going to sleep and waking up from surgery. When I woke up from surgery, I felt great! I had no pain and experienced no side effects from the anesthesia, so I was really happy and grateful. As for recovery, I didn’t feel any pain. Just a little bit of discomfort from the tension and pressure between the nose and mouth area. I was also advised to wear a nose retainer as much as possible for six months. 2 weeks post-op. My lips and nose is still pretty swollen and numb in some areas. The scar is slowly healing. I can’t fully close my mouth or make a lot of mouth movements yet. It’s still difficult to smile and laugh. It will take some time and I still have a long way to go. Slowly but surely. Everything is healing pretty nicely Overall, I am really happy with the results!

They can be but not always. I was talking to someone about this a few months ago. I think the mark-up tends to be down to needing different approaches to surgeries. Western features are not the same as Asian ones.

I had needling done before for my adult acne and it helped. It healed about 80% of it and the rest I was able to get rid of with medication. I love that this is a simple and not so expensive option for people looking to correct skin issues. I am considering trying it for my scalp (hair growth) before going all in on hair transplants.

I will look into him and this clinic, thanks! I am struggling to find ones that specifically state they are for women that is why I wanted to ask here.

I have contacted this clinic. It is one of 4 or 5 I have contacted. This one took awhile to hear back from. I am not sure why. But they seem to be legit to me. I was asking around and found someone that I work with whose family member had gone to this clinic for some skin issue and her results were excellent.

Dr. Sangyun Hyeon is said to be one of the best. He is at the Woomchan clinic. I am not sure if they offer transplants for women but you can contact them and ask!

I would have assumed that a BBL would be substantially more than a standard lift but I guess I am not familiar enough with the surgery. Is it a combination of a lift and implant?

It seems a lot of people are not aware of this so you are not alone I am just glad to be of help. I know looking into this stuff can be a bit overwhelming and confusing. You just want to make sure you are safe and getting your money's worth.

You sound very small so I would imagine it would be on the cheaper side. Women that are lager tend to have extra costs as the surgery is a bit more invasive and recovery time ends up being longer.

Dr. Myung Ju Lee M.D. Ph.D offers this at his clinic and he gets very good reviews on Google. Check out him and see what you think. It seems his clinic offers various options as well for reduction depending on your needs or desires.

I am not entirely sure about this but you can look at the top-rated clinics and see if they offer this. I did see something about Korea looking to have hair loss be covered as a medical treatment instead of an elected surgery for Koreans which is pretty cool!

I had swelling for nearly 7 months! Once it was all gone, I was so happy with my results. What clinic did you go to? I am curious if you went to the same one that I did.

A brachioplasty is an arm lift. It is not just to remove excess fat but also skin. Usually it goes from the elbow to the armpit. It is a more complex and more expensive surgery. Lip just removes the fat. If you have both loose skin and excess fat, you will want an arm lift.

So 10 days is probably too little. I guess I should plan for a 2 week stay, maybe even 3 weeks? I will have to make sure I can budget in a stay for that long. I do wonder if some clinics offer hotel stays as well? Does anyone know?

This. I have looked into this clinic for other things and they do amazing work. I would absolutely start here. See if you like the doctor, talk to some people, ask for more information, etc.

Usually you go home the same day although some people might be asked to stay overnight. I don't think you have to worry about an extended stay. Just make sure you go early enough to allow for meeting with doctors and then time to rest before hopping back on a plane so you aren't miserable.

Yeah this sounds right. I only know because a friend of mine had it done. She didn't go to Korea however. She is planning another surgery and this time she will be going to Korea so I am hoping to schedule my surgery at the same time so we can travel together.

I have not but I have heard amazing things. They have been in business for 25 years and there is a lot of information out there about them and the doctor. You can see pictures from patients and those include many caucasian women.

I always check for reviews with anything, especially things like this. Check on Google. Do a background check into the clinic. Make sure the doctor(s) on staff are board certified. If they seem hesitant to answer questions, avoid them!

I agree with this. Certain materials can't be used in the face, especially for nose work. All modern and registered doctors would avoid using both of these materials because of the safety risks.

Hi there, I’m a female in my 40s heading to Seoul in September for lower eyelid transconjunctival surgery. Actually, some online consultations have suggested full lower bleph, but I'm only interested in the transconjunctival approach. I have two top choices and only want one more, but it's too much information and overwhelming. So far, online chats with: Wink(Dr. Seunghyup Choi) Link (Dr.Jung) Luho(Dr. Park) Roi (Dr. Young) Etonne (Dr. Cho) Note: Didn’t talk to the doctors. Just texts with consultants, but these are the doctors I'm paired with if interested in F2F consultations. Prices range from 2,6 to 5,5 mil KRW (don't want to get specific because different quotes for different recommendations). Wondering if anyone has experience with any of these clinics or doctors, even if not for this specific surgery. Much appreciated.