This guide will help you reach a more confident you with fat-dissolving injections in Korea.
Fat-dissolving injections are a great solution for those who want a non-invasive way of losing stubborn fat. Famous for non-surgical treatments, Korea is a top choice for this procedure too.
We will help you have the best experience with fat-dissolving injections in Korea by covering important information like:
- Benefits of fat-dissolving injections in Korea
- Cost of fat-dissolving injections in Korea
- Comparison with other countries
- Best clinics for fat-dissolving injections in Korea
- Much, much more

Whether you already decided on this procedure or are still unsure, this guide will provide you with all the information you need to get the best treatment with fat-dissolving injections in Korea.
Table of Contents
ToggleWhat Are Fat-Dissolving Injections
Fat-dissolving injections are a non-surgical procedure used to remove fat from certain parts of your body. This procedure is also called lypolytic injections or lypolythic therapy.
It’s a method of reducing fat in parts of your body, where you have stubborn fat you can’t get rid of.
Some of the more popular areas, where fat-dissolving injections work best are:
- Under your arms
- Under your chin
- Abdomen (tummy area, love handles, …)
- Inner or outer thighs
You can get fat-dissolving injections as an alternative to some other invasive fat-removal procedure such as liposuction or fat grafting.
However, this is not a tool for weight loss. Fat-dissolving injections are meant to only remove unwanted and stubborn fat in certain areas.
How Do Fat-Dissolving Injections Work
Fat-dissolving injections work by targeting localized fat deposits across your body. These injections inject a special solution, typically containging:
- phosphatidylcholine (PC)
- deoxycholic acid (DC)
the first ingredient, PC, disrupts the membrane of fat cells. The second one, DC, helps dissolve and metabolize the targetted fat.
This solution breaks down fat cells so that your body can naturally remove them. Over time, the targetted area becomes slimmer and more contoured.
Benefits And Risks
The most important benefit of having fat-dissolving injections is the non-surgical nature of this procedure.
There is no incision and no scar left after a successful procedure. It’s a fast procedure with a shorter recovery time than other fat-removal procedures.
Fat-dissolving injections can successfully remove stubborn, small to medium-sized, patches of fat.
On the other hand, a few risks are involved with this procedure. Minor swelling, bruising, and pain usually accompany this procedure.
However, when done by an unlicensed professional with a non-FDA-approved injection, the risk of infection comes into play.
Be very careful when deciding where to get fat-dissolving injections. Your best options are reputable licensed practitioners.
Alternatives To Fat-Dissolving Injections
Fat-dissolving injections are not always 100% effective. Sometimes, the amount of fat removed from them is much lower than expected.
There are some other procedures, that are better in this aspect. However, the two best options are:
But, since they are both invasive procedures, you can expect to have a scar after them.
On the other hand, both liposuction and fat grafting are very successful for fat removal. Liposuction removes it and, with fat grafting, you can utilize it again in some other area of your body.
Another option is also CoolSculpting. However, like with fat-dissolving injections, this procedure is not always 100% effective.
Korean Fat-Dissolving Injections: Expectations
Most Korean clinics use FDA and MFDS-approved injections, so you don’t have to worry about that.
In rare cases, clinics use their injections, which are ”only” MFDS-approved. This is the same as FDA-approved, just that it’s approved by the Korean government.
Nevertheless, both variants are safe to use.
You might also see a few different names for fat-dissolving injections. The most common ones are egg injections and V-line injections, based on the desired face shape.
Procedure Information
It usually takes no more than 1 hour.
The one doing your procedure will first numb the area. You will most likely get a topical anesthetic, so you won’t feel any pain, maybe just some discomfort.
After the procedure, you can leave leave as soon as your done, as there is no hospitalization required.
You will discuss all the information about the procedure in detail at your consultation. Your procedure will be done based on a personalized plan, tailored to your expectations.
Results
Don’t expect to see results immediately after the procedure. It will take time for fat-dissolving injections to do their work. Over time, your body will ”eliminate” fat from targetted areas by itself.
It usually takes around 8 weeks for your body to remove and drain fat cells from your body. This is when the results will show.
We recommend getting more treatments, as this can ensure better results. Usually, around 5 is enough, and you can get them twice a week. However, the number of treatments depends on your wishes, expectations, and body type.
The results are usually permanent in the treated area, but you should maintain a healthy diet and weight.
Recovery
There is no recovery after treatment with fat-dissolving injections.
That being said, you should still take good care of the treated areas. Keep them clean and don’t touch them excessively for a few days.
You can expect some mild swelling, bruising, and tenderness in the area of your procedure. This should all subside in a few days.
Most people can return to their daily activities the next day. So, if you are having this done in Korea, we recommend using the rest of your stay to explore. Here are some suggestions:
- Sightseeing (walking, bus tours, …)
- Traditional Korean markets (food, souvenirs, etc.)
- Shopping malls
Fat-Dissolving Injections Cost In Korea
On average, you can expect to pay around 200,000 KRW (= 137$) per treatment for fat-dissolving injections in Korea.
However, the actual cost depends on a lot of different factors. Some of the more important ones are:
- Area of treatment: Larger areas, like the tummy or thigh area, are more expensive than smaller ones
- Number of treatments: The more treatments you get, the higher the cost
- Clinic reputation: As with all plastic procedures in Korea, more reputable clinics or surgeons tend to charge more
- Extra services: Sometimes, services like concierge or translators cost extra, but are heavily discounted if you get them through the clinic
The biggest factor here is the number of treatments. However, clinics tend to offer a discounted price if you get more than one fat-dissolving injection treatment with them.
On top of that, the consultation and possible visit after the surgery are included in the price.
In the end, the cost will vary a lot, so don’t take the average price as an absolute.
Prices In Other Countries
If we compare the cost of fat-dissolving injections in Korea to some other popular plastic surgery destination, we can see that Korea is cheaper.
This is mainly because of the high competition between clinics and low overhead and labor costs. That way, clinics can offer low and competitive prices to attract more customers.
Here is what you can expect to pay:
- Starts at around 680,000 KRW (= 500$) per treatment in the US
- Starts at around 340,000 KRW (= 470$) per treatment in the UK
- Starts at around 410,000 KRW (= 300$) per treatment in Canada
However, we want to emphasize, that we are comparing the starting prices here. The actual cost can be significantly higher based on the area treated. As for Korea, we gave you an average number.
Nevertheless, prices at other popular plastic surgery destinations are at least two times more expensive compared to Korea.
On top of that, prices in Korea are typically all-inclusive, as they include tax, operating room fees, anesthesia fees, etc. Plus, you can get a VAT refund when leaving.
Save Money While In Korea For Plastic Surgery
Korea is already one of the cheapest and best countries for plastic surgery. This is true for fat-dissolving injections too.
However, using our tips, you can shave just a little bit more off of your final cost.
Paying In Full
You can use this tip for every plastic surgery in Korea. Paying for your procedure in full instead of in monthly installments can get you a discount of up to 10%.
As for fat-dissolving injections, if you pay for more treatments in advance, it can get you a nice discount too.
Clinics prefer this over paying in monthly installments, so think about it.
Combining Procedures
If you ever decide to have more done while in Korea, it’s best to do it at one clinic simultaneously. This way, you can get a very nice discount in the end.
This way, clinics save a ton of money on anesthesia, surgeon costs, etc, and offer nice discounts.
Fat-dissolving injections are a relatively simple and recovery-free treatment. Getting them while already having one procedure at that clinic is a good way to lower your final cost.
Tax Refund
If you are not a foreigner, then you might be eligible for a VAT refund when leaving Korea.
This is a good way to save some money since the only requirement is that you are not a Korean citizen.
Keep your receipts and be on the lookout for tax refund machines at airports, and train stations, …
Why Is Getting Fat-Dissolving Injections In Korea A Great Choice
Besides Korea being known as the ”plastic surgery capital of the world”, there are some other reasons why Korea should be your choice for fat-dissolving injections.
Before diving into these reseason, we want to emphasize how big this industry is in Korea. There are over 1,000,000 plastic surgeries done every year in Korea.
On top of that, Koreans invest a ton of money into plastic surgery clinics, training, etc. For example, in 2020, the plastic surgery industry in Korea was worth over $10 billion.
Because of that, plastic surgery is very advanced and it attracts more and more foreign patients every year.
Cost-Effectiveness
Regarding plastic surgery, Korea is quite cost-effective compared to other countries. Not only is it cheaper, but the price-to-value is really good.
Firstly, because of the immense competition between clinics, they are ”forced” to offer competitive prices to attract patients.
Another thing is, that clinics always try to lower labor and certain overhead costs. That way, they can offer procedures at lower prices than Western clinics.
And lastly, because of how important medical tourism is for Korea, even the government pushes it forward, advertises it, and promotes accessibility to foreign patients.
As for the cost of fat-dissolving injections, they are much cheaper in Korea compared to other popular destinations for plastic surgery like the US.
Safety Standards
Korean government imposes strict safety standards, that apply to all health-related institutions, including plastic surgery clinics.
For that reason, the Korean health industry, plastic surgery too, is one of the safest ones, if not the safest, in the world.
Low numbers of complications and lower risks involved with surgery are just some of the benefits these standards bring to the table.
Experienced Practicioners
Korean plastic surgeons are some of the most experienced plastic surgeons in the world.
As we already mentioned, they perform over 1,000,000 surgeries every year. This alone is a huge reason for the extensive experience
Not only that, but they are also very skillful. To stay on top, they attend seminars, trainings, courses, etc. That is how they remain the best and use only the latest and most advanced techniques.
Combining both experience and skill level, Korean surgeons are your top choice for plastic surgery.
This is also true for fat-dissolving injections. You need to be very precise to successfully perform this procedure, and Korean surgeons most definitely are.
FInding A Top Fat-Dissolving Injections Clinic In Korea
This brings us to the last part of this guide, which is about finding the best clinic for your fat-dissolving injection treatment in Korea.
Getting this done at a good clinic is very important. In the end, this decision can mean the difference between good and bad results.
We suggest that you do proper research before actually settling down on one clinic. To help you with this, we will give you a few pointers on what your focus points should be.
If you want to skip reading all that, head on to our list of recommended fat-dissolving injection clinics in Seoul.
As for those focus points, we suggest you focus mostly on:
- Customer reviews
- Clinic specialization
Customer Reviews
First, we recommend you take a look at customer reviews about the clinic.
We believe this is important because reviews can give you valuable information about the clinic.
As for fat-dissolving injections, reviews about anti-aging, and fat-related procedures are the ones to look for. Even better if you find any specifically about these injections (sometimes also called fat reduction shots/cut line injections).
If a clinic has good reviews about those kinds of procedures, then it’s a safe choice for your fat-dissolving procedure too.
Also, since this is an injection, plenty of skin-care clinics offer this procedure. These are also one of the better choices.
Here is an example of a review about fat-dissolving injections at ME Clinic Seoul, one of our recommendations for this procedure:
This is a positive review of fat-dissolving injections. However, it’s not the best one for research. It’s short and not as descriptive.
A good review should contain at least some of the information below:
- Communication with the patients
- Aftercare, follow-up visits
- Results from the procedure
- How the staff treats patients
- Information about the procedure
Not all reviews will have everything. For that reason, we recommend looking at multiple reviews. This way, you can find all the information you need about a procedure you want at your selected clinic.
We mainly use Google to look for reviews. However, some other sites like WhatClinic, Reddit, PurseForum, … are also good options.
Lastly, keep an eye out for fake reviews. They are becoming more popular as clinics will do everything to attract customers.
Specialization
Lastly, we want to emphasize the importance of specialization in terms of research about clinics.
It’s important that you select a clinic that specializes in these types of procedures or at least has surgeons who specialize in them.
For fat-dissolving injections, good options are clinics specializing in skin care, anti-aging, or fat-removal procedures. These are a safe bet for fat-dissolving injections.
This is important because these types of clinics are the safest for your procedure. They have specialized equipment and staff who excel in these types of procedures.
If the clinic does not have a specialization set, you can figure it out yourself. Here is what to look at:
- Specialization of their surgeons
- Procedures they offer
- Reviews and track records with certain procedures
Specialized clinics or clinics with specialized surgeons are the safest choice for your fat-dissolving injection treatment.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Korea is a great choice for fat-dissolving injections.
It’s very cost-effective compared to other popular destinations and also cheaper. On top of that, clinics have to follow strict safety standards, making Korea a very safe choice regarding risks and complications.
Skilled and experienced surgeons will ensure that your fat-dissolving injection treatment is a success. With a personalized plan, they can produce very satisfying and natural-looking results.
And remember, choosing a good clinic for your procedure is crucial. You can check out our recommendations.
We hope you found all the information you were looking for in this guide.
If you have any more questions, feel free to contact us. We will do our best to help you as soon as possible.
FAQ
How much do fat-dissolving injections cost in Korea?
On average, you can expect to pay around 200,000 KRW (= 137$) per treatment for fat-dissolving injections in Korea.
However, the actual price depends on lots of different factors such as the area treated, number of treatments, clinic reputation, additional procedures, etc.
How long do fat-dissolving injections last?
If you live a healthy lifestyle and maintain a healthy weight, the effects of fat-dissolving injections are almost permanent.
However, the effects can wear-off over time. This can be due to various factors such as age, lifestyle, weight-gain or loss, etc.