How is a medical tourism tour different from independent travel plus direct booking?
The biggest difference between going to Korea for treatment through a medical tourism tour or agency and traveling independently and booking the clinic yourself is who stands between you and the clinic. A tour or agency picks the clinic and bundles the schedule and interpreting for you, but in exchange it passes messages back and forth on your behalf. When you book directly, you discuss the treatment, the price and the schedule with the clinic itself.
When you book directly, what you have to do is book your flights and accommodation and send the clinic a message. If you are looking for an agency because you need an interpreter, first check whether the clinic has staff who can consult with you in your language. Our clinic also has a payment desk just for international patients.
We do not sell package deals, we do not take payment in advance, and we do not suggest extra treatments once you are lying on the treatment bed. Everything you will have is decided at the in-person consultation. How to avoid having the treatment or the price changed on the spot is covered separately in “What to watch out for with aesthetic treatment in Korea”.
If I go through an agency, what happens to the price and to responsibility?
Going through an agency adds a commission between the clinic and the agency. A notice from Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare allows a clinic to agree by contract to pay a facilitator a “patient attraction commission” for bringing in international patients, of up to 30% of the treatment fee for a clinic-level medical institution. How this commission is reflected in the price the patient pays differs from clinic to clinic and agency to agency, so it is hard for the patient to know what money is included in a quote.
Responsibility is worth checking too. In Korea, anyone other than a medical institution who wants to attract international patients must take out guarantee insurance, hold a set amount of capital, have an office in Korea, and register with the city or provincial government. If you do use an agency, at least confirm that it has completed this registration. Taiwan is even clearer about it. Taiwan’s Minister of Health and Welfare said that brokering aesthetic medicine within Taiwan is illegal and that local health bureaus would crack down hard, and stated that the ministry does not recommend receiving medical procedures abroad through brokers because the risks are high.
Does SKINLIFT SEOUL use agencies? Is there a separate price for international patients?
SKINLIFT SEOUL (Dr. Designer Clinic in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul) does not use agencies. And there is one price list for everyone. We do not set a separate price for international patients; you pay the same price as Korean patients pay. With no one in the middle taking a commission, there is no unexplained money hidden in your quote.
The amounts on the price list are in Korean won, and 10% VAT is added separately at payment. Payment is also made in won.
The same doctor consults with you, decides how to do the treatment and performs it.
How do I book directly with the clinic?
To book directly with our clinic, send us a message using the contact details at the end of this page. The clinic replies to you itself.
The reply usually covers the following: which treatments we would not do for your current condition, which ones can only be decided after seeing you at the in-person consultation, the relevant section of the price list, and how to get from Incheon or Gimpo Airport to the clinic in Yeongdeungpo and how long it takes. You do not need to send photos first.
Clinic hours are Monday to Friday 10:00–20:30 (lunch 13:00–14:00) and Saturday 10:00–16:30, closed on Sunday. Once your travel dates are set, fit the in-person consultation date within these hours.
What information should I send before booking?
When you send a booking message to a clinic in Korea, include the five things below and you will get advice that fits your situation from the very first reply. It is fine if you cannot fill them all in.
- The area you most want to improve
- Lifting or injection treatments you have had before, and roughly when
- The dates you will be in Korea this time
- The rough budget you have in mind
- The one thing that worries you most
Your past treatments and their timing are needed to decide what to do this time and how much, and we need your dates in Korea to fit the in-person consultation and treatment into your schedule. If you tell us your budget and your worry in advance, we can be honest from the start about what to do first within that budget and what you do not need at all.