Chinese flock to South Korea for plastic surgery
- 13 years ago
Twenty-four-year old Wang Li from China wants to look like her favourite South Korean actress.
The Beijing native is one of a growing number of affluent Chinese, heavily influenced by South Korean pop culture, who head to Seoul for cosmetic surgery.
Medical tourism in the country is booming - health chiefs say there were more than 80,000 medical tourists last year, compared to just 8000 three years earlier.
Dr Park Won-Jin, director of aesthetic surgery at this Seoul clinic, has seen the sharp rise himself.
(SOUNDBITE) (Korean) DR. PARK WON-JIN, DIRECTOR OF WONJIN AESTHETIC SURGERY CLINIC, SAYING:
"Recently, the number of patients have sharply increased along with popularity of South Korean dramas and K-pop. These days, we're having more than five patients for surgeries or consultation on a daily basis."
Wang says she was convinced to go ahead with her surgeries by the results of her friends' procedures.
(SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 24-YEAR-OLD CHINESE PATIENT WANG LI SAYING:
"All my friends come here for their surgery. The pricing is, how should I put it, not about how cheap or expensive it is, as long as the result is good it's fine. I've seen my friends after their surgery here, their results are great, and after recovery their faces do not have any side-effects. It's especially good, so I decided to come here for the surgery."
A week after her treatment which included a double eye-lid procedure, a nose job and more face-contouring, Wang is happy with the results.
SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 24-YEAR-OLD CHINESE PATIENT WANG LI SAYING:
"I've come to South Korea for the surgery, and I feel the result is quite good. Hopefully after the swelling subsides I will have the face I want, the face of Lee Da-hae. That will be good."
Government officials say they expect one million medical tourists a year in South Korea by 2020.
Sunita Rappai, Reuters
The Beijing native is one of a growing number of affluent Chinese, heavily influenced by South Korean pop culture, who head to Seoul for cosmetic surgery.
Medical tourism in the country is booming - health chiefs say there were more than 80,000 medical tourists last year, compared to just 8000 three years earlier.
Dr Park Won-Jin, director of aesthetic surgery at this Seoul clinic, has seen the sharp rise himself.
(SOUNDBITE) (Korean) DR. PARK WON-JIN, DIRECTOR OF WONJIN AESTHETIC SURGERY CLINIC, SAYING:
"Recently, the number of patients have sharply increased along with popularity of South Korean dramas and K-pop. These days, we're having more than five patients for surgeries or consultation on a daily basis."
Wang says she was convinced to go ahead with her surgeries by the results of her friends' procedures.
(SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 24-YEAR-OLD CHINESE PATIENT WANG LI SAYING:
"All my friends come here for their surgery. The pricing is, how should I put it, not about how cheap or expensive it is, as long as the result is good it's fine. I've seen my friends after their surgery here, their results are great, and after recovery their faces do not have any side-effects. It's especially good, so I decided to come here for the surgery."
A week after her treatment which included a double eye-lid procedure, a nose job and more face-contouring, Wang is happy with the results.
SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 24-YEAR-OLD CHINESE PATIENT WANG LI SAYING:
"I've come to South Korea for the surgery, and I feel the result is quite good. Hopefully after the swelling subsides I will have the face I want, the face of Lee Da-hae. That will be good."
Government officials say they expect one million medical tourists a year in South Korea by 2020.
Sunita Rappai, Reuters