Some conclusions to save people time about DES-and Teium

Nosey77

Member
Jan 21, 2014
34
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Ok so I'm going to Korea next month for most likely, non incisional DES and epi, figured I'd post some conclusions after reading the entire master des thread which goes to almost 70 pages as well as the entire Teium thread which is also very long haha. I realize this is a long read but I guarantee this will save you some time hopefully or at least give a good point to start in regards to des or plastic surgery in South Korea in general.

1) For newbies or lurkers, please try to read both the master des thread and the master Teium thread on this forum, that way you'll be able to either post a more specific, relevant ? in regards to your concerns or may not even need to ask anything. There are so many random questions in both threads that could easily be answered by simply doing some research and reading the entire thread. I realize this is time consuming but this is your face we're talking about and you can't expect every single, "So, I'm looking for des, where should I go?", general inquiry to receive an abundance of thoughtful replies and responses.

Now with that out of the way, some conclusions I've come to after doing hours of research (reading) on this site.

1) Foreigners routinely get ripped off or overcharged. Sad but true. Des in Seoul for natives is such a common thing and with so many clinics performing it, a native Korean can get it done for 300-500 (equivalent to US dollars) at times, going up to 1,000 usd seemingly no more than 2k. Whereas foreigners seem to have to pay 3-4 million won which is anywhere between 2500-3500 in us dollars, etc. Obviously one must first recognize what they need, (ptosis correction, epi, incisional, partial incisional, or non) as well as epi or lateral etc etc)
Bottom line you should not be paying more than 4million won AT MOST for DES even if you get the trio (ptosis, epi, and incisional).

I get that this angers many non koreans as why this exists. Well you could argue that they have to spend more money marketing to foreigners etc but in reality this is simply the Korean way. I'm a Korean american and although I don't see this as outright racism in intent, it is pretty unfortunate and shady. If I go to a Korean bbq place where I live in LA, I get free banchan and other sides that non koreans do not get. Does this mean they hate the non koreans? No, but I get better service, bottom line. This Korean favoritism extends to their world of PS, where there are so many non koreans coming to get PS that they're taking advantage of this and charging more. Native Koreans simply seem to give favoritism to their own, and although there's been so much more tourism in the last 50 years and South Korea has risen so fast from a 3rd to 1st world economy/society, their history has been somewhat xenophobic and thus they're more likely to not give second thought to taking advantage of foreign money when it comes to PS. It's hard to me to understand this since I was born in the US so I only understand the American way of fairness and multicultural acceptance (at least in theory) but that's just how it goes. Also, if you consider for native koreans, plastic surgery (esp DES) has been going on for so many decades now that their price points have remained pretty cheap. All this hyper focus on korean popular culture and plastic surgery in the last 20 years or so (which ironically is assisted by the major entertainment conglomerates which run all the dramas and pop shows who themselves sometimes own or invest in these clinics) has brought so much medical tourism (specifically for PS) to Seoul and thus they're taking advantage of it. It's interesting to see that the investment in training and perfecting plastic surgery and exporting their pop culture (in the form of celebrities in dramas and korean media/movies and kpop) has in turn, brought forth more tourism for the country from medical ps visitors who arrive specifically due to this influence.

So what can you do about the foreigner tax? Not much, unless you have a Korean speaking friend that can help you. Hiring a translator can add to the cost obviously since they get their cut. Forget these BS services like docfinder or other things that I've read about that have shady dealings with certain doctors to "feed" them clients, you don't need them. Most clinics have someone that can speak decent enough english and you're better off just doing your research, finding the clinics you want to do consults with and trusting your gut as well as bargaining down and of course, paying in cash.

So, where can you go for Des? A lot of places obviously, but overall, it seems like a no brainer to at least consider Teium.

Teium Pros
1) Overall seems to be the most well regarded clinic for des bc Dr. Kwon has expertise in des.
2) No possibility of doctor switching like at the big clinics bc he's the only one
3) Has done so many Des procedures, specializes only in that.
4) Most people seem to be satisfied (as long as they don't want extreme dolly eyes)
5) He speaks good enough english (so no worry about hiring a translator or
6) He seems to be good at recommending what would look best for those that are clueless of what would look best. Bedside manner from all the reviews portray him as a confident, gentle and kind man who isn't intimidating and speaks good enough english. Seems to be willing to give the patient what they want and come to a compromise if he feels something isn't possible or best for your face.
7) website is very informative and needs to be viewed by anyone looking into des even if you don't see yourself going with Teium.
http://english.teuimps.co.kr/eng/main/main.php


Teium Cons
1) one of the most expensive for des, they don't lower their price much and the girl who does that is pretty firm and hard to bargain down.
2) seems to specialize in the natural look and incapable of something more on the dramatic side.
3) seems to recommend his unique version of magic epi to everyone, since he believes that this is needed in conjunction to des to finalize a natural look.
4) Prob not a destination for those that want dolly eyes or a really high crease
5) the magic epi aftermath will be swollen and recovery time for it to be non-noticeable without makeup could take 3 months or more.
6) some forum posters who went with Dr. Kwon at Teium are worried that the crease simply isnt noticeable enough after it finally settles in 5-6 months afterward.

After reading the entire des and Teium master threads I've come away impressed that overall, most of his des patients are pretty satisfied, and many of them are ecstatic at his results. Practice makes perfect and thus he's pretty much a no brainer if you don't mind the more natural results as well as paying more. In the end, if I have to pay 1000 us dollars more for des than at a different clinic where Korean natives go I'm totally fine with that. I recognize that des is less risky than something like a rhinoplasty so I'm pretty content realizing that Dr Kwon is probably the no brainer choice for something safe that will not be a failure. Although you can easily find des for half the price or even less in Seoul if you're not a native korean it just seems like too much of a crapshoot to know who else is almost or just as good. After reading so much on here (thanks to all those who contributed, it seems like the logical conclusion is to simply go to Dr. Kwon at Teium.


The only other clinic I'm considering for a consult is Girin because I've seen a lot of first hand testimonials on realself as well as a few glowing reviews on the master des thread. I love the fact that they state on their website that foreigners won't get charged more (yes I'm korean but my korean sucks and they can tell I'm not a native even though I look Korean) as well as their unique way of des that supposedly has less recovery time and no scarring. Because of my des situation (non incisional) I feel like going into Girin for a consult even though I have my mind made up on Teium is a no brainer, since perhaps I don't really need epi and thus wont have to wear concealer for 3 months after the surgery on my inner eyes etc.

Anyhow, I realize this post was way too long but hopefully it gives some of you some insight and help for those considering des.
 
I also went to teuim for consultation, Dr Kwon really is a gentle and soft spoken person. Actually I only interested of doing DES instead of epicanthoplasty but the lady who work at there saying must do epicanthoplasty and they won't do DES for if I not agree doing epicanthoplasty. At the end, I choose another clinic. >< They're quite firmly on doing epicanthoplasty. =x
 
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I had my DES, EPI and Fat graft with Dr Kwon about 3 months ago and I"ve been fully recovered for about a month now.

A few thoughts:

The experience of the procedure where I was awake was extremely nerve-wrecking. Shortly after I was injected with the anesthetic, I felt myself start to hallucinate and recall thinking I was being transported to another world. I won't go into details but it seems to be consistent with some of the other comments I've seen on this board. I came out of 'it' after (maybe) 5 minutes and was left with a migraine for most of the procedure.

I agree that Dr Kwon can carry a conversation in English but I think he struggles when it comes to explaining something in detail. There was only one nurse at that clinic who spoke english and her vocabulary was quite limited.

The recovery process was unexpected. In a nutshell, during my recovery period my right eye was much bigger than my left eye and my left looked like it was infected. I was prepared to look swollen but never did I imagine there would be such a dramatic difference between my right and left and because of that monstrosity I kept myself indoors for the most part. The standard response from the clinic was to be patient and wait since it can take up to 6 months to fully heal. There was nothing much I could do but to be patient (and use ice packs incessantly).

Regarding the EPI, I've seen comments about scarring but I had no issues at all.

All that said, 3 months post-op and I'm quite pleased with my results (I thank God that it healed well). Everyone says it looks natural, my eyes look bigger (and I feel, longer because of the epi). The fat graft has transformed me as well - I look refreshed even after a 10 hour work day.

Everyone has a different expectation so I can't recommend/not recommend because it wasn't perfect but I can say that my end result so far has been satisfying.