kino

Entering public Kakao group chats can be helpful and make the journey of PS seem less lonely. You may want to break off into 1:1 discussions with people in the group. This is a method to do that while protecting your anonymity.

Tip:

Try to avoid sharing your Kakao Talk IDs in public or using the same ID for clinic communications in public group communications. You can get spammed or traced by a Korean clinic staff member you have engaged in the past who may begin stalking you in group chats and manipulating conversations around you in order to lure you into their clinic (Yes, this is a sad reality that happens in a very cut throat industry located in a young Asian country).

Method 1: Kakao PMs

It's not recommended to enter Kakao group chats with your default Kakao ID that you also use to chat with very popular and frequently mentioned clinics on forums, this is because the clinic staff may monitor these discussions. Note: Beauty Hacker is blocked in Korea, so conversations here are secure. 

Instead, it's good to create a seperate chat "Profile" and use this to enter public group chats. This will allow for 1:1 chat ability and protect your anonymity at the same time.

This tutorial will show you how to do that:

On Kakao Talk:

1. Go to General Settings
2. Click - Chats
3. Click - My Open Chatrooms
4. Click - Create
5. Click - Profile
6. Create a profile name and make the photo something random, make things like the URL random
7. On the chat type below - "Allow KakaoTalk Profile Only" should be white or unchecked (respect other's anonymity)
8. Enable public search unchecked
9. Go back to the chat rooms you are in, click on your profile on the chat members list. Click edit and choose your new profile. 

Now people will be able to PM you.

Warning: 3 years ago some group chats may force you to use your Kakao ID and not provide options to stay anonymous. These might be "trap chats," or promotional echo chambers ran by sponsored patients. They operate the chat to lure prospects and send and receive back channel information to and from clinic coordinators to manipulate participants and discussions. 

Method 2: TappaTalk and Forums (Beauty Hacker, Purse, Soompi)

You need either a Beauty Hacker account or a purse bag forum account and to download the app TappaTalk and search and add beauty hacker or the purse community forum.

TappaTalk is an app to easily manage your forum accounts and PMs (works with Beauty Hacker and some other PS forums). It will allow you to send and receive personal messages (PMs) from the app on your phone. 

You can make an account on Beauty Hacker or a handbag forum known for PS (plastic surgery) that uses TapaTalk. 

Tell people your forum username and they can log-in and message you there. 

• iphone app
• android app

Photo Tutorial Method 1: Go to General Settings

Click My Open Chatrooms

Click Create

Create Profile

GO BACK TO CHATROOMS

Click Edit Profile

PICK YOUR NEW PROFILE

4 hours ago, C.S.H said:

I would choose Korean doctors. If you are able to find a good surgeon then you can get overall facial harmony. A skilled Korean doctor looks at all angles of the face and is able to determine your lacking points. US doctors are brilliant at doing one specific thing. Unlike Korean clinics which have teams of people to give you the best results. In the end both are skilled but you must find the one that can enhance your looks. Right? 

I think this is a unique aspect since Korean clinics can have 2 and as many as 10 or more surgeons working at one clinic, whereas in the US they are mostly 1 surgeon private practices. 

Researching Plastic Surgery in Korea?

Welcome to Beauty Hacker. We are a community of rational and informed decision makers. We are a drama free community that promotes sound and reasonable thinking for complex financial and medical decisions in Korea. 

• Join our forum and get advice from past & current patients going to Korea
• We made this forum because other forums are not managed or focussed on surgery have have too many fake accounts / reviews
• We also have some chat groups below
• Our forum does not work or load in Korea. This is done to block disinformation spread by aggressive clinics.

THERE IS A LOT OF FAKE INFORMATION OUT THERE ESPECIALLY ON FORUMS ABOUT PURSES

One important thing you need to understand is if you are basing your research on a forum about purses, then you need to know that most of that information there is fake. Korean clinics and PR agencies employ armies of English speaking Koreans to fabricate 1000's of fake reviews and online personas about plastic surgery.

This is why we made Beauty Hacker

Beauty Hacker is 100% Blocked in Korea, and we are a community of experienced foreign patients who seek real information and our admin group is composed of programmers, research analysts, language experts, hackers, doctors, nurses, lawyers, artists and psychologists. This is so we develop a community that is well rounded in both information and security. 

These are chat groups where we share information and support for others planning to go to Korea for surgery.

Download Kakao App: iOS | Android

• Kakao CHAT LINK: Eyes & Nose
• Kakao CHAT LINK: Facial Contouring

To get the chat password / code:

Step 1: Make an account on Beauty Hacker (this forum)

Step 2: Sign into the forum click the below link and PM the admin to request chat pass code:

https://beautyhacker.com/messenger/compose/?to=1

YOU MUST MAKE A MINMUM OF 3 POSTS ON OUR FORUM TO JOIN CHATS

EXAMPLES:

• Introducing yourself and your goals
• Asking or answering questions travel, beauty, etc...
• Responding to some else's posts

On 1/29/2019 at 7:44 PM, princessegg11 said:

Cannot agree with this enough. I too got DES by Dr Seo last Nov and it turned hooded already. Really wish I had asked for a big crease! 

Are you planning to go back for revision? Sorry to hear that, hopefully it will get corrected.

Were you able to find it a buddy? Would it be helpful to make a calendar on here?

Any Korean resident or non-resident who carries in less than USD10,000 into Korea doesn't need to declare it with the customs.

If the amount exceeds USD10,000, you are required to declare it when entering Korea. But no customs duties, taxes or fees will be imposed.

Customs officials may request to see the entire money for verification.

Let's say you brought in $18,000 USD, declared it, but you only spend $4,000 in Korea. If you carry out USD14,000 after bringing in USD18,000, you don't have to get approval from or declare with the Bank of Korea. (under the Foreign Exchange Transactions Regulation Article 6-2)

What happens if I am bringing in more than $10,000 USD and I don't declare it to just skip the paperwork and fuss. 

You may be subject to less than 1 year of imprisonment or less than 100 million won of fine under the provisions of Article 28 of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act of Korea.

Source: Korea Customs

If i bring more than $10,000 cash, must I declare it to customs?

(REPOSTED from Kakao Chats)

What are some useful apps for navigating Korea? 

I recommend using Uber Eats.

You can have it delivered right to your hotel. The tricky part is inputting the address correctly into the app. If you are staying in a hotel ask the lobby staff do it for you. 

Make sure you know the correct English form for inputting your address, usually the app will auto correct it for you.

Thanks for posting and welcome. If you are planning to get facial bone contouring only, then you may want to consider places that specialize in maxillofacial surgery:

• EverM Dental - Dr Yoon 
• The Face Dental -  Dr. Lee 
• EU Dental - Dr. Kim 
• Zeah Dental - Dr Kang
• Jum Dental - Dr Lee

It would be easier to do a homestay or stay at an airbnb ran by some caring hosts or Korean parents who have empty nest syndrome since there kids moved away.

A word of advice for doing airbnb or homestay is to not mention a clinic's name before your surgery, and if a host is insistent about taking you to the clinic themselves for consultation that's not a good sign. Sometimes they can be doing something know as secret referrals and trying to get a cut of your fees. 

There are really nice places out there though. I will try to dig up some worth exploring, but I am not endorsing them. 

Thanks for posting this. I will come back with thoughts and suggestions. 

Thanks for posting, we'll look into organizing this into a better table as well. Some good finds.

On 12/7/2018 at 3:45 PM, loosesocks said:

Thanks, Kino.

Can i have your opinion on Korea's plastic surgery confidentiality? Will they be courteous about keeping patient's info safe?

Yes, for the most part they will maintain patient privacy. However, their data handling is not as strict as say the US or advanced European nations. 

Some people wonder if their lips will change after genioplasty, and the short answer is yes, this will be a tradeoff. 

A genioplasty, especially one that moves the chin forward will make lips appear thinner, especially the lower lip by curling it slightly inward. This is due to the pull of the soft tissue by the advanced bone. Also the mentalis muscle that controls the lower lip is cut and needs to be reattached after the surgery. How precisely and where it's re-attached will effect the lower lips appearance.

Further Reading

Evaluation of Lip changes and Smile Aesthetics following Genioplasty: A Retrospective Study

On 12/6/2018 at 12:15 PM, loosesocks said:

Hi! I'm a 23 y.o female looking to get primary v-line and lipo done in Seoul on late 2019. Found this forum when i joined another forum to do some research about surgery.

 

Welcome! there are a lot of experienced folks here, so feel free to post any topics and questions in the forums, and people can help or give feedback.

Hi Nikki, that's a bummer, but we'll help you get a new short list. What are some of your goals for your nose? Is it first time nose surgery?

21 hours ago, loosesocks said:

if i had an appointment with any clinic and they asked my personal info, should i fill it truely? They also will be taking pics of me, how safe it is for me to do that? I am kinda scared that they will misuse my photos or spread it and/or any schemes.. People can do anything.

A hospital needs to ask for your information to create a medical record, so you should fill it out truthfully since they will also create a certificate of surgery, which is a legal document that proves you had surgery and may protect you if some issues arise in the future.

Also, some clinics provide tax refund documents, and knowing your official name and passport information are needed for that.

You can for plastic surgeons:

Here is a website to look up Korean plastic surgeons in an online database.

But not easy for oral and maxillofacial dental surgeons

The doctors you listed are oral and maxillofacial dental surgeons and there is no English database to check board membership status.

You said not to post website info, but here it is to cross compare. I doubt that this information is false because clinic competition is so fierce in Korea, they often audit and self police each other's information,  so if there was a false education credential it would be called out.

EverM Dental: Dr. Kyu-shik Yoon

• D.D.S. Ministry of Health and Welfare of the Republic of Korea
• Specialist of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery
• National Board Certified Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon

Education

• Yonsei University College of Dentistry (World Rank: 46 / Top 3 Korea University)

Relevant Board Memberships

• Member, Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
• Member, Korean Association of Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Past Employers:

• Resident, Oral and Maxillofacial Department, Yonsei University Hospital 
• Clinical Professor, Oral and Maxillofacial Department, Yonsei University Hospital 

The Face Dental: Dr. Joong-Kyou Lee

• D.D.S. Ministry of Health and Welfare of the Republic of Korea
• Specialist of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery
• National Board Certified Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon

Education

• Dankook University College of Dentistry (World Rank: Unranked / Asia Ranking: 148)
• Ph.D Degree Dept of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Dankook University

Relevant Board Memberships

• Member, Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
• Member, Korean Association of Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Past Employers:

• ID Hospital Chief Doctor Orthognathic Surgery

EU Dental: Dr. Jong-Yoon Kim

• D.D.S. Ministry of Health and Welfare of the Republic of Korea
• Specialist of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery
• National Board Certified Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon

Education

• Yonsei University College of Dentistry (World Rank: 46 / Top 3 Korea University)

Relevant Board Memberships

• Member, Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
• Member, Korean Association of Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
• Member, Korean Dental Association

Past Employer

• Gangnam Severance Hospital (Residency program of Oral and Maxillofacial surgery)
• ID Hospital Chief Doctor Orthognathic Surgery
• Member of the Korean Dental Association

A lot of us have been there, but sometimes it's good to take a breather from thinking. Also please note that reviews are very subjective especially if you're reading ones on sites like purse forum there is a lot of disinformation on there and that's why we made beauty hacker to make a better research community. But here are some cautions about researching:

Researching Plastic Surgery (PS) too much can:

• Make you a perfectionist and develop unrealistic expectations
• Consume your thoughts and distract you from other things in life
• Create a paradox of choice and analysis paralysis by knowing too many options

I recommend to create some clear goals, understand the risks, hope for an improvement, but have some flexibility that it won't be exactly like how you imagined. Try to see if you can do it in your home country first, or use that opportunity to learn more about treatments before going to Korea.

@JLBCGP thanks for posting!

Welcome @C.S.H

@honeyjello nice beauty hacking, very good insights into the clinics in this post and the consultation experience. 

"Baspo Ointment" 바스포연고 (Top Tube: small white and orange color tube with green cross )

Topical antibiotic ointment to treat various infectious diseases caused by bacteria.

• Manufacturer: Green Cross
• Ingredients:
  • Bacitracin 400IU/g 
  • Polymyxin B Sulfate 5000IU/g
  • Neomycin Sulfate 3.5mg/g

"Scar Derm Gel" 스카덤겔 (Bottom Tube: large white and red color)

Topical ointment to prevent scaring.

• Manufacturer: Sin Sin Pharm
• Ingredients:
  • Heparin Sodium 50 IU/g, 100 mg/g
  • Allantoin 10 mg/g

Quote

I bought these a few months ago for rhino scar recovery. Can’t remember the purpose of each one. Does anyone know?