The plastic surgery rate in South Korea is not stated as one figure in the research used here; the firmest number is a 2015 count of 296,889 foreign patients across every specialty, reported in a 2017 review by Koh. That count is not limited to surgery. What the same review adds is a ranking: cosmetic surgery drew the largest total of medical spending from those visitors. A rate for residents would need a different dataset.
Clinics in Korea
5 clinics for Plastic surgery in Korea
| # | Clinic | Devices & products | Area | Languages | Listed price | Google rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ENTER Plastic Surgery | SMAS facelift · Blepharoplasty · Rhinoplasty · Fat grafting | Gangnam-daero | - | ₩1,300,000 | - |
| 2 | Rewind Plastic Surgery | Mini facelift · Blepharoplasty · Rhinoplasty · Fat grafting | Nonhyeon-ro | English · Español | ₩1,200,000 | 5.0 (54) |
| 3 | Garnet Plastic Surgery | Mini facelift · Blepharoplasty · Rhinoplasty · Fat grafting | Apgujeong Station | English | ₩2,000,000 | - |
| 4 | OPERA PLASTIC SURGERY | Mini facelift · Blepharoplasty · Rhinoplasty | Nonhyeon Station | English · 中文 | - | 4.6 (127) |
| 5 | JN Plastic Surgery | Facelift · Blepharoplasty · Rhinoplasty | Gangnam Station | 中文 | - | - |
11. ENTER Plastic Surgery
ENTER Plastic Surgery runs a plastic surgery clinic in Gangnam-daero. Plastic surgery is offered here together with thread lifts, facelift surgery and HIFU lifting. Its listed plastic surgery price starts from ₩1,300,000 + VAT.
Gangnam skin and lifting clinic with a facelift surgeon
- Skin plus surgery
- English & Japanese staff
- Station-front
- Board-certified plastic surgeons on staff
- Eyelid and facelift surgery here is planned and performed by the same surgeon, with hyperbaric oxygen and IV drips available afterwards.
- English- and Japanese-speaking staff, with WhatsApp booking before you travel.
Eyelid or facelift planning trips · Japanese-speaking visitors
- Location
- Gangnam-daero
- Listed price
- From ₩1,300,000 + VAT
22. Rewind Plastic Surgery
★ 5.054 Google reviewsRewind Plastic Surgery is a plastic surgery clinic in Nonhyeon-ro, rated 5.0 from 54 Google reviews. It offers plastic surgery alongside HIFU lifting, RF lifting and Botox. Consultations are available in English and Spanish; its listed plastic surgery price starts from ₩1,200,000 + VAT.
Apgujeong lifting surgery clinic with a skin-care side
- Surgical lifting
- Same surgeon throughout
- Calm, private floors
- Board-certified plastic surgeons on staff
- The same surgeon carries each case from first consultation to final follow-up.
- Botox, Ultherapy Prime, Thermage FLX, Rejuran and Juvelook are offered, planned separately from surgery.
Combining Botox with lifting consult · Jawline and neck concerns
- Location
- Nonhyeon-ro
- Languages
- English · Español
- Listed price
- From ₩1,200,000 + VAT
33. Garnet Plastic Surgery
Garnet Plastic Surgery is a plastic surgery clinic a 4-minute walk from Apgujeong Station. Its menu covers plastic surgery as well as facelift surgery and thread lifts. Staff consult in English; listed plastic surgery prices start at ₩2,000,000 + VAT.
Apgujeong surgeon-led clinic for eyes, nose and facelifts
- Surgeon-led care
- Eyes, nose & lifting
- Small, calm schedule
- Board-certified plastic surgeons on staff
- Planned reviews at one, three and six months, plus messenger follow-up once you are home.
- The same surgeon meets you, operates and follows up, with no counsellor hand-off or substitute doctor.
Facelift and neck contouring · Eyelid and under-eye surgery
- Location
- Apgujeong Station (Line 3), ~4 min walk (294 m)
- Languages
- English
- Listed price
- From ₩2,000,000 + VAT
44. OPERA PLASTIC SURGERY
★ 4.6127 Google reviewsOPERA PLASTIC SURGERY sits a 1-minute walk from Nonhyeon Station Exit 4, a plastic surgery clinic that holds a 4.6 Google rating across 127 reviews. Plastic surgery is offered here together with Botox and fillers. Consultations are available in English and Chinese.
Gangnam plastic surgery clinic for contouring and breast surgery
- Facial contouring
- Full surgical range
- Gangnam-daero location
- Board-certified plastic surgeons on staff
- Offers consultations through WhatsApp and Kakao, with sites in eight languages.
- Surgical menu spans facial contouring, breast, eye, nose, body contouring and men's surgery.
Eye and nose combinations · Facial contouring packages
- Location
- Nonhyeon Station (Line 7) Exit 4, 1 min walk
- Languages
- English · 中文
55. JN Plastic Surgery
JN Plastic Surgery runs a plastic surgery clinic a 5-minute walk from Gangnam Station. It offers plastic surgery alongside HIFU lifting, RF lifting and Botox. Consultations are available in Chinese.
Eye, nose, lifting and body filler surgery in Gangnam
- Plastic surgery
- Thread lifting
- Revision care
- Board-certified plastic surgeons on staff
- Nose surgery options include implant-free rhinoplasty using the patient's own tissue, planned with 3D-CT.
- Signature 4-way thread lift is designed to pull, fill, tidy and firm by area.
Pelvic and body filler · Eye and nose surgery
- Location
- Gangnam Station (Line 2 / Sinbundang Line), about 5 minutes on foot
- Languages
- 中文
Prices
Plastic surgery cost in Korea
Prices below come from the listed clinics' own price lists, before VAT. 10% VAT is added at payment.
Non-incisional (buried) double eyelid
Price at 1 listed clinic · approx. $873₩1,200,000 + VATCompare clinicsMedial epicanthoplasty
Price at 1 listed clinic · approx. $873₩1,200,000 + VATCompare clinicsLateral/lower/upper canthoplasty
Price at 1 listed clinic · approx. $873₩1,200,000 + VATCompare clinicsEpicanthoplasty — medial or upper (each)
Price at 1 listed clinic · approx. $945₩1,300,000 + VATCompare clinicsNon-incisional (buried suture) double eyelid
Price at 1 listed clinic · approx. $1,164₩1,600,000 + VATCompare clinicsPartial-incision double eyelid
Price at 1 listed clinic · approx. $1,309₩1,800,000 + VATCompare clinicsIncisional double eyelid surgery
Price at 1 listed clinic · approx. $1,455₩2,000,000 + VATCompare clinicsDouble eyelid — buried (non-incisional)
Price at 1 listed clinic · approx. $1,455From ₩2,000,000 + VATCompare clinicsGuide
The figures Koh's 2017 review actually reports
Writing in The Journal of Cosmetic Medicine, Koh summarized earlier studies on visitors who travel to Korea for care. Each figure describes foreign patients or the system serving them. None of them describes how many Korean residents have had an operation, which is the gap most plastic surgery in South Korea statistics quietly skip.
Read the table as a set of separate measurements. They come from different counting systems and should not be added together or divided into one another to produce a share.
| Figure in the review | Year | Unit being counted | What it leaves out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 296,889 foreign patients | 2015 | Visitors treated, all specialties combined | How many of them had cosmetic surgery |
| Higher than the previous year | 2015 | Change in the visitor count | Change in surgical cases alone |
| Rising every year since 2009 | 2009 to 2015 | Direction of the visitor trend | Residents, who are counted elsewhere |
| 3,013 registered medical institutions | 2016 | Providers registered to receive foreign patients | Which of them perform surgery |
| 1,666 medical tourism agencies | 2016 | Registered intermediaries | Patient numbers handled by each |
Guide
Ranked first by spending, not by head count
The review places cosmetic surgery first by total medical costs paid by foreign patients in 2015, followed by internal medicine, general surgery and medical checkups. That ordering is about money spent, so it says nothing direct about how many visitors chose surgery.
An operation usually involves a longer visit and more billed services than a single checkup, which can lift its spending total without the largest number of people. So a percentage of plastic surgery in South Korea cannot be read from this ranking. It shows which field carries the most weight in visitor spending, and the review stops there.
Guide
Attitude research: why it is not a usage figure
A 2026 study by Yoo in Current Psychology used structural equation modeling to examine how sociocultural appearance pressure and body image relate to cosmetic surgery attitudes among Korean men. The design maps links between those factors.
Attitude data and usage data answer different questions. A favorable view of surgery does not mean a person has had one or plans to, and an unfavorable view does not rule it out. When plastic surgery south korea statistics are discussed, studies like this one keep men in the picture, a group often missing from casual claims about who chooses surgery in Korea.
- Attitude scores describe opinions, not operations.
- A model of links between factors is not a headcount.
- Results from one group of men do not describe women or the whole population.
Guide
Why this page quotes no national percentage
Many plastic surgery rates in Korea that circulate online give no traceable author, year or method, so they are left out here. A plastic surgery korea percentage or a plastic surgery percentage in Korea built from unknown sources can travel for years without anyone checking what it counted.
The same restraint applies to impressions. Busy clinic districts and frequent advertising are visible, yet visibility is not a measurement. Plenty of people in Korea never consider surgery, and personal views on it vary widely, as they do in any country.
Evidence
Research behind this page
- Sociocultural appearance pressure, body image, and cosmetic surgery attitudes among Korean men: a structural equation modeling approachCurrent Psychology · 2026 · doi:10.1007/s12144-026-09940-7
Used structural equation modeling to examine how sociocultural appearance pressure and body image relate to cosmetic surgery attitudes in Korean men; it measures attitudes, not how many men had surgery.
- Characteristics of cosmetic medical tourism in KoreaThe Journal of Cosmetic Medicine · 2017 · doi:10.25056/jcm.2017.1.1.25
Reported 296,889 foreign patients in 2015, an 11.1% rise on the prior year, and found cosmetic surgery ranked first by total medical costs paid by foreign patients that year.
FAQ
Questions about Plastic surgery in Korea
Which clinics offer Plastic surgery in Korea?
Clinics offering Plastic surgery in Korea include ENTER Plastic Surgery (Gangnam-daero), Rewind Plastic Surgery (Nonhyeon-ro), Garnet Plastic Surgery (Apgujeong Station), OPERA PLASTIC SURGERY (Nonhyeon Station) and JN Plastic Surgery (Gangnam Station). Each lists Plastic surgery on its own menu; message the clinic directly to confirm the doctor, product and current price.
Is there an official plastic surgery rate in Korea for residents?
The two papers cited on this page do not give one, so no resident rate is stated here. Koh's 2017 review counts foreign patients across all specialties, and Yoo's 2026 study measures attitudes among Korean men rather than operations. Cosmetic surgery is mostly paid privately, which keeps it out of routine insurance records. Any resident figure you see should name its source, year and method before you rely on it.
Does the count of 296,889 foreign patients mean they all had surgery?
No, that 2015 figure covers foreign patients in every specialty, from internal medicine to health checkups. Koh's review reports it alongside a spending ranking in which cosmetic surgery came first, yet the count itself is not broken down into surgical cases on this page. Treat it as the size of the visitor group the system served that year. It is a ceiling for visitors, not a surgery total.
What do statistics of plastic surgery in South Korea say about men?
The research here addresses men's attitudes rather than how many men have operations. Yoo's 2026 study in Current Psychology modeled how appearance pressure and body image relate to cosmetic surgery attitudes in Korean men. That helps explain views and motives without turning them into a percentage. If you see a claimed share of men who have had surgery, look for the survey behind it and its sample.
Why was cosmetic surgery ranked first among foreign patients?
It ranked first by total medical costs paid by foreign patients in 2015, according to Koh's review, ahead of internal medicine, general surgery and checkups. A ranking by spending reflects both how many people were treated and how much each episode of care involved. So the ranking signals economic weight. It does not show that most visitors came for surgery, and the review does not claim that.
How should I read a plastic surgery in South Korea percentage I find online?
Start by asking what the number divides and by what. A share needs a clear group, such as residents of one age range, and a clear event, such as a surgical operation in a given year. Then check who published it and whether the method is available. Figures that pass those checks can be compared over time. Figures that do not are better left as anecdotes.
Does the trend in foreign patients tell me anything about my own safety?
No, a national trend in visitor numbers says nothing about the outcome of one operation. Koh's review does describe the support structure around it, including accreditation of medical institutions, medical visas and help with medical disputes. Those are worth knowing about. Your own risk still depends on your health, the operation planned and the team doing it, and results vary from person to person.