Price guide

How Korean clinic prices work

Our Seoul prices come from event listings on Gangnam Unni, the app Koreans use to compare clinics. They're real prices, but most come with fine print. Here's how to read them, and what changes the price you'll actually pay.

This week in Seoul

Event price vs the clinic's regular price

Every Gangnam Unni event sits next to a stated regular price (정상가). The platform blocks discounts of 49% or more, and Korea's consumer agency found many "limited-time" discounts are renewed every month, so treat the regular price as an anchor, not what most people pay.

TreatmentEvent medianListed regularOne-off deals
Botox for frown & forehead lines · 40 clinics₩29,350₩50,0004/40
Jaw Botox (masseter slimming) · 78 clinics₩44,000₩65,0008/78
Skin Botox (microbotox) · 42 clinics₩131,450₩219,0003/42
Rejuran Healer · 61 clinics₩207,000₩374,0009/61
Juvelook · 11 clinics₩165,000₩323,5001/11
Exosome Skin Booster · 5 clinics₩200,000₩569,5000/5
Water-glow injections · 8 clinics₩81,750₩119,0001/8
Shurink Universe · 61 clinics₩99,000₩179,00013/61
Ultherapy · 56 clinics₩990,000₩1,744,0004/56
Thermage FLX · 36 clinics₩1,980,000₩3,355,0004/36
Oligio · 24 clinics₩312,950₩540,0003/24
InMode Lifting (FX + Forma) · 28 clinics₩103,950₩187,0004/28
Titanium Lifting · 15 clinics₩385,000₩655,0002/15
Onda lifting · 23 clinics₩328,900₩580,0005/23
Pico toning · 16 clinics₩42,900₩97,00011/16
Potenza RF Microneedling · 33 clinics₩199,000₩375,0005/33
LDM (Water-Drop Lifting) · 34 clinics₩66,000₩128,0008/34
Aqua Peel · 12 clinics₩27,500₩65,0006/12
Hyaluronic acid (HA) dermal filler · 55 clinics₩99,000₩165,0004/55
Sculptra · 18 clinics₩770,000₩1,300,0002/18

"One-off deals" counts listings marked first visit, trial price, once per person, or set days only. Listed regular price is the median among listings that show a higher regular price.

Read the fine print

10 things that change the price

1

Many prices are first-visit or one-time trial offers

Options labelled 첫방문 (first visit) or 체험가 (trial price) apply once per new patient, and Gangnam Unni requires clinics to state conditions such as 'first-visit price applies only once'. Korean press describes many ultra-cheap one-time trial prices as bait products: the price is real, but a second session or a larger area costs more.

Source: Gangnam Unni partner guide: event operation rules (Korean) · Chosun Ilbo, 6 Jul 2024: 1,000-won Botox bait pricing and upselling (Korean)

2

Expect to be offered more at the consultation

Chosun Ilbo reported a patient who came for a 990-won Botox deal and was steered to 30,000-won domestic or 100,000-won imported toxin, and another who paid 16,000 won plus tax for an advertised 1,000-won-per-area offer. In September 2026 JTBC reported a Gangnam clinic where a woman who agreed to 1.43 million won of Botox and fat-dissolving injections under sedation was billed 16.4 million won for 16 items after nine hours. Agree the exact items and total before any sedation.

Source: Chosun Ilbo, 6 Jul 2024 (Korean) · JTBC Newsroom, 15 Sep 2026: '15-minute procedure' became 9 hours (Korean) · Chosun Ilbo, 28 Feb 2025: lowest-price competition among cosmetic and skin clinics (Korean)

3

'Limited-time' events are often permanent, and prepaid packages are hard to refund

A Korea Consumer Agency survey (Sept 2025) found 13 of 14 chain aesthetic clinics renewed the same 'limited-time' discount every month, with discounts averaging 38.4%. Most used contract terms unfavourable to consumers, often restricting cancellation of prepaid packages, and over half of surveyed patients never received a written contract. Weekday or time-slot deals are the same marketing, so do not rush into a package.

Source: The Public, 19 Sep 2025: KCA survey of aesthetic clinics (Korean)

4

Clinics can post different prices for foreigners

Gangnam Unni lets a clinic register separate events for Korea, Japan and 'other countries' and link them, so the Korean-app price we show may not be the price a clinic shows you in the English app. Events aimed at foreign patients are excluded from in-app payment. Gangnam Unni's own Unni Guide service says it steers foreigners to clinics that give the same price to locals and visitors, and many clinics now advertise equal pricing, but you should show the Korean listing and ask.

Source: Gangnam Unni partner guide: event registration, target country and app payment (Korean) · Asia Business Daily, 4 Mar 2026: Gangnam Unni opens Unni Guide Center · Unni Guide (Gangnam Unni concierge) · Asia Business Daily, 3 Sep 2024: skin clinics full of foreigners (Korean)

5

Agencies and brokers can take up to 30% of the bill

Korea caps the commission a clinic may pay a registered foreign-patient agency at 30% of the total treatment fee for clinics (20% for hospitals, 15% for tertiary hospitals), and unregistered brokers are illegal. That commission is paid by the clinic, so an agency-booked price can be built to include it. Booking the clinic directly with the Korean listing in hand removes that layer.

Source: Ministry of Health and Welfare: foreign patient referral fee cap of 30% (Korean) · Medical Observer: referral fee cannot exceed 30% of treatment cost (Korean) · Korea Herald: will end of VAT refund drive medical tourists away?

6

No VAT refund on cosmetic treatments in 2026

The 10% VAT refund for foreign tourists on cosmetic procedures, including skin regeneration, whitening, anti-ageing and wrinkle treatments at registered clinics, ended on 31 December 2025 after running since April 2016. Two bills to revive it (to end-2027 and to end-2029) were filed in April and August 2026 but had not passed as of mid-August 2026. The 'VAT 포함' price on a listing is therefore what you pay.

Source: Korea Herald: end of Korea's aesthetics VAT refund · Hankyung, 14 Aug 2026: bipartisan bills to revive the refund (Korean) · Health Kyunghyang: Lee Dal-hee bill to reapply the refund until 2029 (Korean) · Newsis, 31 Jul 2025: government ends the refund from 2026 (Korean)

7

Numbing, sedation, tips and shot counts change the total

Gangnam Unni tells clinics to include VAT, anaesthesia and aftercare in event prices, and to state the cost if anaesthesia is optional, so read the option text for these. For lifting lasers like Ulthera, the same headline price can differ in real cost depending on whether sedation is extra, whether the tips are genuine, and how many shots you actually receive. Ask for the shot count on screen and genuine-tip proof after treatment.

Source: Gangnam Unni partner guide: event registration (Korean) · SafeDoc: Ulthera price by shot count (Korean) · Doctor Now: Ulthera 300 vs 600 shots, what to check (Korean)

9

Event prices are discounts, not the clinic's usual price

Korean medical-advertising rules require discount ads to show the pre-discount price, period and scope, and Gangnam Unni blocks discounts of 49% or more, so each event sits next to a stated regular price (정상가). There is no official benchmark to check against: the government's non-covered fee disclosure lists items like nail-fungus laser and hair transplants, and we did not find wrinkle Botox, filler or lifting lasers on it.

Source: Gangnam Unni partner guide: event registration and 49% discount limit (Korean) · Gangnam Unni partner guide: Korea event medical-law rules (Korean) · Ministry of Health and Welfare: 2025 non-covered fee disclosure, 693 items (Korean) · Korean Society of Clinical Dermatology: dermatology items under non-covered reporting (Korean)

10

Gangnam Unni has an English app and a concierge

Gangnam Unni launched its global app, Unni, in December 2023 and now supports six languages including English, Japanese, Thai and Chinese. In March 2026 it opened Unni Guide, a booking and interpreter service with a centre in Gangnam that says patients pay nothing to it and pay the clinic directly; it handled over 1,600 bookings from 73 countries in five months.

Source: AI Journal, Dec 2023: Gangnam Unni launches UNNI global app · Asia Business Daily, Oct 2025: Unni launches in China and Taiwan · Korea Times, 12 Aug 2026: 1,600 foreign bookings in 5 months · Unni Guide

Decoder

Korean price-list words

KoreanMeansWhat it tells you
첫방문
cheot-bangmun		first visit onlyThe price is for patients who have never been treated at that clinic before, usually once.
체험가
cheheom-ga		trial priceAn introductory price for trying a treatment once; repeat sessions are charged at a higher rate.
1회만 결제가능
il-hoe-man gyeolje ganeung		can be bought only onceEach person can purchase this option a single time.
이벤트가
ibenteu-ga		event (promotional) priceA discounted promotional price shown against the clinic's regular price.
정상가
jeongsang-ga		regular priceThe clinic's stated undiscounted price, which the event price is compared with.
화수목 이벤트
hwa-su-mok ibenteu		Tuesday to Thursday dealThe price only applies on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday appointments.
VAT 포함 / 부가세 별도
VAT poham / bugase byeoldo		VAT included / VAT extraCosmetic treatments carry 10% VAT; 'byeoldo' means it is added on top of the listed price.
마취크림
machwi keurim		numbing creamTopical anaesthetic applied before injections or lasers, sometimes charged separately.
수면마취
sumyeon machwi		IV sedationSedation that puts you to sleep during the procedure, often an extra charge.
팁값 포함
tip-gap poham		tip (cartridge) cost includedThe disposable device tip or cartridge is included in the price rather than billed on top.
샷
syat		shotsThe number of energy pulses in a laser or ultrasound treatment such as Ulthera or Shurink; more shots cost more.
국산 / 수입 톡신
guksan / suip toksin		Korean-made / imported toxinEvent Botox is usually a Korean brand; imported brands such as Xeomin or Allergan cost several times more.
유치업자 수수료
yuchi-eopja susuryo		patient-agency commissionThe fee a clinic pays an agency that brings foreign patients, legally capped at 30% of the bill for clinics.

Before you pay

  1. Screenshot the Korean listing and show it at the clinic. Ask if they'll honour it for you.
  2. Ask whether the price is first visit only (첫방문) or a trial price (체험가), and what a second session costs.
  3. Confirm the brand (Korean or imported), the units, cc or shots, and whether VAT is included.
  4. Ask what's extra: numbing cream, sedation, tips or cartridges, aftercare.
  5. Agree the total before any sedation, and don't prepay a package on the day.
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