Before booking
Define the change you want, available downtime and budget, then read how the procedure works and its cautions.
A step-by-step guide for foreign visitors covering registered providers, consultation questions, costs, downtime and departure planning in Korea.
Understand the procedure and downtime, verify foreign-patient registration, then confirm the practitioner, product, risks, total cost and aftercare contact in writing.
Define the change you want, available downtime and budget, then read how the procedure works and its cautions.
Prepare to disclose conditions, allergies, medicines, supplements, previous procedures and possible pregnancy. Do not stop medicine yourself.
Ask about suitability, realistic results, risks, alternatives, the practitioner, product or device, total cost and inclusions.
Get written aftercare and contact details and leave recovery time. Contact the provider or emergency services if unexpected symptoms become severe or worsen.
It depends on the procedure, so ask the treating doctor directly. Long flights after surgery in particular can raise the risk of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. Before you leave, get in writing when flying is safe, how much you should move during the flight, and whether compression stockings are advised.
Decide this before you leave. Get an aftercare contact from the Korean clinic (a named person, an email, an out-of-hours number) and line up a clinician at home who will follow you. Complications often surface after the trip, when going back to the doctor who treated you is no longer an option.
Ask for the procedure or operation name, the full product and drug names with doses and manufacturers, the operative and anaesthesia records, a discharge or progress summary, and any prescriptions — in English. For a clinician at home to continue your care, "I had Botox" is not enough; they need which product and how many units.
No. Registration is a requirement for carrying out foreign-patient attraction activities; it is not a judgement on clinical quality. Healthcare accreditation is a separate scheme, and not every registered institution is accredited. Registration narrows the field — it does not settle the choice.
Call 119 for an ambulance or any emergency — free, 24 hours. If you need interpretation, call 1330, the 24-hour multilingual travel hotline, and ask to be connected. Get the clinic's after-hours number on the day of treatment and keep it both on your phone and on paper.
Unplanned follow-up costs can arise and they usually fall on you. Ordinary travel insurance often excludes cosmetic procedures and their complications, so read the policy yourself. Getting it in writing at consultation whether revision or correction is included or charged separately prevents most disputes.
Medical tourism visas come in two forms: short-term C-3-3 (90 days) and long-term G-1-10 (up to one year). If your country has a visa-waiver arrangement, a short procedure may not need a visa at all, but the permitted stay is limited. Check the requirements for your nationality and length of stay in the official guidance below.
Verify foreign-patient registration in Medical Korea's registered-hospital directory and cross-check specialty, address and contact details. Registration is not a quality ranking, so suitability still requires consultation.
No. Downtime ranges are general planning estimates. Discuss your health, expected result, risks and alternatives with a doctor.
Use market ranges for budgeting, compare the same treatment area, product and amount, and request a written total including consultation, anaesthesia and aftercare.