Kim Kardashian, one of the world’s most influential celebrities with 350 million Instagram followers, recently shared her skincare experience at a South Korean dermatology clinic, posting photos in a white beauty mask under the hashtag: “the things we do in Korea.”
For her beauty trip to South Korea, she flew in on her private jet with sister Khloé and friends, spotlighting the global allure of Korean cosmetics treatment and the country’s reputation as a skincare destination.
Foreign visits to South Korea’s beauty clinics reached an all-time high in 2024 as the country’s medical tourism industry gained momentum with high-tech cosmetic procedures and affordable prices.
According to the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, the number of foreign visitors to South Korea’s medical institutions spiked 93.2% to 1,170,467 from the year prior, marking the first time to exceed the 1 million milestone in medial tourism.
Of the total, visits to beauty clinics accounted for 60%, a threefold increase from 239,060 in 2023 and a 20-fold surge, compared to 2022.
Cosmetic surgery clinics followed at 11.4% and internal medical clinics at 10% and health check-up centers at 4.5%.
Since South Korea began promoting medical tourism for foreigners in 2019, dermatological appointments have increasingly become part of their itineraries.
Among small-scale medical institutions in the country, dermatology made up 72.6% of services last year.
Just five years ago, internal medicine held the top spot, followed by plastic surgery. Dermatology came in third.
By nationality, the Japanese led the pack, comprising 43.7% of all foreign patients to domestic dermatology clinics in 2024.
They were followed by visitors from China (24.4%), Taiwan (9.6%), the US (5.7%) and Thailand (3.5%).
SAME-DAY DERMATOLOGY TRIPS
For Japanese seeking advanced skincare treatments, South Korea is a convenient and affordable destination. A tour program dubbed “same-day dermatology trips to Korea” has become the latest fad.
They fly to Seoul in the morning, undergo cosmetic procedures and return home by evening. Traveling to Seoul takes about two, or two and a half hours from Osaka and Tokyo, respectively.
MEDICAL AESTHETICS
Medical aesthetics devices add to the global appeal of Korean beauty.
Shurink, an ultrasound procedure developed by Classys Inc., has gone viral as a treatment to improve skin elasticity.
Rejuran, a skin booster from PharmaResearch Co. often called the salmon injection for its key ingredient derived from salmon DNA, has also gained popularity among foreign tourists thanks to their regenerative effects.
“While Kim hasn’t confirmed the exact treatment, Korea has long been at the forefront of innovation with procedures like stem cell facials, microneedling with growth factors, regenerative therapies, Rejuran and skin botox for the glass-skin effect,” online beauty community beauT wrote on Instagram.
“Many of these are available in the US, but Korea remains ahead of the curve with faster access to new technology and higher refinement,” it said.
By Yeonhee Kim
yhkim@hankyung.com
Jennifer Nicholson-Breen edited this article.
