Korean Facelift (2025)

This guide is for anyone looking to get a Korean facelift and wanting to learn about what it can do for you.

A Korean facelift is the perfect opportunity to rejuvenate your face without surgery. Continue reading and you’ll find out everything you need about this procedure, including:

  • Benefits of a Korean facelift
  • Why pick a Korean facelift over a traditional one
  • Cost of a Korean facelift in Korea
  • The best Korean facelift clinics in Korea
  • Much, much more

We will give you all the information you need, to make your Korean facelift in Korea a complete success. 

Korean Facelift In Korea

Let’s dive right into by first going over what even is a Korean facelift:

A Korean facelift or mini facelift, is a less-invasive ”version” of a traditional facelift. We will mostly use the phrase ”Korean facelift” in this guide.

By targeting sagging skin, a Korean facelift can help lift and rejuvenate facial features. It can make your skin appear smoother and younger.

It’s a very popular anti-aging procedure in Korea, especially among those in their 30s and 40s. Many people opt for a Korean facelift to address early signs of aging.

While a small incision is made, a Korean facelift is more or less a non-surgical procedure.

Korean Facelift

A Korean facelift is done under either general or local anesthesia. It all depends on the complexity and duration.

It usually takes at least 1 to 2 hours and no hospitalization is required. We will go more into detail about recovery later on.

You will get some stitches, but the scar is carefully hidden along the hairline and behind the ear.

What Can It Do For You

There are several benefits of a Korean facelift compared to a traditional one.

First, a Korean facelift is a minimally invasive procedure. With subtle changes, surgeons can get very natural-looking results.

It can help you lift sagging skin and fix wrinkles. It’s also a good option for those struggling with sagging cheeks and chin.

If you previously had a thread lift or any other lifting procedure, a Korean facelift is a good way of fixing unsatisfactory results from it

A Korean facelift can also help achieve a V-shaped face without surgical intervention.

Recovery

Because this is a minimally invasive procedure, recovery time is much faster compared to a traditional facelift.

There will be some swelling and discomfort after the facelift, but it should subside quickly.

You can go home immediately after the procedure. However, we recommend you take a few days off and avoid strenuous exercise and excessive face touching.

You will have to get stitches removed after at least a week. In rare cases, this can take a bit longer.

As for the duration of your stay in Korea, we suggest you stay until you get the stitches removed. Have at least one follow-up appointment before leaving.

While waiting for the stitches to be removed, you are free to explore Seoul. Walking is a great way to speed up recovery a bit.

You can go shopping, visit some must-see sights in Seoul, or try out local foods at traditional Korean markets. You can check out some great things to do while in Seoul here.

Results

Just like recovery time after a Korean facelift is shorter, so is the period after which you can notice results.

After a few days, when the swelling and bruising go down, you can start seeing results. However, it may take a few weeks to finally see the end results.

Take good care of your face and you can speed up the timeline a bit.

The scar is carefully hidden along your hairline or behind your ear. It’s barely visible if anything.

Before And After Korean Facelift

Korean/Mini Facelift Korea
Before And After A Korean Facelift

Cost Of A Korean Facelift In Korea

On average, a Korean/mini facelift costs between 4,140,000 KRW (= 3,000$) and 5,520,000 KRW (= 5,000 $) in Korea.

We use the wording ”mini facelift” here too, because some clinics use that to describe this procedure. While most clinics use Korean facelift to describe it, there are exceptions.

Next, we want to emphasize that these are just ballpark figures. The actual cost of a Korean facelift is different from case to case. A few factors influencing the cost are:

  • Complexity: If a procedure is more complex, and takes more time, you might have to pay more
  • Clinic reputation: More reputable clinics tend to charge more for the same procedure
  • Extra medication: Sometimes you need additional medication after the procedure. Even though it doesn’t cost a lot, it’s still something to keep in mind

In general, prices for plastic surgery are quite affordable in Korea. This is mostly because of the high competition between clinics. To attract customers, they offer very competitive prices.

Lastly, we want to point out the all-inclusivity of Korean prices. There are usually no anesthesia or staff fees, or operating room costs added on. 

However, you have to account for some other expenses too. You will probably fly to Korea and you will need a place to stay there. These are some costs you should consider before heading there

Comparison With Other Countries

We already mentioned how high the competition between clinics is in Korea. This is also why Korea has lower prices for plastic surgery than Western countries.

Here is what you can expect to pay for a Korean/Mini facelift:

  • 12,400,000 KRW (= 9,000$) in the UK
  • 9,650,000 KRW (= 7,000$) in the US
  • 8,970,000 KRW (= 6,500$) in Australia
Comparison With Other Countries

As you can see, prices in Korea are at least 30% lower than in Western countries.

However, these are again just ballpark numbers. In countries like the US, you will most likely have to add other surgery costs like anesthesia, surgeon and operation room fees, etc.

Save Money On Your Korean Facelift

Korea is already a great and low-cost option for a Korean/mini facelift. However, if you use our tip to save money, you can get that cost even lower.

We asked around, did some research, and came up with these tips:

Paying In Full

This one is almost guaranteed to work. In the end, or upfront, depending on how the clinic handles payment, offer to pay for your procedure in full.

Paying in full can earn you a discount of up to 10%.

Complementary Or Additional Procedures

If you decide to get more procedures simultaneously, it can get you a nice discount on the final cost. 

Korean clinics save a ton of money on anesthesia and staff costs if you have more done at the same time. This is why they might just offer you very nice discounts.

As for which procedures to pick, these two procedures complement any type of facelift very well:

Always consult with your surgeon if you want to have more done than just a facelift.

Modeling For Clinics

For some popular procedures, like a facelift, clinics sometimes look for models.

This means that they will give you a very reduced price (it can go up to 50%), if you allow them to use your before and after pictures on their website and social media.

In rare cases, modeling can even get you the whole procedure for free.

If you are comfortable with it, contact your selected clinics before going there and offer to model for their before and after showcases

Tax Refund

As a foreign patient having plastic surgery in Korea, you are eligible for a VAT refund when leaving.

Once you pay, make sure to keep the invoice. You will need it to claim your tax refund. The only requirement for it is, that you are not a Korean citizen.

Be on the lookout for tax refund machines at airports or train stations.

Picture Of A Tax Refund Machine At Korean Train Station

Why Go To Korea For A Korean Facelift

Often called the ”plastic surgery capital of the world”, Korea is renowned for its advanced techniques and extremely skilled surgeons.

Plastic surgery is a growing industry in Korea. Over the years, the popularity has only grown among both the local and foreign patients.

Besides being popular and the plastic surgery capital of the world, there are other reason, that tip the scale in Korea’s favor.

Cost

Korean prices are known to be on the lower side when it comes to plastic surgery.

To compare the cost of a Korean/mini facelift in Korea to prices in Western countries, the difference is at least 30% in Korea’s favor.

Not only that, but Korean prices are all-inclusive for the better part. Anesthesia and staff costs, operating room fees, consultation, etc. All are included in your quoted price.

And, not only is Korea quite cheap for plastic surgery, but there are a ton of ways you can lower your cost even.

Pair all that with skilled surgeons, state-of-the-art clinics, and Korea becomes an obvious choice.

Skills And Experience

Here we are talking about surgeons. Korean surgeons are some of the most experienced and skilled in the world.

To explain experience – they perform over 1,000,000 plastic surgeries every year. On top of that, because it’s so popular, facelifts are a big portion of those.

As for their skill, they strive to achieve results that satisfy high Korean beauty standards. To do that, they have to be on top of every procedure and use only the best techniques.

Korean surgeons are also specialized. You will rarely find a surgeon performing procedures from different fields. Even if you do, they are skillful and experienced in all of them.

State-Of-The-Art Facilities

Koreans invest a ton of money into the plastic surgery industry. It was worth over $10 billion in 2020.

And these large investments are exactly why Korean clinics have state-of-the-art facilities. Clinics have only the most modern equipment available.

On top of that, they have to follow strict standards regarding health. Because of that, the safety levels in Korean clinics is extremely high.

The majority of clinics also have their aftercare facilities and offer medication and other recovery-related treatments.

The Best Korean Facelift Clinics In Korea

Finding the best clinic is crucial for successful plastic surgery. It’s no different for a Korean facelift procedure.

With over 500 clinics in Seoul, this can be a difficult decision. There are a ton of great clinics but not all are the best for facelifts.

Nevertheless, you should never pick randomly or go for the cheapest option. This decision can in the end mean the difference between good or bad results.

That is why we want to help and make this easier for you. We will give you some pointers on what to focus on when researching clinics.

If you want to skip reading all that, you are welcome to check out our list of recommended facelift clinics in Seoul.

For any questions about how we pick clinics or do research, you can reach out to us at info@seoul.clinic.

Customer Feedback

Let’s start with the first important thing for research, customer feedback.

By feedback, we mean reviews posted on various websites and discussions on different forums.

For a Korean facelift, we recommend you look at reviews about facelifts in general. This will give you a good insight into how clinics deal with and perform facelift procedures, including a Korean facelift.

However, if you can’t find any about facelifts, facial contouring or anti-aging procedure reviews are a good option too. Maybe even reviews about thread lifts.

Here is an example of a good review about a Korean facelift at FacePlus Plastic Surgery, our recommended clinic:

Review About A Korean Or Mini Facelift At FacePlus Plastic Surgery

This review is one of the best in regards to what it contains. It gives you a ton of information about the clinic and how they perform facelifts.

In general, a review should have at least some of the following information:

  • Communication before the surgery
  • How the staff of the clinic treats patients
  • Results (if it has pictures, even better)
  • Something about the surgeon who performed your procedure

Another thing to watch out for is fake reviews. Unfortunately, they are becoming more popular, as clinics try to do everything to attract customers.

Lastly, we recommend you look at reviews on different sites, not just one. Good options are Google reviews, WhatClinic, Reddit, and PurseForum.

Specialization

Another important thing to focus on during research is the specialization of the clinic and its surgeons.

The problem here might be that some clinics do not exactly have a set specialization. However, you can easily determine it yourself.

What we do is look at their surgeons’ specialization, reviews, procedures they offer, etc.

For example, if a clinic has surgeons specializing in facial contouring and great reviews about it, you can consider it specialized in these types of procedures.

For a Korean facelift, good options are clinics specializing in facial contouring or anti-aging. It’s even better if you find one specializing in facelifting procedures.

Conclusion

In conclusion, getting a Korean facelift in Korea is a great and safe choice.

Korea has some of the most experienced and skillful surgeons in the world. On top of that, they work at clinics with state-of-the-art facilities.

Not only that, but Korean prices are much lower than those in Western countries. You also have a ton of ways you can lower your final cost even more.

Now that you are finished with this guide, you have plenty of important information about getting a Korean/mini facelift in Korea.

Check out our list of recommended facelift clinics in Seoul, to find our picks for a Korean facelift. And remember, picking a clinic is an important step of your journey. Think it through and make the right decision.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. We will do our best to help you as soon as possible.

FAQ

What is the Korean facelift technique?

Often called a mini facelift, a Korean facelift is a method of performing a facelift with subtle changes, minimal scarring and natural-looking results.

It’s extremely popular in Korea but is also gaining popularity elsewhere.

How much does a Korean facelift cost?

On average, a Korean or mini facelift costs between 4,140,000 KRW (= 3,000$) and 5,520,000 KRW (= 5,000 $) in Korea.

However, the actual cost depends on lots of different factors. We recommend you demand a full-price quote before settling on a clinic in Korea.

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