Vetting a Korean clinic from Indonesia: a 9-point checklist
How to separate the 30 senior surgeons in Seoul actually worth flying to from the 1,500 clinics chasing your Instagram.
Seoul has roughly 1,500 plastic surgery and aesthetic clinics. Fewer than 50 are clinics we would send our own family to. Here is the checklist Miroa applies before any clinic enters our shortlist.
1. Board certification, specifically
Korea distinguishes between plastic surgery specialists (성형외과 전문의) and other doctors who legally perform aesthetic procedures. You want the former. Verify on the Korean Medical Association directory, not on the clinic's own website.
2. Surgeon-led, not chain-led
The largest Gangnam chain clinics often subcontract surgery to junior surgeons regardless of which 'celebrity' surgeon you consulted. If the clinic refuses to name your operating surgeon in writing before deposit, walk away.
3. Procedure volume and specialisation
A senior rhinoplasty surgeon performs 400–700 noses per year. A senior facelift surgeon performs 80–150 lifts per year. Generalists who do everything are rarely excellent at anything.
4. Anaesthesia provision
Insist on board-certified anaesthesiologist presence for any procedure under general or deep sedation. Korean propofol-related complications are well-documented in industry; this is non-negotiable.
5. Hospitalisation capability
For surgery, the clinic should hold proper hospital licensing or have a formalised partnership with a hospital — not just an on-site recovery room.
6. Before-and-after evidence — yours, not theirs
Marketing photos are curated. Ask for unedited cases of patients with your specific anatomical concern. Ask for recent cases (within 12 months), not portfolio classics.
7. Revision policy in writing
Reputable clinics offer revision policies for technical complications. Verify what is covered, what triggers the policy, and what the timeframe is — in writing, before deposit.
8. Indonesian patient track record
Indonesian skin and bone structure differ enough from Korean defaults that you want a surgeon who has operated on Indonesian patients specifically. Ask how many.
9. The aftercare gap
What happens at week three when you are home in Jakarta and notice asymmetry? If the answer is 'fly back to Seoul,' you do not have a real aftercare plan.
Doing this checklist properly takes weeks. Doing it for one trip is exhausting; doing it for every patient is what we do.
