My honest review on Docfinderkorea

[meghanlover-3]

this is really helpful information, thanks a lot !!!

 

[glowie]

thanks for the info!!

 

[vee_wudlyktoplay]

phoebebuffey said: ↑

Ah! I'm so glad I found this site/thread because I've been watching DFK videos on YT (posted by influencers like JennyDear, Leslie twins, etc) and at first I didn't realize they were sponsored videos/free services to these influencers. AH. I ended up emailing them for info but haven't heard back.

Anyway: for those of you who have done plastic surgery in Korea, how do you find reputable clinics/doctors? I'm lost! I live in LA and was originally going to do my rhinoplasty here and was having trouble just finding doc's here that I trusted enough to do it so I'm totally out of sorts trying to choose someone overseas.
- What Qs should I ask to make sure clinics are safe? (Licensed, board certified doctors; no issues with death or malpractice; emergency necessities in case something goes wrong during a procedure.)
- What clinics to locals go to and why?
- Can I communicate with doctors ahead of time so when I go there I just do an in-person additional consult and then into the procedures?

My biggest concern is my nose. I'm half-Filipino, half-white, and my nose is very traditional Filipino. Wide nostrils, bulbous tip, etc. Based on my features I've always tried to seek out an "African American rhinoplasty specialist" because that's what I thought I needed. I'd need to narrow my bridge and do an alar reduction, but I'm super nervous about that because i don't want it to look too oval/pointed/triangle/Michael Jackson-y. I feel like sometimes doctors (even surgeons in the US who are aimed to Asian patients) overdo it and do very oval shaped nostrils which scares me. Anyone with a similar nose have any experience?

Also: payment. In the US they have many payment options including Care Credit which gives you 15 months of no interest to pay off the balance. From what I've heard about Korean plastic surgery, they don't have anything like this and the full amount is due on the day of surgery. Is that correct?

Other procedures I want besides rhinoplasty (just an FYI): jaw reshaping for v-shaped face, potential microliposuction for my cheeks (or buccal fat pad removal), forehead reduction, breast implants and nipple reconstruction, lipo for my arms.

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Hey, I just finished my rhinoplasty surgery last month and I feel like I had a similar problem when I was just starting to plan my surgery and where to even start.. Hahaa so just like you, I saw those YouTube videos as well and decided to reach out to DFK. For me, since I was set and determined to get a Rhinoplasty just around April 2018 and my goal surgery month was September, I had such little time to research and I was also limited on going online to research about anything because I work in an island in Alaska over the summer where there are no cell towers and barely can get any cell signal or WiFi. So I only had 5 months to get the ball rolling, whenever we would go in town away from the island I would email DFK regarding the procedure that I wanted and stuff. I didn’t know about this forum yet, but I honestly think that everyone’s needs are all different so DFK was a good choice for me, as a first timer doing PS, first time traveling to SK alone, and helped me along the way while healing. Just like you, I have that wide alar filipino nose but since your half white, you probably have a tall bridge compared to mine. Lol DFK provided me 5 clinics I can go to that they are affiliated with that are safe along with the prices and suggestions, and they were; Banobagi, View, Cinderella, JK, and ID Hospital. I was originally gonna go with Cinderella because of youtubers Celia and the price was not as high as Banobagi, but I took my time with responding back which clinic I want to choose and kept checking back on the clinics websites, since I have slow internet in the island I tried to research as much as I can and ended up choosing Banobagi for their proportionate yet natural style on their rhinoplasty b&a photos. I also came across their promo of the month on their website saying 30% off for rhinoplasty with their top nose surgeon Dr. Lee Hyuntaek, to secure the deal I must transfer 5%-10% deposit to Banobagi before July 31st... so that was a no brainer for me. I emailed DFK and asked them if they honored Banobagi’s promo or should I talk directly to Banobagi instead and they told me they honor the promo as well and that was a done deal for me. Once I got to SK, did my quick consultation with Dr. Lee and we discussed my ideal nose, and he mentioned some add-on like chin filler so my new tall nose will harmonize with my chin proportion, I like how he cares about how the whole face would harmonize and not just give a pretty nose, anyways, the total price for my rhinoplasty surgery was $3960.00 w/ the 30% discount, I paid in full, in cash, and in USD (ask your clinic first if they do that though). They don’t do monthly payments specially with foreigners, maybe they do with locals, idk I’m not a local so idc lol. DFK helped me out with transportation to and from the airport, moving to my Airbnbs, and to and from the doctor’s appointments. I learned how to take the train so I went exploring by myself, I suggest taking the train, traffic sucks for taxi lol and a lot of walking helps to deswell and heal faster because blood is circulating anyway. On my 4th day post op when they removed my nose stint and tape, it looked great I had no brusing anymore (secret is walking!) On the 11th day they removed all the stitches and it did not hurt at all, the youtubers hyped the pain up but it wasn’t bad. Hope this helps you ^_^

 

[louise-poutha-loandedi]

hh_kr22 said: ↑

Hi everyone, I just wanted to share my story since I know it will help a lot of people out there to make a final decision. Keep in mind that this is just my experience I've had with Docfinderkorea and someone else might have another experience.
**FIY I did not end up going with them and I'm having my nose job this August in Seoul
I'm gonna state the main points of why I decided not to use Docfinder below for those who don't like to read too much so you easily just can read that ^^

Why I didn't go with Docfinder:
- Overpriced, I'm talking about at LEAST a few million won
Not only do they know you're a foreigner so you would need someone to translate stuff for you with the surgeons which is why they would make it seem to you that it's ''reasonable'' for them to ask you for this price. It's not. Even for foreigners. Almost all clinics in Seoul has english translators that works for them so you can just use them when you consult the surgeons and not go the extra mile and hire someone to help you out with that part.

But they ALSO know that 1. you haven't been in korea yet so you haven't consulted clinics face-to-face (it's face to face you can really bargain down the price a lot and not through online consultations) 2. if you go with Docfinder they talk to the clinic FOR you aka they won't bargain at all/you don't actually know how the conversation goes.

- The first and second e-mail I got from them was totally a copy paste (since my friend got the same one through email... lol)
I know they rush things in Korea in the plastic industry to get as many customers as possible but honestly just putting a ''Dear (your name)'' and then using the same answer as always made me understand how much they really don't care about each customer. I even sent them questions with those email that they specifically didn't answer so yeah...
After that they did answer me sooomehow more personal but not enough imo.

- The clinics they pick FOR YOU to choose between are not really clinics most locals go to in Korea
And as you know - locals go to the best places for the best price. Not more than that to it.
Clinics that overpromote or just in general promote a lot to foreigners overseas are not always good and you should REALLY do your research on that one. I'm not saying that big clinics that are worldwide famous ain't good but there's a few reasons I would never go with a clinic like that in Korea.

I do understand why a lot of people still would choose to go with Docfinder but IMO you don't need them. You really don't. I would also want to feel safe in a country I perhaps never visited before/I'm not too familiar with to find my way, get to my consultations in time etc but would you really pay a few extra million (won) for just that? That's absurd.
Especially since it's really easy to get around in Seoul. Google how to take the subway or just ask someone (sometimes you need to ask a few people since all koreans don't speak english, but when you do find a kind soul that knows a few english words they will do everything to help you out). You will be able to ride the subway to the station the clinic's located at and from there just use a map-app to search the adress, or again ask for the way!

If you don't feel comfortable with that in a new country - take a cab all the way from where you stay to the clinic and then back again. The YELLOW cabs are cheap and won't cost too much, even for longer rides.

If you are a foreigner and going to Korea for your first time to get plastic surgery hit my DMs. I'm a foreigner aswell but I do live in Seoul now for about a year ahead while studyig so I could happily help you out with showing you around, help you get to your appointment etc if our schedule match up ^^
Yup that's about it. I hope it was somehow helpful, if you have any questions feel free to msg me!

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Hi I am really considering having surgery in Korea , can u recommend a very good clinic at a good price that I can cunsult ?

 

[momo_21]

Hi I would also like to ask a few questions.”, what’s your KakaoTalk?!?!

I did consult docfinder at first I was naive back then and was very impressed by their super long email, how they explained the procedure in detail. Then I realised, like you, it’s all copy and paste as I did more research and noticed others got the same responses too. And, I also got ridiculous prices like 20mil+ for rhino, V-line and zygoma.

I agree with you that even consulting with clinics themselves seems more personal and genuine. Also much cheaper I don’t know why docfinder claim to not inflate their prices and tell us to email the clinics themselves and that we’ll receive the same price it’s too good to be true and obv false hmm

Not hating or judging on anyone who uses these services, but I hope they can know that navigating in Korea and going through surgery “alone” with the clinic is not difficult and if we can get a better price too, why not ? [/QUOTE]
H

 

[momo_21]

Is it best to go with another service or just go to the clinics?

 

[ntbn88]

Back in 2016 I messaged DFK and clinics directly for quotes. Both gave me the same prices. As it was my first time going to Korea for PS I used DFK.
This year I have also contacted DFK and individual clinics for their prices for other surgeries. When again comparing the quotes, it is the same. So I am unsure why I keep reading that people receive better quotes when contacting the clinic directly. In my experience this has not been the case.

I would think you possibly can get a better discount when going alone and bargaining during f2f consult. But what I have read is there are others receiving better prices via online consultants.

 

[allyxkitty]

Is anyone going to SK for plastic surgery in 2020?

Also, would like to know if VIP is good for rhinoplasty?