WHAT'S GOOD PURSEBLOG! So during my research for my (I'm a guy) rhinoplasty procedure I referred to this forum plenty of times for help; this is my way of giving back. I'm now roughly 6 months post-op; everything you're about to read is as truthful and true to memory I could possibly make it, hope this helps someone! To clarify, the operations I was looking for were septoplasty (deviation correction), alar width reduction, nasal bridge height augmentation and bulbous tip reduction (as well as tip projection).
So basically like everything lawl (i didnt end up getting the alar reduction however, due to multiple surgeons saying that my nostrils are too small as-is and I should do it after my primary procedure if results permit.)
I've also inserted some photos that I took without any permission whatsoever for your viewing pleasure!!! Yay!!!
JW Consultation
Upon arriving, JW was by a landslide my first choice. Prior to my consultation, I had already paid a 500,000 KRW deposit to secure a surgery date a month in advance (as I was told they were FULLY booked except for 2 specific dates), and had extensively discussed things online with their english translator, Emily.
JW's lobby was clean and inviting; I arrived at 10 AM in the morning and it quickly became super packed despite the earliness. I met with Emily, who introduced me to Dr. Suh shortly. One thing I'd like to note is that Dr. Suh's english was super good, you can communicate with him fully in english without any major problems. I don't think Emily even had to step in to translate at all during the consult despite me at times being wordy during the consult. During the consult, Dr. Suh took a pretty honest approach; he asked me what I wanted, reviewed my conversation with Emily, then gave me a no-BS overview of what he thought we should really do, and the limitations of the operation. It was also pretty cool how when we were talking about which materials to use between silicone and cartilage for the bridge he gave me a full rundown on the risks between the two and was transparent about other operational risks. However one thing to note was when I asked him if he was sure that he could give me the alar width I wanted (directly between my eyes), he said yes without hesitation (I'll bring this up again later.) The consultation didn't really WOW me, although I'm fairly certain that was because I had already talked to Emily for about 2 months prior to arriving, but I still got really good vibes from Dr. Suh. Didn't feel "salesmanlike" or anything, Dr. Suh appeared to really know what he was talking about and he comes off as a calm and collected individual who genuinely cares about his craft.
MVP Consult
In terms of MVP's interior, they definitely beat JW out in terms of aesthetics; MVP is almost twice the size. That's not to say that they give off a "factory" feel however, I personally just thought it had a nice atmosphere to it. They had two english translators on deck, and I was quickly moved to the consultation room.
I met with Dr. Hyo-Seok Seo who was in a rush as he just finished with a procedure. Dr. Seo didn't speak a lick of english, but this didn't stop him from going all out with examining my facial build, he was pretty thorough in his hands-on examination of my facial features. Dr. Seo gave me extensive drawings on what he wanted to do specifically operation-wise and managed to see exactly where my deviation was without machinery or equipment, which I thought was pretty impressive. He also said that he wouldn't be able to fix my deviated septum completely, as opposed to what Dr. Suh said about being able to do so. I didn't really see this as a bad thing however, most other things he told me were in line with what Dr. Suh said and he gave me some other insight that I wouldn't have known otherwise. The consultation lasted about 15-20 minutes; all-in-all, MVP was a good experience and was realistic and honest about their limitations.
April31 Consultation
My final consult. Honestly, I came in to this consult not caring that much anymore; I knew that April31 had a crazy good reputation but also a crazy high price to go along with it that I wasn't too keen on entertaining. Additionally, I was almost dead-set on JW and if that fell through for some cosmic reason, MVP would be a reasonable backup. As we know from the title of this post however, that changed 0-100 realquick.
Aesthetically, April31 is so unassuming I literally had to look around Nonhyeon Station's intersection area (which is where they're located) for 5 minutes before I realized they were right on top of me. In comparison to JW, MVP, Grand, Line, ID, JK, what have you (I've seen a majority of the major ones) April31 was by far the most humble looking one from the outside. Inside the clinic, the lobby gave off a really "homely" feel to it with a cuteass Christmas tree and calm/welcoming vibe, and it wasn't even close to being as crowded as MVP and JW were.
After a few minutes of waiting, Brian (their translator) came out to bring me into the consultation room (Disclaimer: their rhinoplasty specialist, Dr. Kim, will not see you unless you pay a deposit of 50,000 KRW for a CT scan.) and told me about the now-aforementioned fee before we could really get into it. I was almost about to go like "lol no that's like 5 Bibimbaps, I'll just go with JW" before I ultimately decided that a CT scan would be cool because I've never really done one before. LITTLE DID I KNOW foregoing the 5 Bibimbaps would dramatically change this rhinoplasty journey.
I'll do a little bit on Brian here since his attitude actually impacted my end decision. After getting the CT scan done, I sat down with Brian and we began chatting about some procedures and the usual. And I hate to bring this up because after speaking with Brian, I know he isn't huge on this but: the hype this forum has generated for Brian is the real deal. Immediately, what I noticed about Brian was his vibe was completely different from any other translators/consultants I met during my other visits. I can't dissect our conversation completely, but the meat of it is that I'll testify that Brian is an individual that seeks first to understand you as a person before even remotely trying to think about $$$ or how to "MAXIMIZE PROFIT FOR MY FAT COMMISSION" or w.e. I really respected this because I really could sense that Brian was taking an inside-out approach of genuineness to the consult and was truly operating with strong integrity and through a very human lens, like he's trying his best to make sure you walk away from this weird plastic surgery **** happy and safe regardless of which clinic you choose. Well I mean it's either that or he's literally the best liar/actor on God's Green Earth and myself as well as previous reviewers have all been fooled lmao. I feel it's really important to have a translator or someone within the clinic you know can accurately convey and be actively looking out for your best interests.
A short while later, a consultant with "an amazing nose done by Dr. Kim" (as other forumers have described her) came in and did a profile sketch of my nose and the issues behind it aesthetically. Her sketching was on point. I was super impressed by her artistic ability - I'm not joking at all, it just added onto how impressed I was with April31 and of course her analysis was good.
Finally, we moved onto Dr. Kim's office. Dr. Kim has a similar vibe to Dr. Suh - collected, almost "wise" in a way, but the difference here was I felt Dr. Kim more warm and "human." This was the part where I realized why the 50,000 KRW payment wasn't so bad - I got a full rundown as to my skull's structure and why my nose is the way it is. Essentially, you get sat down in front of a large computer monitor, and Dr. Kim gets to draw on your skull and pinpoint exactly what needs work etc. Dr. Kim was by far the most detailed out of all of my consults in explaining what he was going to do, and even when I interjected with asking why he wouldn't go with X method, he was like "dude no r u kidding me ur gonna **** your nose up we have to be careful" kind of thing. Ex. I asked him about alar base reduction, he said "I'm not going to do that, it might hurt your breathing" which was a direct contrast to what Dr. Suh said earlier. One final note if it's worth anything is that similar to Dr. Suh, Dr. Kim comes off as a person who really DOES his job - he emanates vast knowledge and experience.
Overall, the congruence/integrity behind April31 and their "we'll only take you if we're a good fit for your case" approach was above-and-beyond. I totally understand the price constraints behind choosing this clinic, but before you go even if you think you can't afford them, please at least go for a CT-scan consult, you'll definitely get a lot of value for the 50,000 KRW.
So basically like everything lawl (i didnt end up getting the alar reduction however, due to multiple surgeons saying that my nostrils are too small as-is and I should do it after my primary procedure if results permit.)
I've also inserted some photos that I took without any permission whatsoever for your viewing pleasure!!! Yay!!!
JW Consultation
Upon arriving, JW was by a landslide my first choice. Prior to my consultation, I had already paid a 500,000 KRW deposit to secure a surgery date a month in advance (as I was told they were FULLY booked except for 2 specific dates), and had extensively discussed things online with their english translator, Emily.
JW's lobby was clean and inviting; I arrived at 10 AM in the morning and it quickly became super packed despite the earliness. I met with Emily, who introduced me to Dr. Suh shortly. One thing I'd like to note is that Dr. Suh's english was super good, you can communicate with him fully in english without any major problems. I don't think Emily even had to step in to translate at all during the consult despite me at times being wordy during the consult. During the consult, Dr. Suh took a pretty honest approach; he asked me what I wanted, reviewed my conversation with Emily, then gave me a no-BS overview of what he thought we should really do, and the limitations of the operation. It was also pretty cool how when we were talking about which materials to use between silicone and cartilage for the bridge he gave me a full rundown on the risks between the two and was transparent about other operational risks. However one thing to note was when I asked him if he was sure that he could give me the alar width I wanted (directly between my eyes), he said yes without hesitation (I'll bring this up again later.) The consultation didn't really WOW me, although I'm fairly certain that was because I had already talked to Emily for about 2 months prior to arriving, but I still got really good vibes from Dr. Suh. Didn't feel "salesmanlike" or anything, Dr. Suh appeared to really know what he was talking about and he comes off as a calm and collected individual who genuinely cares about his craft.
MVP Consult
In terms of MVP's interior, they definitely beat JW out in terms of aesthetics; MVP is almost twice the size. That's not to say that they give off a "factory" feel however, I personally just thought it had a nice atmosphere to it. They had two english translators on deck, and I was quickly moved to the consultation room.
I met with Dr. Hyo-Seok Seo who was in a rush as he just finished with a procedure. Dr. Seo didn't speak a lick of english, but this didn't stop him from going all out with examining my facial build, he was pretty thorough in his hands-on examination of my facial features. Dr. Seo gave me extensive drawings on what he wanted to do specifically operation-wise and managed to see exactly where my deviation was without machinery or equipment, which I thought was pretty impressive. He also said that he wouldn't be able to fix my deviated septum completely, as opposed to what Dr. Suh said about being able to do so. I didn't really see this as a bad thing however, most other things he told me were in line with what Dr. Suh said and he gave me some other insight that I wouldn't have known otherwise. The consultation lasted about 15-20 minutes; all-in-all, MVP was a good experience and was realistic and honest about their limitations.
April31 Consultation
My final consult. Honestly, I came in to this consult not caring that much anymore; I knew that April31 had a crazy good reputation but also a crazy high price to go along with it that I wasn't too keen on entertaining. Additionally, I was almost dead-set on JW and if that fell through for some cosmic reason, MVP would be a reasonable backup. As we know from the title of this post however, that changed 0-100 realquick.
Aesthetically, April31 is so unassuming I literally had to look around Nonhyeon Station's intersection area (which is where they're located) for 5 minutes before I realized they were right on top of me. In comparison to JW, MVP, Grand, Line, ID, JK, what have you (I've seen a majority of the major ones) April31 was by far the most humble looking one from the outside. Inside the clinic, the lobby gave off a really "homely" feel to it with a cuteass Christmas tree and calm/welcoming vibe, and it wasn't even close to being as crowded as MVP and JW were.
After a few minutes of waiting, Brian (their translator) came out to bring me into the consultation room (Disclaimer: their rhinoplasty specialist, Dr. Kim, will not see you unless you pay a deposit of 50,000 KRW for a CT scan.) and told me about the now-aforementioned fee before we could really get into it. I was almost about to go like "lol no that's like 5 Bibimbaps, I'll just go with JW" before I ultimately decided that a CT scan would be cool because I've never really done one before. LITTLE DID I KNOW foregoing the 5 Bibimbaps would dramatically change this rhinoplasty journey.
I'll do a little bit on Brian here since his attitude actually impacted my end decision. After getting the CT scan done, I sat down with Brian and we began chatting about some procedures and the usual. And I hate to bring this up because after speaking with Brian, I know he isn't huge on this but: the hype this forum has generated for Brian is the real deal. Immediately, what I noticed about Brian was his vibe was completely different from any other translators/consultants I met during my other visits. I can't dissect our conversation completely, but the meat of it is that I'll testify that Brian is an individual that seeks first to understand you as a person before even remotely trying to think about $$$ or how to "MAXIMIZE PROFIT FOR MY FAT COMMISSION" or w.e. I really respected this because I really could sense that Brian was taking an inside-out approach of genuineness to the consult and was truly operating with strong integrity and through a very human lens, like he's trying his best to make sure you walk away from this weird plastic surgery **** happy and safe regardless of which clinic you choose. Well I mean it's either that or he's literally the best liar/actor on God's Green Earth and myself as well as previous reviewers have all been fooled lmao. I feel it's really important to have a translator or someone within the clinic you know can accurately convey and be actively looking out for your best interests.
A short while later, a consultant with "an amazing nose done by Dr. Kim" (as other forumers have described her) came in and did a profile sketch of my nose and the issues behind it aesthetically. Her sketching was on point. I was super impressed by her artistic ability - I'm not joking at all, it just added onto how impressed I was with April31 and of course her analysis was good.
Finally, we moved onto Dr. Kim's office. Dr. Kim has a similar vibe to Dr. Suh - collected, almost "wise" in a way, but the difference here was I felt Dr. Kim more warm and "human." This was the part where I realized why the 50,000 KRW payment wasn't so bad - I got a full rundown as to my skull's structure and why my nose is the way it is. Essentially, you get sat down in front of a large computer monitor, and Dr. Kim gets to draw on your skull and pinpoint exactly what needs work etc. Dr. Kim was by far the most detailed out of all of my consults in explaining what he was going to do, and even when I interjected with asking why he wouldn't go with X method, he was like "dude no r u kidding me ur gonna **** your nose up we have to be careful" kind of thing. Ex. I asked him about alar base reduction, he said "I'm not going to do that, it might hurt your breathing" which was a direct contrast to what Dr. Suh said earlier. One final note if it's worth anything is that similar to Dr. Suh, Dr. Kim comes off as a person who really DOES his job - he emanates vast knowledge and experience.
Overall, the congruence/integrity behind April31 and their "we'll only take you if we're a good fit for your case" approach was above-and-beyond. I totally understand the price constraints behind choosing this clinic, but before you go even if you think you can't afford them, please at least go for a CT-scan consult, you'll definitely get a lot of value for the 50,000 KRW.
Last edited:
