Why South Korea vs. US?

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H

helloremedy

Sofa King Banned
Dec 13, 2023
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2
#1
Hello, I'm from a Korean-American from US and am wondering what the pros/cons are for getting plastic surgery in South Korea vs. US.

Is it just the price? I'm looking around and it doesn't seem like there's a drastic difference in price when taking into account flight + hotel (but I may be wrong).

Open to hearing your thoughts! TIA
 
#2
A lot of factors go into this, but at the end of the day, it has to be a surgeon who you’ve done a lot of research on and you feel comfortable with and who you trust.

If you’re just comparing Korea and the US, I think costs is an important factor to consider so that’s one thing on the table.


Korea is well-known for plastic surgery and it’s probably because it’s much more prevalent there than some other countries, though that does not mean that the US does not have good surgeons. It’s just may be more commonly practiced, especially depending on the type of surgery.
So the pool of experience may be greater in Korea.

But at the end of the day, it does boil down to the surgeon who understands what you want and who has a portfolio with the look that you are going for. At consultation you need to make sure you understand each other, and like I said before, be comfortable with your surgeon and trust him. No matter which country.

Good luck!
 
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#3
I’m Asian, and I have friends who have had surgery in Korea and recommended it. I personally could not imagine traveling
To a foreign country; dealing with the many issues via translator; and not recovering at home. Aftercare is extremely important to me, and I prefer it to be local. It is also important to me that the surgeon and I be on the same page re aesthetics,* and I strive for seamless and open communication. That would be more difficult with language constraints. I would also like to recover in my own place. ETA: I also very much value my relationship with a doctors office staff bc it affects how I feel generally; as well as the level of care and service. I am used to the style of warm and professional service that I find locally.

I wouldn’t make a generalization, and I assume that there are excellent surgeons in many places, but my experience: upper bleph; fat graft; fat removal under the chin. I also had another procedure months later: wet lipo in mid section and under armpit. Both were outstanding experiences. Not inexpensive, but if I had to economize, my face anbd bod6 would not be places to start. Another close member of my family has done more complex procedures, and a dear friend also gave a glowing report. My results are beautiful, yet subtle enough that my own mom assumed that changes were due to weight loss; exercise; and lack of stress. She is not the most observant, and I wea4 glasses, but still lol. :) My personal trainer (one of my best friends) and others who are used to scrutinizing my face and body regularly (like SAs) had similar reactions.

ETA: certifications are important; but so are the number of procedures done; and the accessibility of the Dr. post surgery. I was told in no uncertain terms to contact the office and my dr directly, (patients are given his personal cell) at any time, with any issues. And. I have always received prompt responses. In fact, he often lectures internationally, and I have received responses even when he is across the country; in South America; or elsewhere.

JelksMedical – Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery

jelksmedical.com jelksmedical.com

ETa: there is a strong difference between east coast and west coast philosophies of plastic surgery. East coast is considered to be more subtle; this should factor in your decision.
 
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#5
price and skill. in some areas, the best US doctors barely have over a dozen surgical ops per year using techniques they mostly operate for medical reasons on seniors. in korea, they do hundreds per year. over time that exp gap is huge
 
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#6
helloremedy said:
Hello, I'm from a Korean-American from US and am wondering what the pros/cons are for getting plastic surgery in South Korea vs. US.

Is it just the price? I'm looking around and it doesn't seem like there's a drastic difference in price when taking into account flight + hotel (but I may be wrong).

Open to hearing your thoughts!
Click to expand...

I’m from states and choose to get surgery in Korea.
I choose Korea because of Price but also after care and system
 
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#7
helloremedy said:
Hello, I'm from a Korean-American from US and am wondering what the pros/cons are for getting plastic surgery in South Korea vs. US.

Is it just the price? I'm looking around and it doesn't seem like there's a drastic difference in price when taking into account flight + hotel (but I may be wrong).

Open to hearing your thoughts! TIA
Click to expand...
i live in US and got primary rhino here. the attention to detail and skill level is just non-existent here, plus exorbitant prices. as well as lack of after care. I made that decision before i discovered PF and all my research was from
realself (big mistake). as an asian, I’ll never do any procedures in the us again. currently getting quotes for revision rhino in sk this year. in the chats, i’ve come across so many others who got bad work done in us and getting it fixed in korea. if i was as well-researched then as i am now, i wouldn’t have gotten surgery in the us.
 
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#11
While overall, the price of the hotel and the plane ticket on top of the procedure cost might even out to where you're spending the same locally, I think it's the case that many people either already have a trip planned to Korea where they can tack on a cosmetic treatment as a side, or because they feel like they're getting more bang for their buck. Plus, Korean clinics frequently do promotions where the price of a treatmant may be further decreased.
 
#12
880 said:
I’m Asian, and I have friends who have had surgery in Korea and recommended it. I personally could not imagine traveling
To a foreign country; dealing with the many issues via translator; and not recovering at home. Aftercare is extremely important to me, and I prefer it to be local. It is also important to me that the surgeon and I be on the same page re aesthetics,* and I strive for seamless and open communication. That would be more difficult with language constraints. I would also like to recover in my own place. ETA: I also very much value my relationship with a doctors office staff bc it affects how I feel generally; as well as the level of care and service. I am used to the style of warm and professional service that I find locally.

I wouldn’t make a generalization, and I assume that there are excellent surgeons in many places, but my experience: upper bleph; fat graft; fat removal under the chin. I also had another procedure months later: wet lipo in mid section and under armpit. Both were outstanding experiences. Not inexpensive, but if I had to economize, my face anbd bod6 would not be places to start. Another close member of my family has done more complex procedures, and a dear friend also gave a glowing report. My results are beautiful, yet subtle enough that my own mom assumed that changes were due to weight loss; exercise; and lack of stress. She is not the most observant, and I wea4 glasses, but still lol. :smile: My personal trainer (one of my best friends) and others who are used to scrutinizing my face and body regularly (like SAs) had similar reactions.

ETA: certifications are important; but so are the number of procedures done; and the accessibility of the Dr. post surgery. I was told in no uncertain terms to contact the office and my dr directly, (patients are given his personal cell) at any time, with any issues. And. I have always received prompt responses. In fact, he often lectures internationally, and I have received responses even when he is across the country; in South America; or elsewhere.

JelksMedical – Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery

jelksmedical.com jelksmedical.com

ETa: there is a strong difference between east coast and west coast philosophies of plastic surgery. East coast is considered to be more subtle; this should factor in your decision.
Click to expand...
 
#13
I'm Korean-American and got a lot of plastic surgery in Korea. If you're Asian and choosing between Korea and any other country, it's a no brainer.

Price: The exact procedure I need is $50,000 in the US, but $9000 in Korea.
Skill: Korea has plastic surgery down to an artform.
Aesthetic: Asians have different hair, skin, bones, etc. I pay $$$$ for American hair salons and always leave grumpy because they have no clue how to work Asian hair. I don't like the way white celebrities look after plastic surgery (buccal fat removal ? cheek implants ??). Western plastic surgeons tend to make you older. I'm getting surgeries to stay cute and young.

There is one MAJOR downside. The clinics that target foreigners are used to seeing you for 2 weeks and never seeing you again. The surgeon doesn't know what the result looks like, what he could've done differently, how to improve in the future. They will default to doing factory-surgeries that look good on most people. They may also use techniques that look good the first few months, but doens't hold up years later. The customer will feel rushed and try to get multiple surgeries all at once to not waste their Korea trip. The surgeon will rarely ever follow up if you live outside of the country. If you have a problem, you likely will look for a completely different surgeon who specializes in fixing that problem, so you may end up hopping from surgeon to surgeon. After hundreds of times the surgeon gets used to this business model and makes it a habit. In my ideal world I would go back to a single surgeon I trust. In reality what ended up happening was I have one surgery to fix a problem, create a new problem, find a new surgeon to fix that problem, repeat. I have also done too many things at once.

My advice would be to look for small local clinics in Korea, even if it requires a translator. The surgeons will be used to seeing the results months, years later. I have been to 3 different places in Korea and the only good, natural result was from the local clinic.
 
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#14
I think US Surgeons have different aesthetics and it doesn’t suit Asian face. They like big cheeks and sunken lower face. They like angular face shape. Not cute. They also seem to be more aggressive.
 
#15
What are your thoughts for non-Asians getting plastic surgery - better in the US or Korea? I live in Asia so Korea is convenient for me to come to as often as once per year.

I think I've found some possibly really good clinics: View, JK and ASPS. In the US (LA Area) I like Eyesthetica (Dr. Samimi) and Wave (Peter Lee) but even in this latter place it seems like most of their customers are Asian! And they're even located in Korea Town, LA!

Anyone have any thoughts on this?
 
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