The best skin clinic in Gangnam for a short visit sets laser strength by the days you have left, not by the most powerful machine in the building. In a split-face trial in Lasers in Medical Science, three monthly sessions of a gentle 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser improved wrinkles about as much as an ablative fractional laser, with less downtime. Ask which side of that trade-off your plan sits on.
Clinics in Korea
5 aesthetic clinics in Korea
| # | Clinic | Devices & products | Area | Languages | Listed price | Google rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Springday Clinic Sinchon | PicoSure · Restylane · Ultherapy Prime · Thermage FLX | Sinchon-ro | - | ₩33,000 | 5.0 (48) |
| 2 | Dear Clinic | Rejuran Healer · Laser toning · Juvederm · Ultherapy Prime | Cheongdam-dong | English · Español | ₩30,000 | 4.9 (354) |
| 3 | RE:BERRY Clinic Gangnam | Laser toning · Juvederm · Ultherapy Prime · Thermage FLX | Gangnam Station | English · 中文 · 日本語 · Español | ₩9,900 | 4.9 (1,155) |
| 4 | Summit Clinic | Thermage FLX · Rejuran Healer · PicoSure · Restylane | Gwanghwamun Station | - | - | 5.0 (157) |
| 5 | ENTER Plastic Surgery | Juvederm · Ultherapy · Thermage FLX · Rejuran Healer | Gangnam-daero | - | ₩70,000 | - |
11. Springday Clinic Sinchon
★ 5.048 Google reviewsSpringday Clinic Sinchon is a skin and aesthetic clinic in Sinchon-ro, rated 5.0 from 48 Google reviews. Its main treatments are RF lifting, skin boosters and laser toning. Its listed prices start from ₩33,000 + VAT. Every visit follows an ask, listen, understand, then treat consultation process.
Unhurried, physician-led skin care in Sinchon
- Physician-led care
- Transparent approach
- Calm two-floor clinic
- The clinic openly shares the names and backgrounds of all physicians working there.
- Care is built on three principles: honest consultation, genuine products and proper dosage.
First-timers wanting unhurried consultations · Visitors staying near Sinchon or Hongdae
- Location
- Sinchon-ro
- Listed price
- From ₩33,000 + VAT
22. Dear Clinic
★ 4.9354 Google reviewsDear Clinic sits in Cheongdam-dong, a skin and aesthetic clinic that holds a 4.9 Google rating across 354 reviews. It focuses on HIFU lifting, RF lifting and Botox. Staff consult in English and Spanish; listed prices start at ₩30,000 + VAT. Open every day of the year, with English consultation and WhatsApp booking before you fly.
Scan-first Cheongdam lifting clinic, open every day
- Lifting-focused
- 3D scan first
- Warm-luxury interior
- An EVE Muse 3D skin scan is taken and read before any treatment is recommended.
- Filler menu extends beyond the face to earlobe, shoulder line and hip dip areas.
Short trips needing weekend slots · Filler beyond lips and chin
- Location
- Cheongdam-dong
- Languages
- English · Español
- Listed price
- From ₩30,000 + VAT
33. RE:BERRY Clinic Gangnam
★ 4.91,155 Google reviewsRE:BERRY Clinic Gangnam runs a skin and aesthetic clinic a 2-minute walk from Gangnam Station Exit 10; its Google rating is 4.9 from 1,155 reviews. HIFU lifting, RF lifting and Botox lead its menu. Consultations are available in English, Chinese, Japanese and Spanish; its listed prices start from ₩9,900 + VAT. Open every day, 10:00–20:00 including holidays, two minutes from Gangnam Station Exit 10.
Gangnam Station skin clinic built around five-language care
- Five-language desk
- Gallery-style interior
- Regenerative skin menu
- Board-certified dermatologists on staff
- Consultations in English, Japanese, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, and Spanish through in-house interpreters.
- Offers 90 days of multilingual messenger follow-up after visitors return home.
Non-English speakers wanting own language · Evening or holiday appointments
- Location
- Gangnam Station (Line 2) Exit 10, 2 min walk
- Languages
- English · 中文 · 日本語 · Español
- Listed price
- From ₩9,900 + VAT
44. Summit Clinic
★ 5.0157 Google reviewsSummit Clinic is a 3-minute walk from Gwanghwamun Station Exit 5, a skin and aesthetic clinic with a 5.0 average from 157 Google reviews. Its main treatments are RF lifting, skin boosters and laser toning. The clinic opens weekdays 10:30 to 20:30 with no lunch break, and Saturdays 10:00 to 17:00.
Gwanghwamun skin clinic for lifting, lasers and skin boosters
- Lifting devices
- Laser & pigment
- Warm beige lounge
- The site runs in Korean, English and Chinese, with WhatsApp, LINE, WeChat and KakaoTalk contact.
- It is a three-minute walk from Gwanghwamun Station Exit 5 and City Hall Station Exit 4.
Lifting and skin booster plans · Weekday evening appointments
- Location
- Gwanghwamun Station Exit 5, 3 min walk
55. ENTER Plastic Surgery
ENTER Plastic Surgery is a plastic surgery clinic in Gangnam-daero. It focuses on thread lifts, plastic surgery and facelift surgery. Its listed prices start from ₩70,000 + VAT. On-site hyperbaric oxygen, LED and IV drip care are available during recovery visits.
Gangnam skin and lifting clinic with a facelift surgeon
- Skin plus surgery
- English & Japanese staff
- Station-front
- Board-certified plastic surgeons on staff
- English- and Japanese-speaking staff, with WhatsApp booking before you travel.
- One minute from Nonhyeon Station Exit 4 on the Sinbundang Line, on Gangnam-daero.
Eyelid or facelift planning trips · Japanese-speaking visitors
- Location
- Gangnam-daero
- Listed price
- From ₩70,000 + VAT
Prices
Aesthetic clinics cost in Korea
Prices below come from the listed clinics' own price lists, before VAT. 10% VAT is added at payment.
Wrinkle Botox 1 Area (Domestic)
Price at 1 listed clinic · approx. $7₩9,900 + VATCompare clinicsMasseter (Jaw) Botox 50U (Domestic)
Price at 1 listed clinic · approx. $21₩29,000 + VATCompare clinicsWrinkle Botox (1 area: forehead / glabella / crow's feet / mouth corners / chin dimpling / bunny lines) — Korean
Price at 1 listed clinic · approx. $22₩30,000 + VATCompare clinicsWrinkle Treatment, 1 Area – Korean Brand
Price at 1 listed clinic · approx. $24₩33,000 + VATCompare clinicsWrinkle Botox 1 Area (Nabota)
Price at 1 listed clinic · approx. $28₩39,000 + VATCompare clinicsSquare Jaw Botox — Korean
Price at 1 listed clinic · approx. $29₩40,000 + VATCompare clinicsWrinkle Treatment, 1 Area – High-Purity Korean Brand
Price at 1 listed clinic · approx. $40₩55,000 + VATCompare clinicsSkin Botox 1 Area (Domestic)
Price at 1 listed clinic · approx. $43₩59,000 + VATCompare clinicsGuide
Two families of laser, two very different weeks
Most facial lasers on a district menu fall into one of two groups. Non-ablative lasers heat the deeper skin through an intact surface, so you walk out pink and can usually wear makeup the next day. Ablative fractional lasers drill tiny columns through the surface itself, which starts a stronger repair process and leaves fine crusts.
The gap shows up in your calendar. After a gentle session, redness tends to fade within hours to a few days. After fractional resurfacing, micro-crusting usually lasts several days to about a week, and the skin stays sensitive to sun for longer.
| Point of comparison | Non-ablative, e.g. long-pulse 1064 nm Nd:YAG | Ablative fractional, e.g. erbium:YAG or CO2 |
|---|---|---|
| What happens to the surface | Stays intact; heat works underneath | Tiny columns of skin are removed |
| How it feels | Warm snapping, often without numbing | Stinging heat, numbing cream usually applied |
| Visible recovery | Pinkness for hours to a few days | Micro-crusts for several days to a week |
| Usual plan | A series of sessions a few weeks apart | Fewer sessions with longer gaps |
| Main thing to ask | How many sessions before a change shows | Whether your skin tone raises pigment risk |
Guide
What one randomized split-face study showed
Dadkhahfar and colleagues treated 25 adults with moderate to advanced sun aging, reporting in Lasers in Medical Science in 2018. Each person had one side of the face treated with fractional erbium:YAG and the other with long-pulse Nd:YAG, three times at monthly intervals, and two assessors who did not know which side was which rated the results.
Both sides improved on wrinkles around the eyes, the folds beside the nose, uneven color, laxity and jowl sagging, with no noticeable difference between the two lasers. Downtime was significantly lower on the Nd:YAG side. The study was small and ran over three months, so it describes a course rather than a single visit.
Guide
Setting the strength by the days before your flight
A useful rule is to count backward from the flight: the fewer days left, the gentler the plan, even if a stronger option sits on the same floor.
- Two or three days: gentle non-ablative work, light toning or a hydrating booster.
- Five to seven days: room for a mild fractional pass early in the stay, so crusts can settle before you fly and the clinic can check the skin.
- Ten days or more: a stronger resurfacing session becomes realistic, provided you can stay out of strong sun and skip pools while the surface heals.
- Repeat visits to Seoul: a gentle series spread over several trips can approach the change of fewer strong sessions.
Guide
Open skin and the care bill that travels home
A stronger treatment leaves a surface that has to heal, and that healing may happen on a plane or in your own city. Roberts and colleagues counted 81 patients who came to a plastic surgery unit in Glasgow with complications after cosmetic surgery abroad between 2019 and 2023, writing in The Surgeon in 2024. In that series by Roberts and colleagues, wound breakdown made up 49.4% of presentations and wound infection 24.7%.
Those were surgical wounds, far larger than the micro-injuries of a fractional laser. The lesson still carries over: whatever opens the skin needs a healing plan that works where you will be on day three. Ask for written wound care, the signs that need a doctor, and how to send photos once you are home.
Guide
Questions that reveal how a clinic picks the setting
A careful consultation explains why a certain strength was chosen for you.
- Is this laser ablative or non-ablative, and what will my skin look like on the day I fly?
- Would a gentler setting reach a similar change over more sessions?
- Does my skin tone change the energy you plan to use?
- What should I put on the treated area during the flight and for the first week?
Evidence
Research behind this page
- Efficacy and safety of long pulse Nd:YAG laser versus fractional erbium:YAG laser in the treatment of facial skin wrinklesLasers in Medical Science · 2018 · doi:10.1007/s10103-018-2614-6
In a randomized split-face trial of 25 adults, fractional erbium:YAG and long-pulse Nd:YAG gave comparable facial rejuvenation, with significantly less downtime on the Nd:YAG side.
- The cost of cosmetic surgery tourism complications to the NHS: A retrospective analysisThe Surgeon · 2024 · doi:10.1016/j.surge.2024.04.012
Over five years, 81 patients presented to one Scottish plastic surgery unit with complications of cosmetic surgery abroad, mostly wound dehiscence or wound infection.
FAQ
Questions about aesthetic clinics in Korea
Which clinics offer Aesthetic clinics in Korea?
Clinics offering Aesthetic clinics in Korea include Springday Clinic Sinchon (Sinchon-ro), Dear Clinic (Cheongdam-dong), RE:BERRY Clinic Gangnam (Gangnam Station), Summit Clinic (Gwanghwamun Station) and ENTER Plastic Surgery (Gangnam-daero). Each lists Aesthetic clinics on its own menu; message the clinic directly to confirm the doctor, product and current price.
Is an ablative fractional laser realistic on a one-week trip?
It can be, if the session happens early in the week and you accept several days of fine crusts. Fractional resurfacing usually needs about a week before the surface looks settled, so booking it on day one or two leaves time for a check before you fly. Plan sun protection, skip saunas and pools, and ask the doctor whether a milder setting would suit your skin tone better.
What does non-ablative mean on a laser menu?
Non-ablative means the laser heats tissue under the surface without removing any skin. Long-pulse 1064 nm Nd:YAG, sold on some platforms as Laser Genesis, is a common example. Because the surface stays intact, visible recovery is usually limited to pinkness for hours or a few days. The change tends to build over a series, so ask how many sessions the doctor expects before you notice it.
Why might the best skin clinic gangnam visitors choose suggest a weaker setting than I asked for?
A lower setting often reflects your skin tone, your flight date or how your skin reacted before. Stronger energy raises the chance of lasting darkening on medium and darker skin, and it lengthens the healing time. In the 2018 split-face trial by Dadkhahfar and colleagues, a gentler laser came close to a stronger one over three sessions. Ask what change the milder plan aims for.
Can I start a laser course in Gangnam and finish it at home?
Yes, as long as you leave with a written record of the device, wavelength, energy and number of passes used. A doctor at home can then continue with a similar setting instead of guessing. Some devices are less common abroad, so ask the clinic which equivalent machines would allow the course to continue. Keep photos taken before and after each session for comparison.
What should I do if treated skin oozes or crusts heavily after I get home?
See a local doctor promptly if crusts turn yellow, the area weeps, pain grows or redness spreads, since these can signal infection. Light, even crusting that flakes off within a week is a normal part of fractional healing. Send clear photos to the clinic that treated you as well, and bring its written aftercare sheet so the local doctor knows exactly which laser was used.