nochu

Sorry for the late reply! I got facial fat grafting, primary DES/undereye fat repositioning, and revision rhinoplasty. It’s still healing, I’m about 2 months post op, but overall I’m satisfied with the results and the service.

 

I booked a medicial translator through Gangnam Medical Tour Center (http://medicaltour.gangnam.go.kr/main.do?lang=en). It’s a government agency that connects you with translators that they approve. It’s 30k won, minimum 2 hours. You should request one at least a week ahead of time to ensure that they have someone available.

I was really happy with my translator. She wasn't a broker, appeared to make no commission for any clinic and have no affiliations or preferences for any clinic. I chose the clinic and the time; she showed up and translated very thoroughly and courtesously.

 

Oh gosh, don’t say that and make all us 23+ folks feel ancient. LOL.

Seriously though, your best days are not behind you. Not only are you young, you have lots to look forward to! Surveys often show people are generally happier as they progress through their 30s, 40s, and 50s, then they were in their 20s.

I got my first surgery at age 26, and subsequent ones this year in Korea at age 32. When I was there, I saw plenty of people of all ages considering ps, including a woman I befriended who was in her 40s about to become a grandma. I don’t have regrets about the age I got ps done at all. I think the years spent before ps were really personally valuable in figuring out my values and preferences.

 

Hi everyone. I'm Nochu on TPF and under a different name in the Kakao chat groups. I'm a long time member of both and happy to see this new forum built by people who are truly knowledgeable and helpful on this subject matter. Please spread the word, reasonably, about this forum to those who want to learn more about the Korean beauty industry.

For reference, I have had nose surgery, eye surgery, and facial fat grafting at GNG hospital in Korea. I've also done 1 nose surgery, fillers, and various facial treatments in the USA. 

You have a good shortlist already. Why not go ahead and schedule consults with them? If you arrange your appointments well, you can visit all of them in one day and then have the evening to make your decision.

Cinderella and Namu are next to the same subway stop (Gangnam). Uvom is a little farther up near apgujeong rodeo, but easy to get to via taxi or subway. I'm not sure where Answer is, but it looks like a small clinic and I can't imagine that they would rent an office space too far from the other clinics.

 

I think the clinic is going through a bit of a transition though, and so it made me uneasy about being taken care of there. When I came to the front desk, the reception was a little chilly and no one knew of my appointment. The best person I spoke to there was Claire, the English language coordinator, and she was preparing to change jobs in a few days, so I have no idea who would be my main contact. Claire was great though. She had good insight on the aging process, vetoed paranasal and chin implants, and recommended undereye fat repositioning as more urgent than browlift or incisional DES. I really wish I knew where she went after quitting April31. The price was consistent with what they quoted me online; 9m for nose, 2m for eyes, and 2.5 for fat grafting. There was a CT scan fee but I don't remember what the cost was, but it was definitely more than other clinics.


5. VIP - This clinic is very close to Dream, JK, JW, MVP, and several other clinics,, a short walk from Apgujeong station. Arrived late but they were very nice and ready to take care me immediately. There were about 3 other prospective patients or regular patients. Short talk with a coordinator at the front desk and questions about my medical history. Dr Lee speaks perfect English. He used a machine to check out my functional problems. For my nose, he recommended rib cartilage only, and suggested bone crushing and mucus removal for the turbinates. I decided not to go with them because I did not want rib cartilage and the price was too high for me. 16m for nose and midface augmentation. The staff and the doctor seemed very attentive though.


6. Cinderella

This clinic was hard for me to find because there was heavy rain coming down as I was trying to find it, and I could not find an English sign. Follow the directions on their website though - it's accurate. The clinic is right next to the subway exit indicated on the website, you just have to go inside and up a few floors until you see any English sign. It was extremely busy, people coming in and out of the entrance and offices frequently, and space was tight due to the coveted building location. I spent a long time waiting for my appointment, and they seem a little short staffed. When I went into a consult room, there was no official English translator available, so I worked with a new intern who knew English and another language that I am somewhat fluent in. I spent a lot of time in the consult office waiting too. My meeting with the nose doctor was good, he seemed knowledgeable and could perform dramatic changes. The eye doctor and FG doctor was not available so they told me to make another appointment later and ushered me out through an exit next to the operating room hallways. I felt really uncomfortable with how cramped everything seemed to be and did not even keep my notes on their pricing because I knew this clinic was not for me. They truly do have remarkable results, but bedside manner and patient aftercare is very important for me, so I crossed them off my list.


III. Helpful things

· Gangnam Medical Tour Center translators. This government office connected me with a medical translator for the very reasonable price of around $30/hr, 2 hour minimum. My translator was great and it was much less of a hassle to hire a translator than I thought. You just need to give them early notice, like a week or two ahead of time. I'd advise on earlier notice if you want to be sure you have someone. I got Mrs Lee and she is the sweetest lady ever.

· Food Delivery apps. I downloaded Shuttle while I was recovering for the first week and it was perfect for someone who is too swollen, bruised, or generally uncomfortable to/with going out to get food. There's a few other apps in Korean with a greater selection, like Yogiyo, but I was satisfied with the food choices in shuttle and did not use the other apps.

· Color correcting makeup. My undereye bruising was quite apparent, and regular concealer did not fully cover it. I picked up some color correctors at Olive and Young and that worked well. Purple covers yellow bruising, and peach covers blue bruising.


Lastly, I can't emphasize enough how valuable meeting other ps patients was, both in person and online.


I met up with several people in Seoul whom I found through TPF or chat groups, and it so great to share our experiences and talk about this mutually interest that I could not indulge in with my friends and family back home. I also chatted a lot online during my first week of recovery and that gave me a lot of emotional support, release, and a general assurance that the results would turn out well.


If you have an opportunity to meet or speak with other patients, go for it. It makes a world of a difference in decision making and recovery.

 

2. Cocoline

This little clinic surprised and impressed me a lot more than I thought it would! It's also located near Apgujeong station but not on the same road as the other clinics. I believe it's exit 5. I got lost a bit even though it's on the main street because I did not look around enough. It's in the same building as the bank, but you must walk around the side, facing the gas station, to see their sign and the elevator that goes up to the clinic. It's very small but the clinic was very clean, warm and well-maintained. There were many staff workers and they were immediately very friendly and helpful. There were about 2 or 3 other prospective patients waiting, as well as one post-op patient coming in for aftercare, and the staff was being very attentive to her. I didn't have to wait long. The doctor (Dr Tae Hwn Kim) spoke great English, and the staff communicated via LINE ok, but I heard other people recommend an interpreter, so I brought one just to be sure my desires where communicated properly. Their style is very natural, which is fine, because I already had one surgery done and I know the extent to which you can change your face is limited, but what I liked was how the doctor was an ENT who had a good grip on functional issues and I felt confidence he would improve my structural problems. He recommended a small silicon implant on the bridge and rib cartilage on the tip. I asked if I could use ear or donor materials, but he felt very strongly about using a patient's own rib. Their prices were about average, or on the higher end of average, but still within my budget. I did feel that they were very open to negotiating within reasonable. Overall, it was a great experience and I walked out there thinking "Well, this is it. This is the place I'll have my surgery." I ended up choosing a different place that could do eyes (Cocoline only does nose, jaw, and fg), and had a good aftercare system, but I still feel like this clinic was a perfect mix of professionalism and diligent patient care. If there was someone else who had the same values as me, I would absolutely suggest consulting with Cocoline. Consult fee was 10k.


3. GNG - You can't miss their building. It's a standalone, eight floor hospital a small block outside exit 3 of Bongeunusa metro station. GNG really impressed me with how organized they were. I was there very early, but they were already prepared with my translator, consultant, people to take my photos, and people to take my CT scan. There were a lot of people on PF and Kakao who talk ****, but it logically met all my requirements and I took the complaints from people who were not even patients with a grain of salt, so I booked a consult anyway and I was glad I did. The consult was good because of the use of my photos and CT scans, I spent a long time discussing details with the translator and consultant, and I was able to meet with all of doctors for each procedure I was considering. Unlike the other clinics, no one really put their foot down about any particular type of implant or procedure, so I got the impression they could do almost anything you'd want, within reason, so a patient must really understand what he or she wants. I put down a deposit there before I came as a backup plan because they had the best refund policy of the clinics I was interested in at the time. It was consistently busy, there were people on every floor's waiting room, but they are staffed well enough so I was always attended to and did not feel like it was too crowded. The coordinator said it was about 60% local and 40% foreign patients, but I was there almost everyday for 2 weeks and mostly heard Korean spoken (I heard one other english-speaking patient, one Japanese patient, and one Chinese patient). Surprisingly, there were a ton of military personnel at the hospital. Perhaps they have a special program for soldiers? There were also people frequently going to their research floor and sleeping disorder clinic. This is were I ended up getting my surgery, but I won't be writing a review on PF due to my personal feelings about this forum. Sometimes the general replies towards people posting is so hostile, it dissuades people from posting their full reviews here. I'd also like to wait until my nose heals to see final results, as results can change greatly over the course of the 6 months period post-operation.


4. April31 - This clinic is right next to the metro exit that they describe on their website. It's the same building as the Twosome Place Cafe. Just go to the side of the cafe and there will be a little door to the elevator. Of all the doctors I met, I like Dr Jae Hoon Kim's technique the best. He would use dermafat and silicone on the bridge, and would use only ear cartilage on the tip, and his technique would leave the tip projected but very flexible. He suggested only a small increase in the bridge height. He and Dr Paik of 101 are bffs, so it makes sense that their recommendations would be almost identical, and they were. Like Dr Paik, Dr Kim also told me he made no promises about improving my breathing functionality. Their before and after images that I saw in the consult were great, even better than the ones they posted online.

 

 

I'm a long time member who went to South Korea this summer to get revision nose surgery (and a couple other things). I had a very specific scope of what I was searching for - an ENT doctor (someone who has worked in otorhinolarynolgy), or academically-active rhinoplasty surgeon, with good aftercare. My main concern was functionality, since I have soe breathing issues I won't get into too much detail here, as well as the replacement to my previous implant which had shifted and there was now a tangible cartilage bump on the bridge of my nose. My tip had lost its projected shape from its first surgery 5 years ago as well. Looks were one factor, but they were secondary to my functional issues.

While online sources are helpful in primary research, in-person face to face consultations are invaluable. Here are my notes from my conversations and visits. I hope it will be a useful starting point or reference for any one else looking for procedures similar to what I as looking for.

I. Long list:
Here are all the clinics I contacted online that I can recall, as well as any notes.

• 101 - Active in research and conferences.
• April31 - Active in research and conferences.
• Banobagi - I spoke with them via email. Dr Lee is well known for nose work. They disclaimed that they perform aesthetic work, and do not touch functional issues. I appreciated the honesty and let them know that doesn't work for me, and they were very polite.
• Baum - *ENT* I did a brief online consult through Kakao. I made an appointment for an office consultation with Dr Park, their ENT, however it was a few days after my other consults because the doctor was not available. I ended up cancelling because I decided on a clinic already before then. Quoted 4.2m for nose, 8-9m for malar reduction, and 1.2m for incisional des.
• Braun - I consulted with them via Whatsapp. Their coordinator was very nice and thorough. I liked their B&As but decided not to make an appointment as the starting price was too high, their nose doctor is not ENT, and I wasn't sure which results were attributable to the doctors who had left the clinic to open Baum. 11.1m for nose, 2.4 for eyes, 3-3.5m each for paranasal or chin implant.
• Cinderella - *ENT*
• Cocoline - *ENT*
• DA - Consulted through LINE. The consultant was very nice and friendly, but there wasn't a nose doctor that I liked there. Online quote was 6m.
• GNG - *ENT*
• Hanabi - *ENT* I had a good consult with them online but ended up cancelling my consult because I was uncomfortable with the doctor's association with Dr Jung from Shimmian and I did not prefer his style of noses.
• ITEM - I consulted with them on LINE. The coordinator was friendly and I liked their before and aftrs, but decided not to go with them. 6.1m for nose, 1.6m for eyes, 2.4 for fat grafting, 840k for ptosis.
• JK - I messaged them online, and they said to email them. I emailed them at the address they provided and never heard back.
• JW - Online consult. They went into the most detail of all the clinics I consulted with online, but their starting price was a little too expensive and I wasn't interested in their before and afters.
• Premier - They did not have an English coordinator at the time and it was difficult to consult online. However, I've noticed recently that they've updated their website to have different language versions and added different online chat app handles, which make me think they are expanding to further accommodate foreigners. It's too late for me, but I think for other people, getting a consult would be easier now.
• VIP - Active in research and conferences.

II. Short list:
Here are the clinics I met onsite for face to face consultations, in order of my favorites to my least favorites.

1. 101, also known as PS101
This is a small clinic a 15 min walk from Apgujeong-rodeo station. It's on a smaller street, off the main street, but the location was easy to find because it matched what was on Kakao Maps and Naver Maps. Dr Paik is incredible. As a doctor, he has a perfect mix of expertise, humility and attentiveness. He was able to pick up and notice things about my nose very quickly, some things other docs missed. At the same time, he was kind and attentive too, not arrogant. 7.7m for revision with silicone and dermafat (from your behind) implant, ear cartilage for tip. He was also very honest, examined my functional issues and said I should go to an ent hospital for it, even though it seems like he was very well versed on the subject. He showed me his before and afters via powerpoint slideshows and they are the most beautiful natural-style noses I've seen so far. He very firmly believes in making his patients look "unoperated" and advises against building up features that don't naturally occur within your ethnic group. However, it seems like the clinic is truly booked far in advance, as their reputation indicates, and it is not their modus operandi to move appointments around to cram in more surgeries last minute. I know some other patients in the past have been able reserve a surgery without deposit, but I was not allowed to do so, or get a refund if I did cancel. I went in August and the next availability was in December. If I lived in Korea, I would definitely trust him with my surgery. But for the most part, I would not tell a friend or colleague to go just for a consult unless you can come back months later as I'd feel like they'd be wasting the doctor's time. Consult fee was 10k won.

Hi and welcome jklio. Except for Hanabi, none of the clinics “specialize” in rhinoplasty in that they don’t promote this rhino skills over type of surgeries. Hanabi is the only one that works exclusively worh nose jobs. That doesn’t mean the others are bad though, just that they work in multiple areas. The doctors at those clinics definitely specialize though, so it may be helpful to research them individually.

 

Not exactly, GNG’s refund policy varies depends on the prior notice you give for cancellation. This is what their translator informed me via Kakao after I specifically inquired about it.

<Deposit Refund>
1) 1 week before sugery appointment : 100% refund
2) 6-3 days before surgery appointment: 50% refund
3) 2 days-surgery day : non-refundable
When you get deposit refund, the transfer fee will be deducted from your deposit.

It is very common to not get a refund though. I asked about refunds at a few clinics and a lot of them do have a no refund on deposit policy of varying degrees.

 

There are several reasons that can be cited, but the overall takeaway is that it’s a practice that will not change anytime soon. If you want low prices close to what locals pay, you’ll have to go to a clinic that markets itself as being low cost, like Opera.

From a legal and operational standpoint, foreign patients are a greater risk to take on and require more preparations. Clinics need to hire foreign language translators, write new documents, arrange for accomodations or transportantion, all while not knowing if the demand will be steady enough to justify retaining theae employees.

The patients also create a larger risk in that miscommunication due to language barriers, and different cultural standards, increase likelihood of health complications or general client dis-satisfaction.

And then lastly, it’s just business sense to want more revenue to grow the hospital. They know ps costs differently in other countries, so they tailor the prices to be low enough to entice you, but high enough to justify the extra risk.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience, goodavocado (such a cute name!). Your results look so good already, especially your nose bridge and enhanced tip. While you notice more because you’re used to your face, I don’t think your friends and family will immediately. It’s still a natural shape and will become more so with healing.

For oily and congested skin, look into a brand called CosRX. They have an AHA Power Liquid and BHA Power Liquid that’s popular in the International AB community. I use them to exfoliate a coupletimes a week and it has reduced my breakouts. Don’t forget to moisturize and wear sunscreen too.

 

Thanks for sharing your experiences, not just with Dr jin but with BK and Cosharp too. Try not to be too bothered with winkyhk’s comment above (which I thought was very rude). PF is a very large forum and you can’t change how some people will think, but it looks like many posters here appreciate your time and effortto contribute.

Even though I am not planning to visit any of the 3 clinics you went to, hearing your opinion was very interesting and adds more content for people researching those clinics to read and consider.

 

Wow, putting a used needle with the “new” needles to be used for future blood drawing is horrible.

I usually still give clinics a chance even if I hear negative experiences, but Migo’s insanitary practice is completely unsanitary, dangerous, and unacceptable.

 

Here is the link to SM PS’ official website:
http://smps1004.cafe24.com/

 

Thanks for sharing your experience! You organized your post well. Really informative and easy to follow.

Yikes the surgery experience sounds terrifying. Sounds like you had local but no twilight sedation. I’dhave so much anxiety, especially with the long wait on the table beforehand. You handled it well.

 

Yeah, I agree with xxzxxi. Sure, the girls may have consented to putting their photos in public domain, but the edited photo posts criticizing their choices as unrefined and unfeminine are mean-spirited. These girls didn't do anything to cause other patients' dissatisfaction.

 

Then you're doing great by trying to research and be informed beforehand. In regards of safety, clinics love to tout a
"Zero accident" history, so you can look for that. Pitangui prides themselves on 30 years accident free. JW, VIP and Answer also proudly advertise that. Keep in mind though, accident free doesn't mean infection-free or that results are without complications.

I agree with what others suggested about tiplasty and hump removal. You have a nice, high bridge already, so I don't think an implant is really worth it, especially since they can move around or cause issues later. You probably won't need alarplasty either. Raising a droopy tip can sometimes help a nose look slimmer. When you message doctors online, they will make suggestions based on your photos.

For natural noses, Dr Seong from GNG, Dr Suh from JW, and the Dr Park & Dr Suh from Baum have reputations for preferring natural-looking noses. I think the most important thing to achieving the look you want though is very clear, concise communication with the doctor. Photos are even better. There is a common standard of beauty in S. Korea that's the "default", so if you don't communicate what you want in a very detailed way, they'll fall on the default look.

 

I do appreciate the idea of organizing content. If you want to, you could create a blog or separate website where you link useful TPF threads.

It's unlikely that a mod here will pin a post with content like what you wrote above because it may increase their liability and legal risk associated with being a publisher or distributor of online content. As they are now, their liability for the stuff users write on the board is limited. If a mod though, who acts as a representative of the board itself, starts pinning and posting content, it is more and more likely that they can be held responsible in a court of law for that content.

This is especially risky for TPF with the content in the Asian PS subforum, which is subjective and arguably defamatory. Brokers (independent ones and agency ones) are an example of this. The popular opinion at the moment is against using brokers, but there is nothing illegal about their business, many people see a benefit to paying for their services, so certain aggressive statements about specific brokers really push the envelope with potential defamation claims.

 

Hi Christi, welcome to the forum. I suggest looking up hospital or clinics websites to see their B&As and information, and then searching around for more personal experiences here or on other review websites, as well as contacting the clinics for online consultations over email ir chat. I recall seeing a large directory of clinics on one of Korea's government agency homepages.

Here are a couple clinics off the top of my head for rhinoplasty:
Banobagi, Top Class, DA, View, TL, Marble, Garosu, GNG, Item, Idea, Opera, Namu, Gyalumham, JK, JW, Trend, MVP, Braun, Baum, Hanabi, Cinderella, Regen, SM, Wonjin & Dream.

Could you tell us more about what you’d prefer in a clinic? That’d help out in making suggestions a lot. For example:
Big hospital or small clinic?
Dramatic nose style or natural nose style?
What are your biggest values - cost, years in business, etc?
General or local anethesia?

Also, when are you going to Asia? Some times are busier than others and that can make a big difference in scheduling your appt, though big hospitals are better equipped to handle that.

 

Hi. I contacted them on Kakao and they responded the next day. their ID is baumps.

 

There is no clinic with 100% positive reviews and results. I started researching for my surgery with 17 clinics on my list... every single one of them had both positive and negative reviews. Even clinics that are largely favored on TPF like MVP or View had at least one unhappy patient if I searched far enough online. TPF is only one part of a big community of plastic surgery patients online.

As long as it is a valid corporation (like all its paperwork is in order) and approved by whatever medical agency looks after these clinics, a clinic is technically “legit”. Instead of searching for clinics with perfect, detailed reviews, approach this like any other shopping or research project:

- figure out all the aspects important to you
- look for the hospitals that offer those things
- look at before and after pics,
- talk to people who had surgery already
- do online and in-person consults,
- and make your decision based on all these factors and your overall impression.

 

Thanks for coming back biggie and sharing your exp with MVP! You look good. It’s a shame your consult was so short, but at least the results are nice. How was their post-op aftercare?

 

@Mkvii @ReneRene @keii I’m going to be in Seoul the same time! I added you guys on kk. My id is bangtanstyle. I’m thinking it may be nice to create a chat group just for people traveling at that time to meet up since the main Kakao ps groups are fun but a little busy at times.

 

SM is the most visual-focused of all the big music agencies and want all their artists have a certain look. I wouldn’t be surprised if all their stars, and even rookies, get cosmetic surgery.

The rumor is that Dream is SM’s go-to clinic. It makes sense that a company with a lot of employees getting surgeries would pick one clinic to establish an ongoing relationship with - it’s easier in terms of confidentiality agreements and accounting practices. Also, Dr Park at Dream specializes in closed rhino, which would be important for entertainers that have a lot of close up photography in their work.