Peep Korea
Cost
Compare Lines. Not Totals.
Two Seoul quotes for one procedure rarely match. What a Korean plastic surgery or skin quote should itemize, posted-fee rules, the VAT change, deposits.
The total is the least useful number on a quote.
One clinic sends a single figure for "double eyelid surgery." Another sends a higher one with eight lines under it. The first looks cheaper until you notice it says nothing about anesthesia, stitch removal, or a touch-up. You are not comparing two prices. You are comparing a price with a question.
The "foreigner price" is real enough to plan for. In 2017, Korean press found four of ten Gangnam plastic surgery clinics charging foreign patients close to double the local price, with breast augmentation as the example. The clinics put the gap down to interpretation, extra aftercare and priority scheduling, which patients often could not decline.11 We found no newer neutral comparison. What you can check is what each line buys.
This guide is the method. What moves each price is in our plastic surgery cost guide; skin quotes are in the Seoul skin clinic guide.
Because the name is the same and the contents are not. Korea's price lookup says so. The Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA), which runs it, warns that one item can cost different amounts at different clinics depending on staff, facilities, equipment and difficulty, that the real total depends on the other care and materials given with it, and that each clinic sets its own prices.4
Check three gaps:
Until you check all three, you do not know which difference you are looking at.
Every line below, in won, marked included or extra. The cost guide has a longer surgery checklist.
| Line | What to ask | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Procedure | Technique, area, and dose: units, cc, shots or sessions | Without them, two quotes may not be the same treatment |
| Anesthesia | Local, sedation or general, who gives it, and who watches your monitors | A safety line as well as a cost line |
| Pre-op tests | Blood work, ECG or imaging: included, extra, or not needed | A result can change or cancel the plan |
| Follow-up visits | How many, on which days, and stitch removal | They have to fit inside your stay |
| Garments and supplies | Compression garments, splints, tape, aftercare products | Small lines that add up |
| Medication | Take-home medicine included, or a prescription you fill yourself | You know what you take home and pay for |
| Revisions | What the policy covers, for how long | Ask whether a revision still charges for anesthesia, tests or materials |
| VAT | Included in the figure or added | Cosmetic surgery and many skin treatments are taxed (see below) |
| Foreigner-only services | Interpretation or an aftercare package: optional or not, and the price | You can only judge a line you can see |
General education, not a Peep quote; the clinic sets the final price. Who gives anesthesia is a safety question first; see our safety guide.
Put them side by side. Mark each cell with one of three words: included, extra (with the amount), or not stated. Compare nothing until every "not stated" has a written answer.
| Line | Quote A | Quote B |
|---|---|---|
| Procedure: technique and dose | Named | "Eyelid surgery" only |
| Anesthesia | Included, sedation | Not stated |
| Pre-op tests | Extra | Included |
| Follow-up visits | Two included | Not stated |
| Garments and medication | Included | Extra |
| Revision policy | In writing, anesthesia extra | Not stated |
| VAT | Included | Not stated |
| Interpretation | Separate line, optional | Inside the total |
An invented example with no prices. Quote B is not cheaper or more expensive yet. It is unfinished.
Then line up the units:
One more line belongs in the comparison: the clinic's own posted price.
Yes, for care outside national health insurance, and that includes cosmetic procedures. Korea's Medical Service Act requires every clinic to make its non-covered fees easy for patients to see, and says it may not charge more than the amounts it posted.1 The enforcement rule sets the method: a booklet or similar list of items and prices at the reception desk or another place patients can easily see, and on the clinic's website if it has one. Items may be grouped and shown as one total.2
Cosmetic surgery is in that category. National insurance rules list double eyelid surgery, nose surgery, breast enlargement or reduction, liposuction and wrinkle removal done for appearance as non-covered.3 Korea's VAT rules name the same operations as outside the tax exemption for medical care.6
So ask: which item on your posted list is my line, and does my price differ from it? If it is a bundled total, ask what the bundle contains.
HIRA's public price lookup. HIRA publishes clinic-by-clinic prices for a list of non-covered items the health ministry selects: 753 items at 74,449 institutions in the 2026 release, on its website and app.5 The tool is in Korean. Its categories cover tests, imaging, physical therapy, dental care and vaccines, plus two groups near cosmetic care: hair transplants and laser vision correction.4
When we searched it on 16 October 2026, hair transplants were listed, in bands by graft count. Searches for double eyelid surgery, nose surgery, breast augmentation, facial contouring, filler, skin boosters and lifting returned no items. Liposuction turned up only an underarm sweat and odor operation done with a liposuction device, and botulinum toxin only a vocal cord treatment.4 For most cosmetic operations, the clinic's own posted list is the published price.
Ask whether VAT is inside the number, because cosmetic surgery and many skin treatments are taxed. Korea's VAT decree takes cosmetic surgery out of the usual exemption for medical care, along with a named list of skin and hair treatments, including pigment and acne treatment, hair removal and transplants, fat dissolving, skin regeneration, whitening, anti-aging and pore treatments. The VAT rate is 10 percent.6
The tourist refund is gone. Korea's special VAT refund for foreign visitors' cosmetic procedures covered only treatment received by 31 December 2025. The current text of the law, in force since 18 September 2026, still carries that date.7 The government chose not to extend it in its 2025 tax revision.8 A bill to bring it back until 2029 was filed in the National Assembly in August 20269, and the law's text had not changed when we checked in October 2026.7
Budget on the posted price. A chat or a calculator that still subtracts 10 percent is out of date.
Get these in writing before any money moves:
For cosmetic surgery cancelled for the patient's own reasons, Korea's consumer dispute settlement standard gives a reference point: 90% of the deposit back three or more days before the date, 50% two days before, 20% one day before. If the deposit is more than 10% of the surgery fee, the calculation uses 10% of the fee.10 It is a dispute guideline, not a clinic promise. Of 71 cosmetic surgery complaints in the Korea Consumer Agency's 2016 to early 2019 review, none had been refunded under it.10 Skin procedures were the largest group of the 272 prepaid-fee complaints, at 46.7%.10
The agency's advice: before you sign, check the treatment type and number of sessions, the total cost and the deposit, and the refund rule.10 Where to complain if a refund stalls is in our safety guide.
"Thank you. Before I decide, could you itemize this quote in won? Please list the procedure and technique, anesthesia, pre-op tests, follow-up visits, garments and medication, the revision policy, and whether VAT is included. Please also tell me which item on your posted non-covered fee list this matches, and the deposit and refund rule."
"감사합니다. 결정하기 전에 견적을 원화로 항목별로 나눠 주실 수 있나요? 시술명과 방법, 마취, 수술 전 검사, 경과 진료, 압박복과 약, 재수술 규정, 부가세 포함 여부를 적어 주세요. 이 견적이 병원에 게시된 비급여 진료비 목록의 어느 항목에 해당하는지, 예약금과 환불 규정도 알려 주세요."
A reply that answers every line is a quote. A reply that repeats the total is not.
Sometimes. A 2017 press check found some Gangnam clinics charging foreign patients close to double the local price.11 We found no newer neutral comparison, so compare itemized won quotes.
The Medical Service Act says a clinic may not charge more than the non-covered fees it posted.1 Posted items can be bundled totals, and interpretation may be priced on its own, so ask which posted item your line is.
Mostly not. In our 16 October 2026 search, hair transplants were listed, but double eyelid surgery, nose surgery, breast augmentation, filler and lifting returned no items.4
Ask, in writing. Cosmetic surgery and a named list of skin and hair treatments are taxed at Korea's 10 percent rate.6 A posted price may or may not include it.
Korea's consumer standard uses 10% of the surgery fee as its basis for cancellation refunds.10 A much larger deposit before a doctor has examined you leaves little room if the plan changes.
The consumer standard suggests 90% back three or more days before surgery, 50% two days before and 20% one day before.10 Clinics do not always follow it, so get the clinic's own rule in writing.
Only if the itemized quote and the refund rule are already in writing. The Korea Consumer Agency warns against signing on impulse after a discount offer.10
Treat them as advertising unless the source is neutral and dated. The clinic's posted list and its itemized quote are the documents that state the price.
Before you pay, ask which line changed and why, and compare the bill with the written quote and the posted list.1 Our safety guide lists where to complain.
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This article is general education, not medical, legal or tax advice, a diagnosis, or a promise of outcome. It prints no prices and names no clinics; nothing here is a Peep quote or an endorsement of any provider. Laws, tax rules and the HIRA list are described as of October 2026 from the cited official sources and can change. The treating doctor decides what a procedure needs, including tests and anesthesia, and the clinic's and doctor's instructions come first. For a medical emergency in Korea, call 119.
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