Seoul is rightfully considered the world capital of plastic surgery - it is here that a record number of plastic surgeries are performed annually. In the famous Gangnam area alone, known as the Seoul Beauty Belt, there are more than 400 plastic surgery clinics, which massively attract not only Koreans themselves, but also medical tourists from all over the world. Together with specialists from the Seoul Plastic Surgery Clinic REGEN Heroine will tell you what are the features of plastic surgery in Korea, what operations are considered top-notch, and why you should come here to correct your appearance.
Acceptable prices
Thousands of foreigners visit South Korea every year, not to relax on Asian beaches, but to tighten their eyelids, straighten their noses, or sharpen their facial contours. First of all, they come from China, America, Russia, Japan and Indonesia. The main reason for such an active flow of medical tourists is the affordability of prices. Plastic surgery in Korea is much cheaper than in Europe or America. Thus, prices for rhinoplasty in Seoul clinics usually start at $1,000, in America the bar rises to $9,000, and in Germany such an operation will cost no less than $6,000.
How much does breast augmentation cost in South Korea: price range
The cost of the operation depends on the pricing policy of the institution you are applying to, the type of implants, the initial condition of the breast, the chosen intervention technique and other factors. The average cost range for magnification surgery ranges from $5,000 to $12,000. Below you can see approximate prices. The price already includes related medical expenses:
| Min. price in USD | Max. price in USD | |
| Augmentation with spherical implants | 7 000 | 10 000 |
| Augmentation with anatomical implants | 8 000 | 12 000 |
| Augmentation with lipofilling | 5 000 | 8 000 |
| Breast lift | 6 000 | 10 000 |
High level of service
Competition in the field of plastic surgery here is fierce: in almost every major district of Seoul there are entire blocks given over to the construction of clinics. Each of them tries to win over as many clients as possible, so they rely not only on the quality of their operations, but also on a high level of service. Thus, for foreigners, most clinics provide a transfer, a personal assistant and a translator, and after the operation - accommodation in a clean and comfortable room so that the patient gets into shape faster.
Rating of the best clinics in South Korea for augmentation mammoplasty and breast lift
Among hundreds of Korean medical centers, we will consider three clinics that are most popular among the local population for plastic surgery on the mammary glands.
Clinic "Opera Plastic Surgery" (Opera PS)
Opera PS Plastic Surgery Clinic is a medical center in Seoul that specializes in breast augmentation and facial plastic surgery.
Regalia.
Leader in installing breast augmentation implants for the last 3 years. Clinic No. 1 in South Korea in terms of the number of breast augmentation operations using luxury Sebbin brand implants.
Director.
The president and founder of the medical center, Kim Seok Han, is a surgeon with 20 years of specialized experience and a graduate of the Faculty of Medicine of Seoul University, the most elite university in the country.
Duration of existence.
12 years of successful work in the industry, not a single medical incident since opening.
Advantages, features.
- Thorough free preoperative diagnostics (X-rays, blood and urine tests, ECG).
- During the operation, 2 professional anesthesiologists are constantly on duty with the patient. Luxury augmentation implants from world-famous brands (Sebbin, Allergan, Mentor).
- It is possible to manufacture custom implants.
- 24-hour hospitalization after plastic surgery in wards with nurses on duty. High-quality anesthesia during surgery, as well as auxiliary care procedures for quick rehabilitation.
The institution’s doctors use augmentation endoprostheses with international certificates ISO 13485 and ISO 9001, which meet industry standards listed in Korea and the European Union.
Focus on foreign patients: there are coordinators and translators who speak English, Chinese, and Russian; the clinic is located in the center of Seoul, in the Gangnam area - it’s easy to find; Transfer from the airport to the clinic and vice versa is possible.
Clinic "Optima"
The Optima Clinic is a specialized medical center in Korea, specializing in breast surgery.
Director.
The founder and president is female surgeon Lee Anna, who has 16 years of experience in mammoplasty.
Advantages, features.
Constant presence of an anesthesiologist during surgery. We use prosthetics from the world famous brands “Mentor” and “Allergan”, certified in the USA and EU countries. After surgery, a 24-hour hospital stay with nurses on duty is possible. The technology of “breast enlargement without pain” was used for the first time in Korea at the Optima clinic.
Focus on foreign patients: for the convenience of medical tourists, the site has been translated into English; Hotel reservations are possible upon request.
WHY GO FOR PLASTIC ABROAD WITH THE BENEFIT COMPANY?
If you are seriously thinking about plastic surgery abroad, then we invite you to familiarize yourself with the list of advantages of contacting our medical tourism company:
- We have more than 8 years of experience working with foreign plastic surgery clinics in different countries.
- We are a direct representative of leading plastic surgery clinics in Asia and Europe. We work directly with medical centers, without intermediaries!
- The request to Benefit and all travel arrangements are free.
- It is thanks to our many years of experience that we know which doctor in which clinic is the best in a certain area of plastic surgery, as well as dermatology.
- Only Benefit clients receive exclusive DISCOUNTS at leading plastic surgery clinics.
If you still have questions or want to make a request, write to us!
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Tel./fax: +7 (423) 2-333-222
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Sometimes it doesn't work out
From everything written above, however, it does not follow that Seoul doctors are super-professionals. News regularly appears in the local press about people suffering from cosmetic surgery and even dying on the operating table.
There are often cases when it turns out that the operation was performed by a doctor who has nothing to do with surgery at all: a dentist, a psychiatrist, a radiologist. Or even a nurse.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that 80 percent of plastic surgeons practicing in Seoul do not have a degree in the field. The vast majority of clinics are not equipped with resuscitation equipment (defibrillators and ventilators), but they may be needed at any time.
Blepharoplasty
Photo: Jo Yong-Hak/Reuters
Oddly enough, all these facts have absolutely no effect on demand: they are in demand both among locals and among foreigners.
What we are going to do?
The Korean ideal of female beauty is a slender body with sexy curves in the right places and a baby-like face with big eyes, full lips and smooth fair skin.
The most popular operation is, of course, eyelid reshaping: since the 1980s, Asia has been obsessed with European ideals of beauty, and Mongoloid features are in great disfavor. Girls and young people ask doctors to remove the epicanthus - the “Mongolian fold”, lift the eyelids and lengthen the shape of the eyes to resemble Europeans. Another “tuning” is fat injections under the eyes, which makes the look more fresh and smiling, like a baby’s.
Another popular procedure is the “small face.” Many Korean women have problems with the width of their faces and ask the plastic surgeon to make it narrower. Of course, this operation is more complicated than blepharoplasty, but not for local doctors. For those who wish, the lower jaw is narrowed and the chin is slightly sharpened, and the forehead is made more convex - this oval shape is considered more “Western”.
Another advertisement reminiscent of the capabilities of Seoul doctors
Photo: Jung Yeon-Je/AFP
Korean plastic surgeons know how to sell their services, giving them beautiful names and convincingly explaining their necessity. For example, operations “Barbie doll nose”, “Beyoncé whitening injections” and “Latin silhouette”. They can also create narrower ankles, dimples, and lift the corners of the lips.
But “buying” large breasts in Seoul is unfashionable. Usually girls ask for a medium size so that it is simply “no worse than other people’s.”
They have reasons for this
The national plastic boom began in the middle of the last century, after the Korean War. The technology was brought to the country by American surgeons, who initially wanted to help those injured as a result of hostilities. However, blepharoplasty and other procedures have become hits among absolutely healthy Koreans. The formation of a “Western” eye shape was especially popular among priestesses of love, who sensed that a new, less Asian appearance would help attract foreign clients.
Since then, many have tried to explain the phenomenon of Koreans’ love for “self-tuning”, if not from a scientific, then at least from a philosophical point of view. Psychologists tend to see the reason in the spirit of competition, which is very strong in South Korean society. Since the standard of living in the country is high, competing on the size of a TV and the high cost of a car is no longer comme il faut, and the competition has moved into less material areas - health and beauty.
However, experts emphasize that it is important for Koreans not to be better than others, but only to become no worse than others, in order to ultimately feel like a worthy part of society. The concept of “worthy” apparently also includes the criterion of “beautiful”.
Plastic surgery in South Korea
A small face, double-lidded eyes, a V-shaped chin - all this is the “standard set” of the most popular plastic surgeries in South Korea. Residents of this country rarely hide the fact of surgical intervention and do not hesitate to go out in public with barely healed scars and bandages on their bodies. Every year, about 800,000 plastic surgeries are performed in Korean clinics, and this number is constantly growing. What features distinguish the South Korean plastic surgery market, what do local residents most often prefer to change in their appearance, and what points should foreign patients pay attention to?
Obsession with beauty
South Korea accounts for 24% of the total global plastic surgery market. Advertising for aesthetic surgeries is found everywhere - in the subway, on the streets, on television and, of course, on the Internet. Flawless faces look at passers-by from billboards with calls to “improve your face” and “breathe beauty into your appearance.” In this country, like in no other, external attractiveness plays a primary role in matters of socialization in society. The standard job application even contains a column where you need to indicate your weight. It is very difficult for people over 45 to find a job. It is logical that one of the main reasons why Koreans go to plastic surgery clinics is the desire to get a good position. In a situation where several candidates with approximately the same level of competence are applying for a vacant position, employers do not think for a long time - they take the most attractive person.
Local beauty canons pose a challenge. To be considered attractive, women need a “baby face” - sweet, innocent, with a small nose, neat chin and perfect skin without any scars or pores. Some people conform to society’s expectations with the help of makeup, while the majority turn to surgeons as soon as possible.
Radical plastic surgeries are being performed in South Korea, after which faces become unrecognizable
It is interesting that completely different trends prevail here than in Europe or our Russia. While our compatriots try to achieve the most natural transformation possible, in South Korea more radical operations are performed, when the patient’s appearance after the operation becomes almost unrecognizable.
Where, what, how much?
All medical centers that offer plastic surgery services are divided into two categories. The first includes multidisciplinary clinics, which most often operate at universities. The most famous such medical center in the city of Busan is Hyundai Beck at Inje University. It is in these kinds of clinics that special attention is paid to reconstructive plastic surgery.
But the capital, Seoul, is a kind of mecca for plastic surgery in South Korea. The most popular area in this regard is stylish Gangnam. Women whose facial plastic surgery is striking and obvious are called “Gangnam beauties.” The number of clinics offering appearance improvement services here is enormous. From small dispensaries to entire complexes of skyscrapers, the choice is huge. This is the second category - medical centers focused only on aesthetic surgeries.
As for the cost, plastic surgery in Korea is quite expensive. The initial cost of blepharoplasty is $2,000. Rhinoplasty and liposuction will cost patients twice as much. Korean surgeons estimate a breast augmentation to cost $8,000; a facelift will be $1,000 cheaper. If you are planning a radical change in your facial features, be prepared to shell out $25,000.
Age of patients and popular plastic surgeries in South Korea
The vast majority of those wishing to change their appearance in South Korea are young people seeking to improve their natural facial features and body contours. A common gift for graduation from school or university is a certificate from parents for one or another plastic surgery for their offspring. 30-year-olds are considered, in a sense, too old to undergo aesthetic plastic surgery, because the main focus in Asian surgery, we repeat, is not rejuvenating, but appearance-improving operations.
Note that the number of male patients in this country is much higher than in other countries of the world. The stronger sex does not hesitate to turn to the possibilities of aesthetic medicine.
In addition to their own psychological complexes, Koreans and Korean women are guided by other reasons leading to surgical correction of appearance. Thus, they are sure that if they did not undergo surgery in their youth, in adulthood they will look worse than their peers who underwent surgery. The mentality of Koreans is such that the opinions of others are always exalted over a person’s own opinion. It is not surprising that the number of patients of plastic surgeons in this country is only increasing.
Surely, even those who are only a little familiar with Korean culture can guess the most common plastic surgery here. This is blepharoplasty - eyelid correction. The greatest demand is an operation to change the incision, when the original Mongoloid one is transformed into a more European one by creating a “double eyelid”.
Koreans also pay attention to rhinoplasty - the nose must be neat and small. Particularly popular is chin surgery, where the patient is given a V-shape to make the face appear smaller and in line with the Baby Face trend. Hair transplants and forehead surgery are often done to harmonize the proportions. All these parameters demonstrate the “doll beauty” that is so valued in South Korea.
The main trend in the modern Korean market is minimally invasive and short rehabilitation. Laser and endoscopic techniques that do not require long recovery are in great demand.
Industry problems: ghost surgeons, deaths, speed of operations
The aesthetic surgery market in South Korea is so huge that even serious problems in the industry do not become an obstacle to the annual increase in the number of operations. Legal plastic surgery is truly at a high level, and foreign colleagues admire the skill and professionalism of Korean doctors. But in any field with a crazy turnover of money, there will always be “craftsmen” who want to make money.
The first problem is a phenomenon called “ghost surgeons.” What is the essence of the problem? Instead of the best doctor whom the patient chose and with whom he discussed the aspects of the operation, a specialist who, according to the contract, is his attending physician, plastic surgery is performed by his assistant or a completely different doctor. It also happened when dentists took on facial plastic surgery. In most cases, we were talking about illegal clinics, but such fraud, unfortunately, occurred even in reputable medical centers, because it is difficult to prove the fact of fraud in the operating room.
Another big disadvantage of the South Korean industry is the speed of operations. The number of appearance corrections performed daily is large, therefore, in the pursuit of profit, management obliges surgeons to perform the operation in the shortest possible period of time. Thus, in many clinics the amount of time allocated for popular blepharoplasty does not exceed 30 minutes. If the doctor did not manage to perform the plastic surgery in half an hour, he will be deprived of his bonus or reprimanded. Agree, going to an operation with a specialist who is rushing to complete the operation almost on the alarm clock is an unpleasant pleasure.
Parliamentarians are working to tighten legislation in the field of plastic surgery
Statistics on the plastic surgery market in South Korea are not very accurate, since many clinics hide the true volume of work, but even this hard-earned information indicates a high mortality rate for patients on the operating table or due to the development of complications.
The reason for this is the low qualifications of surgeons, underground clinics, and insufficient examination of patients. But, oddly enough, the numerous deaths that are often talked about in the news do not frighten those who want to change their appearance. The number of potential clinic clients is not decreasing. One good thing is that parliamentarians are already working to tighten legislation in the field of plastic surgery in order to ensure the safety of patients and eradicate tragic cases in aesthetic medicine.
Foreign patients in South Korea
The flow of medical tourists mainly consists of citizens of neighboring countries - China, Thailand. But Europeans and Scandinavians also come here, and our compatriots also visit the country for plastic surgery. Basically, they are all attracted by the experience of working plastic surgeons. Considering the number of operations carried out in the country, one can easily conclude that South Korean specialists have a lot of experience and skills. Foreign doctors most often specialize in a specific type of plastic surgery - nose, face, chest, abdomen, etc. Often, the surgeon’s cards indicate the number of operations he performed in a particular area.
To ensure that the language barrier does not interfere with receiving new clients, every self-respecting Korean plastic surgery clinic employs a whole staff of translators. Moreover, a number of medical centers have their own agencies and representative offices in other countries, which provide the entire range of services - from meeting the patient at the airport and communicating with the selected doctor to leaving for home. In countries neighboring Korea they even offer special tourist trips for the purpose of plastic surgery.
While abroad, the patient should not leave immediately after surgery. It is better to stay at least a week in the country so that in case of possible complications you can immediately contact the doctor, rather than trying to call him on Skype from the other side of the world. To do this, many clinics provide apartments either in the medical center building itself or send the patient to a partner hotel.
Be that as it may, for Russians there will not be much financial gain in operations abroad, since the cost of operations may be even higher than in Moscow. At the same time, some residents of the Far East prefer to fly to Seoul for surgery, which is geographically much closer to the Russian capital. Whatever country you choose for plastic surgery, be sure to find out all the information about the clinic and the surgeon in order to find a conscientious professional who will give you an improved appearance and will not harm your health.
Nuances of Korean plastic surgery
Seoul is literally covered with advertisements calling for a better face, which, according to the advertisers, will improve life. Most of the city center is occupied by plastic clinics. According to statistics, every fifth Korean woman has visited a plastic surgeon at least once in her life. In a country where there is a cult of beauty, it is handsome men and women who occupy leadership positions and are successful in their personal lives.
In Korea, appearance is not a gift, it is a tool on the path to a successful life, therefore operations are routine, and doctors have truly enormous experience. Popular Western performers became the founders of the boom in the country, but now Korea itself dictates the norms and standards of plastic music throughout the world.
