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KCODI

Plastic Surgery

A Korean face lift, planned around a real two-week recovery

A Korean face lift is the longest stay on this site, and the page should say so first: ten to fourteen days in Seoul, three to five hours under general anesthesia, and about five clinic visits. What you get for that time is a lift of the deeper layer, not just the skin. The questions that matter are which technique, where the scars sit, and who checks you on day 2. Your KCODI interpreter is there for all three.

Typical price in Seoul

≈ $5,800 – $14,000

₩8,000,000 – ₩20,000,000 · total

Stay in Korea
10–14 days
Procedure time
3–5 hr
Anesthesia
General
Clinic visits
5 visits

Market estimate, not a quote. Your written quote comes after a free consultation.

  • Techniques differ: mini lift for early jowls, SMAS or deep plane for the lower face and neck. The surgeon chooses after examining your skin and bone structure.
  • Plan 10–14 days. Stitches come out in stages, in front of the ear first, in the hairline later.
  • Smoking and blood-pressure control matter more here than in any other cosmetic operation.
A clinic reception desk where a staff member in scrubs hands paperwork to a patient standing with a bag, seen across a waiting area with plants (illustrative image)

What she does on your clinic day

  1. At the consultation

    She asks the surgeon to draw the scar line on your face and to explain which layer is lifted. She also asks who handles anesthesia and whether you stay overnight.

  2. Surgery day and the first night

    She stays from check-in until you are settled after surgery. If the clinic keeps you overnight, she makes sure the night nurse can reach her.

  3. The two weeks after

    Drains, compression band, staged stitch removal: she keeps the schedule and comes to each visit. She also finds you soft food that is not only porridge.

Meet the interpreters

Stay in Korea

  1. Day 1

    Consultation and health checks

    Examination, blood tests, ECG and chest X-ray. Tell the surgeon about blood thinners, supplements and smoking.

  2. Day 2

    Surgery

    Three to five hours under general anesthesia. Some clinics keep you overnight, others discharge you with a drain.

  3. Day 3–4

    Drain out, first check

    Swelling and tightness peak. You wear a compression band and sleep upright.

  4. Day 7–8

    First stitches out

    The stitches in front of the ear come out. Bruising moves down to the neck and fades.

  5. Day 10–14

    Hairline stitches out, clearance to fly

    The surgeon checks the wound edges and sensation before you leave. Numbness near the ears can last weeks.

Typical price in Seoul

The range is wide because the operations are different. A mini lift sits at the lower end. A deep plane lift with neck work, fat grafting or eyelid surgery in the same session sits at the upper end. Overnight stay and the anesthesiologist's fee are sometimes quoted separately, so ask. If you are not ready for surgery, compare Ultherapy and Thermage first.

  • You have jowls, a softer jawline or loose neck skin that lifting devices no longer improve
  • You are healthy enough for general anesthesia and can stop smoking well before surgery
  • You can stay two weeks, or travel with someone who can

Questions patients ask us

How much is a facelift in Korea?
The estimated range is on this page. Technique, neck work and combined procedures move it. You get an itemised quote at the local partner rate before any deposit.
Mini facelift or deep plane facelift: what is the difference?
A mini lift uses a shorter incision and mainly helps early jowls. A deep plane lift releases and repositions the deeper layer, which helps the midface and neck more and takes longer to recover from. Your surgeon recommends based on your anatomy, not your age alone.
Where are the scars?
Usually around the ear and into the hairline. They are red for the first months and fade over a year. Ask the surgeon to show you healed scars at three and twelve months.
Is two weeks really necessary?
For most patients, yes. Stitches come out in stages up to about day 14, and the early days are when bleeding under the skin is caught and treated. Flying long-haul before clearance is your surgeon's call.
Can I have a brow lift in Korea instead of, or with, a facelift?
Yes. A brow lift, often called a forehead lift in Korea, raises heavy brows through small incisions hidden in the hairline, usually with an endoscope. Surgeons suggest it when the heaviness sits above the eyes, not along the jaw, and it can share one anesthesia with a facelift or eyelid surgery. On its own the stay is closer to a week. Ask for it as a separate line on your quote.
I am over 60. Is it still safe to travel for a facelift?
Age alone does not rule you out. Blood pressure, heart health, diabetes control and smoking do. Send your medical history first, and the clinic tells you honestly whether to come.

Plastic Surgery

See all treatments

Booking direct vs booking with KCODI

Same clinic, same surgeon. What changes is who is on your side of the desk.

InterpreterBooking direct:The clinic's coordinator, if one speaks your languageKCODI:Your own medical interpreter, assigned free
Surgery dayBooking direct:You check in aloneKCODI:She stays from check-in to discharge
QuoteBooking direct:Often verbal, in a chat windowKCODI:Written and itemised before any deposit
Price listBooking direct:Overseas-patient price list at many clinicsKCODI:Partner rate agreed in advance, no foreigner markup
Recovery daysBooking direct:You search hotels and food yourselfKCODI:Hotel, soft food and pharmacy list for your clinic's area
After you fly homeBooking direct:Email the clinic in English and waitKCODI:Message your interpreter, she relays it in Korean

What clinics offer differs. Ask us about the clinic you have in mind and we tell you what applies there.

What you can hold us to

  • Quote first, deposit later

    You never pay a deposit before you hold a written, itemised quote.

  • A name and a face before you fly

    You know who your interpreter is, and which language she speaks, before you board.

  • You pay us nothing

    No booking fee, no interpreter fee, no fee for asking. The clinic pays our coordination fee.

Doing more than one thing on this trip?

Skin treatments usually fit around a surgery consultation, and a checkup takes half a day. Tell us everything on your list and we put it in one schedule, with one interpreter.

Plan my whole trip

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