Shares of South Korea’s beauty device makers are soaring as foreign visitors flock to Seoul’s upscale Gangnam district, where luxury skincare clinics and plastic-surgery centers line the streets.
Fueled by record spending by overseas patients and strong demand for Korean beauty technology abroad, the sector’s earnings are expected to continue climbing, analysts said.
The boom in medical tourism has pushed stocks such as PharmaResearch Co., L&C Bio Co. and Classys Inc. to new heights this year.
Kosdaq-listed PharmaResearch jumped 2.6% to 563,000 won ($396.95) on Thursday, while L&C Bio and Classys added 12% and 0.6%, respectively, according to the Korea Exchange.
PharmaResearch extended its 116% gain since January, and L&C Bio has more than doubled this year.
Analysts attributed a surge in foreign medical spending and the return of Chinese tour groups after Seoul has loosened visa rules to the stocks’ rally.
According to data from the Korea Tourism Organization and Korean alternative data platform KED Aicel, foreign visitors spent 199.4 billion won on medical services in September, up 71.7% from a year earlier and marking the highest monthly figure since April.
Dermatology accounted for 115 billion won, rising 81.4% year-on-year, with Chinese patients alone spending 56.8 billion won, up 63%. Japanese and US patients also boosted spending by 45.7% and 59.2%, respectively.
“China’s National Day holidays and Seoul’s visa-waiver program for Chinese travelers are expected to further drive a rebound in domestic sales for medical device firms in the fourth quarter,” said Park Jong-hyun, an analyst at Daol Investment & Securities Co.
Expectations are growing high for the companies’ strong third-quarter results.
Kyobo Securities Co. projects PharmaResearch’s revenue to jump 58.6% from a year ago to 141.5 billion won, with operating profit up 75.8% to 61.4 billion won, citing higher exports and lower marketing costs.
Samsung Securities Co. also forecast the stock’s recent pullback makes its valuation “attractive again,” despite market volatility.
A GLOBAL SKINCARE PILGRIMAGE
The numbers mirror Korea’s rise as a global destination for skincare and medical aesthetics, a trend recently amplified by celebrity endorsements.
Kim Kardashian, one of the world’s most influential figures with 350 million Instagram followers, drew global attention this summer when she shared photos from a Seoul dermatology clinic, wearing a white beauty mask tagged “The things we do in Korea.”
She arrived by private jet with her sister Khloé and friends, spotlighting the country’s reputation as a mecca for advanced skincare.
Foreign visits to Korea’s medical institutions surged 93% in 2024 to 1.17 million, surpassing the 1 million mark for the first time, according to the Korea Health Industry Development Institute.
Dermatology clinics made up 60% of those visits, three times more than the previous year and 20 times higher than in 2022.
Among foreign patients, Japanese visitors led the surge, accounting for 44% of total dermatology cases, followed by Chinese (24.4%), Taiwanese (9.6%), Americans (5.7%), and Thais (3.5%).
For Japanese consumers, “same-day dermatology trips” have become a new travel fad. They fly from Osaka or Tokyo in the morning, undergo laser or lifting procedures, and return home the same evening, thanks to short flight times and Korea’s cost advantage.
INNOVATION POWERING THE BEAUTY-TECH BOOM
Behind the global fascination with Korean skincare lies a thriving medical-aesthetics technology sector.
Shurink, a noninvasive ultrasound lifting device developed by Classys, has gone viral on social media as a painless skin-tightening treatment.
Rejuran, a skin booster from PharmaResearch, dubbed the “salmon injection” for its use of salmon DNA, is popular among foreign patients seeking regenerative therapy.
Procedures like Rejuran, stem-cell facials and glass-skin Botox are now part of the country’s beauty identity, attracting not only the Kardashians but other US celebrities to Korea for beauty treatments.
As the industry expands, earnings momentum for Korean beauty device makers remains strong supported by rising domestic demand and growing exports to Europe and the US, said Jeong Hee-ryung, an analyst at Kyobo Securities.
By Jin-Gyu Maeng
maeng@hankyung.com
Sookyung Seo edited this article.
