[Foreigners Fall for Korean Beauty] Beauty and Plastic Surgery Spending Surpasses 1 Trillion Won for the First Time... "Traveling to Smooth Wrinkles and Get Double Eyelid Surgery"

Medical Tourism Spending in Korea Surpasses 1 Trillion Won Last Year
Foreign Visitors Flock to Dermatology and Plastic Surgery Clinics
Dermatology Overtakes Plastic Surgery Since Last Year
Sharp Increase in Japanese Tourists... Weekend Visits on the Rise

With the rising popularity of Hallyu and K-Beauty, the spending by foreign visitors on beauty and plastic surgery in Korea surpassed 1 trillion won for the first time last year. The main consumer countries were the United States, China, and Japan, with dermatology visits significantly outnumbering plastic surgery visits.

On the 12th, an advertisement for a plastic surgery clinic was posted at Sinsa Station in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

On the 16th, Asia Economy Newspaper analyzed the ‘Medical Tourism Status’ data from the Korea Tourism Organization Data Lab and found that last year, foreign medical tourism spending amounted to 1.3032 trillion won. Of this, 77% (about 1 trillion won) was spent on dermatology and plastic surgery, and the proportion of foreign spending related to beauty and plastic surgery steadily increased from 47% in 2022 to 64% in 2023.

At Year-End, 9 out of 10 Foreigners Visited Dermatology or Plastic Surgery Clinics... Dermatology Surpasses Plastic Surgery

The largest sector in foreign medical tourism was dermatology. Last year, dermatology accounted for 49% (638.6 billion won) of foreign medical tourism spending, significantly surpassing plastic surgery at 28% (364.9 billion won). Until 2023, dermatology spending was about half that of plastic surgery, but last year it showed rapid growth and overtook plastic surgery for the first time.

Demand was especially concentrated at the end of the year. As of December last year, the combined spending on dermatology and plastic surgery accounted for 89% (about 118.9 billion won), meaning 9 out of 10 medical tourists visited either dermatology or plastic surgery clinics. During the same period, dermatology accounted for about 53% and plastic surgery for 36% of total spending.

This trend is also confirmed by the VAT refund records of foreign medical tourists. According to the ‘2024 Foreign Tourist Beauty and Plastic Surgery VAT Refund Status’ submitted by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute to Nam In-soon, a member of the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee from the Democratic Party, the number of dermatology treatments last year was more than seven times that of plastic surgery. Dermatology treatments totaled about 414,200 cases, while plastic surgery treatments were about 62,700 cases.

Among dermatology treatments, skin beauty and anti-aging procedures (about 308,300 cases) were the most common, followed by wrinkle improvement procedures (about 66,800 cases). In plastic surgery, double eyelid surgery (about 37,700 cases) and rhinoplasty (about 5,900 cases) were the most frequent. Last year, the total number of VAT refund cases was about 1,030,800 (95.5 billion won), representing a 169% increase compared to the previous year.

The growth rate of dermatology procedures is also notable. Tattoo removal procedures increased by 589% (about 6,000 cases), skin beauty and anti-aging procedures by 490% (about 300,000 cases), fat melting procedures by 303% (about 20,000 cases), and acne treatments by 276% (about 2,000 cases), all significantly exceeding the average growth rate of 232%.

Hwang Jo-eun, PR Director of the global beauty medical platform ‘Gangnam Unnie,’ explained, "While plastic surgery decisions are mainly made by people in their early to mid-20s, interest in skin procedures spans all age groups. Skin procedures have less burden than plastic surgery and occur more frequently, resulting in continuous demand." She added, "Also, while plastic surgery clinics are concentrated in Gangnam, Seoul, dermatology clinics are distributed nationwide, which improves accessibility and has influenced this trend."

Spending by Country: China > Japan > USA... Rapid Increase in Japan

On the 12th, a plastic surgery clinic is located in a building near Sinsa Station in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

Looking at spending by country, Chinese medical tourists spent the most on dermatology and plastic surgery, totaling 326.4 billion won. Of this, dermatology spending was 242.4 billion won (65%), overwhelmingly higher than plastic surgery at 84 billion won (23%).

American medical tourists spent slightly more on plastic surgery (104.2 billion won, 39%) than on dermatology (84.2 billion won, 31%), while Japanese medical tourists had the highest proportion of dermatology spending at 56% (128.8 billion won), followed by plastic surgery at 33% (74.7 billion won).

The increase in Japanese medical tourists is particularly notable. Until 2022, the number of Japanese medical tourists was smaller compared to the US and China, but in 2023, 188,000 Japanese visitors came to Korea for medical tourism. This number is similar to the combined total of 77,000 Americans and 112,000 Chinese visitors in the same year.

Director Hwang said, "In 2023, 80,000 Japanese patients booked Korean hospitals through Gangnam Unnie, and last year this number increased to 120,000. Currently, there are 1.3 million Japanese subscribers, so the number of visitors is expected to increase further." She also noted, "As Korea’s medical technology becomes widely known, the relatively lower cost compared to Japan is a strong factor driving people to visit Korea."

Park Jin-young, Team Leader of the Foreign Patient Attraction Planning Team at the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, stated, "Recently, the number of foreigners visiting Korea for skin procedures has surged. Especially in Japan, many people receive treatments over the weekend and return home. Korea is now establishing itself not just as the center of K-Beauty but as a global hub for beauty medical care."