Plastic surgery becomes Korea's next big draw

Choi Soon-woo, left, chief surgeon at View Plastic Surgery Clinic in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, talks with Vietnamese patient Nguyen Thi Huyen, April 16. Korea Times photo by Park Ung

Cars, ships and semiconductors have long dominated Korea’s list of major exports. Then cultural content such as K-pop, dramas and foods have become major attractions for foreigners. But with a surge in medical tourists, a new contender has been rapidly gaining ground: plastic surgery.

In 2023, 114,074 foreigners visited Seoul for cosmetic enhancements. Among the diverse international clientele drawn to the city for plastic surgery this year was Nguyen Thi Huyen, a 26-year-old marketer from Vietnam.

“I had facial contouring surgery to make my jawline slimmer. That included cheekbone reduction, jaw angle reduction and chin reshaping,” she told The Korea Times, April 16, adding that several of her Vietnamese friends also came to Seoul for cosmetic procedures.

“Korea has long been known as a plastic surgery powerhouse to us. These days, it’s common to see young Vietnamese women in their 20s posting on social media about wanting to look like K-pop stars such as Jang Won-young or Karina," she said.

Nguyen is among the millions who are now traveling to Korea for similar reasons.

Last year, Korea recorded its highest number of foreign medical tourists, with approximately 1.17 million visitors, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Dermatology treatments ranked first, accounting for 56.6 percent of all procedures, totaling 705,000 cases. Plastic surgery followed at 11.4 percent, with the number of procedures rising 24.3 percent from 2023.

Driven by increasing demand, Korea’s medical tourism market has become a major sector. According to market research firm IMARC Group, its value reached $1.9 billion last year. Looking ahead, the firm projects the market will grow to $3 billion by 2033, with an annual growth rate of 5.13 percent starting next year.

“The number of foreign nationals visiting our clinic has increased by 20 to 30 percent annually since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022,” Choi Soon-woo, chief surgeon at View Plastic Surgery Clinic in Seoul’s Gangnam District, told The Korea Times.

Each year, Choi's clinic welcomes thousands of patients from around the world, including the United States, Japan and Russia. Recently, he observed a notable increase in visitors from Indonesia and China.

“More upper-income Indonesians appear to be seeking surgery abroad, as their country’s medical infrastructure doesn’t seem to have kept pace with rising income levels,” he said.

With the increase in sales from foreign patients, now exceeding domestic revenues, the clinic has hired some 60 coordinators who provide personalized support in 10 languages including Spanish, English and Chinese. The coordinators assist throughout the entire process, from marketing and online consultations to in-person support and post-op care.

LED light therapy devices promote skin regeneration, improve elasticity and aid in wound healing. Courtesy of View Plastic Surgery Clinic

High-standard care, Korea-specific procedures

For foreign medical tourists, returning for follow-up visits is often difficult, making it especially important for them to receive extra attention during procedures and aftercare. To address this, his clinic offers treatments supporting faster recovery.

Natsagdorj Namuun, a 30-year-old Mongolian freelance model who underwent rhinoplasty at the clinic in 2022, said she was highly satisfied with the care provided.

“I'm willing to recommend getting surgery in Korea to family and friends because I have no regrets about spending money here,” she told The Korea Times, adding that after getting liposuction, she received frequent massages to speed up the softening process and staff gave her thorough explanations about her recovery.

She explained that, while surgery in Mongolia would be cheaper due to the current exchange rate, most Mongolians prefer Korea for plastic surgery because the higher success rate lowers the chances of needing revision surgery.

Chief surgeon Choi Soon-woo at View Plastic Surgery Clinic in Gangnam, southern Seoul, talks with Mongolian patient Natsagdorj Namuun, April 16. Korea Times photo by Park Ung

Choi agreed that Korea isn’t the cheapest destination for plastic surgery, but many foreign clients still choose to receive treatment here due to the country’s high standard of medical care.

“We see quite a lot of patients who come to us after experiencing complications from surgeries done in other countries,” he said, adding that stories of those who undergo successful revision surgery in Korea often go viral on social media.

Lee Yun-hwa, a manager at Seoul Medical Tourism, said the city government is aware of the clear rise in the number of foreign tourists visiting Seoul specifically for plastic surgery and dermatology treatments and is working hard to maintain that growing trend.

“Our center, in partnership with 180 medical institutions, helps connect medical tourists with local clinics more quickly and conveniently. We provide support with entry and exit procedures, introductions to medical facilities, specialty consultations and assistance with making appointments,” she said.

The latest trends among foreign tourists seeking cosmetic surgery in Korea are facelift and skin-tightening procedures, according to Choi.

He said that in the past, most visitors came for procedures like breast augmentation or facial contouring, which were more common among younger individuals. But recently, there’s been a noticeable increase in tightening and facelift procedures targeting wealthier, older clients.

While many countries are skilled at breast augmentation surgery, skin-tightening procedures require greater precision to minimize scarring — an area where Korean doctors excel. Thanks to these strengths, Seoul also has a clear edge in bone-related surgeries like facial contouring and double-jaw surgery, which are less common elsewhere.

Social media plays a major role in spreading that information, making foreign patients well aware of what Korean doctors excel at.

“Japanese visitors, for example, often come after seeing posts on X, where many of them share their surgery experiences. No matter how much you advertise, word of mouth is what ultimately brings people in,” Choi said.

BTS members stand on stage at Kyung Hee University’s Peace Hall in Seoul, March 12, 2021. Courtesy of BigHit Music

Broader range of medical tourism needed

But even he has concerns — and they have little to do with hospitals or surgical techniques. He worries K-pop’s global pull is starting to fade.

“Many Americans visit Korea for plastic surgery because it’s cheaper than in the U.S., but K-pop plays a big role too,” Choi said. “Since most cosmetic surgery patients are women, many get more interested when a new K-pop star rises. Lately, though, things have slowed down, so I’m a bit worried.”

He still vividly recalls the BTS boom.

“It was massive before they enlisted (in the military),” he said. “There’s a clear difference in how many foreigners visit our clinic between before and after BTS.”

Natsagdorj also became interested in Korea through K-pop.

“I used to listen to BIGBANG, Wonder Girls and Girls’ Generation when I was younger,” she said. “Korean dramas are also hugely popular in Mongolia.”

Experts say Korea should look beyond its current strengths and cultivate new sectors to maintain its competitive edge in medical tourism moving forward.

“There’s no denying that cosmetic surgery is Korea’s flagship product when it comes to medical tourism,” Chun Myung-sook, a professor of culture and tourism at Konyang University, told The Korea Times. “But we need to expand our approach.”

She said it’s time to rethink medical tourism as not just treatment and surgery, but also as a means of health management and stress relief in today’s fast-paced world.

“We need to develop programs beyond procedures. For example, I associate wellness tourism with places like India and Nepal — Korea needs that kind of offering,” she said.

“Rather than focusing only on physical treatments, Korea should incorporate mental well-being and create offerings that reflect our unique cultural identity.”