I did non-incisional double eyelid surgery in Korea and asked for Ryan to help translate during the consultations
I had a lot of trouble trying to book consultations because I didn't speak Korean, and they didn't really reply to me when i did whatsapp or kakaotalk in English. so ryan called the clinics for me, made the appointments, and booked them all on the same day so that its more efficient. when he booked the appointments, he took into account how long the consultation will likely take, the amount of travel time(taxi one time, and subway for the rest) from clinic to clinic and how early we should arrive to the clinic so i could fill the forms. Traveling overseas for a vacation, planning all the itinerary is sooo stressful, its a lot of work, so Ryan doing all that for the surgery was really helpful. I could turn my brain off for a bit, have nice glances at the scenery, and just follow him around LOL. if u guys been to Korea as a foreigner, u will KNOW how stressful it is trying to navigate through the subway and using navermaps/kakaomaps for the first time
during the consultation, he helped bargain the price to a lower one. for me, I didn't really mind the price of surgery or services as long as I had a good experience/surgery/outcome. for example, one clinic quoted me a price, however the doctor would be going for vacation after my surgery so another doctor would have to take over for stitches removal. Ryan brought this point up for me and made it muchhh cheaper. (i ended up not going to this clinic but i really appreciated the help since I knew that meant he would be advocating for me in other appointments)
as this was my first time going to Korea and getting any form of cosmetic surgery, i really didn't know what to expect. I did research a lot, but most of the English research involved biggg clinics like banobagi that I wasn't really interested in. he gave me an overview of what he expects from clinics and briefly his experiences he's had with clinics he's encountered. his clients mostly consist of foreigners seeking cosmetic surgery so he is familiar with the double standard that can come. he's soo nice, and although work is work, he is also a friend. he does his best to advocate for us, and even tries to research some good places to go to for eating or activities.
when i went to the first appointment, I had a bad experience, the doctor and staff seemed quite rushed, they didnt really talk about what I wanted, and the quote was very expensive. ryan was very frustrated for me as that's not how appointments should be. he reassured me that there will be other good clinics to go to (which there was! i got my surgery elsewhere!)
Ryan handles all the phone calls for me and quickly informs me of the situation. prior to arriving to Korea, he did his best to fit in a consultation from one of the clinics i was interested in!
in a different clinic, the initial consultation was good, however we informed them that we have other consultations to attend to. throughout the day, the clinic called ryan 5+ times! and even texted him, asking if will be having the surgery with them and that the available slot is very high demand and to let them know ASAP. almost each time, they emphasised giving us a discount if we come in. I was like ooooo discount oooooooo, but ryan wasn't impressed. his reasoning is, why do they keep offering discounts when they could have given that price in the first place? something isn't right. and i agreed, it is quite fishy. so he handled all the phone calls with them, spoke to them nicely but firmly. for me, i get quite timid with phone calls and confrontation, so if i was the one who answered them, i would have probably took the bait and got a botched surgery LOL
I ended up going with mindspring (its located in the outskirts of seoul) for partial incision(mostly non-incision) double eyelid with ptosis correction. i have very thick and heavy eyelids, so I've always believed i needed a full incisional method to remove excess skin and fat, however the consultant said that my eyes are predominantly thick skin and not as much fat as i think. and recommended the non incisional method. this surprised me bc i didnt even think that was possible for me. what really convinced me was that they showed before and after pictures that looked just like my eyes!, even ryan thought that the 'before' looked like my eyes and the 'afters' look like what i want. during this consultation,i didnt see a doctor, ryan kept asking them where is the doctor and the consultant said that they've been working with the doctor for 10 years, i know what he's like, trust me, ill handle everything. it sounds very sketch at first, but idk why, i didnt feel scared. after the consultation, we felt a bit stunned. the consultant was not just a regular consultant, they are higher than a consultant, maybe a secretary ?? idk. we left he clinic feeling stunned but intruiged. we discussed and he shared that he had a similar experience with another local clinic (only saw the consultant, didnt see the doctor, but the consultant is knowledgable++ and higher in position)
throughout the day, he reassured me, and emphasised to follow my heart, which i really appreciated
even though there's probably in-house translator and staff that can speak basic English, you don't know if they are on your side. having a third party translator that can back you up and emphasise what you want and what you don't want is important I think. lots of things can get lost in translation and communication. this is a surgery, so I didn't want to be cheap and skip out on having a Korean translator there
his kkt is ryankim13 !
