Getting a Seoul Clinic Appointment from Abroad: A Step-by-Step Guide

How do I book a consultation at a Seoul clinic from overseas?

Your first step is to send a message through the consultation options below this page. Tell us the treatment or concern you're interested in and when you'll be in Seoul, and we'll reply with the dates and times available for a consultation. Pick one, and your appointment is confirmed. Which treatment you'll have, and the cost, are decided on the day of your visit after an in-person consultation with the Medical Director.

Cheongdam RETOO Clinic is on the 5th and 6th floors of First Light Tower on Dosan-daero in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. This guide takes you step by step through what's useful to know, from before you send your first message to the day you fly home after treatment.

What treatments can I ask about at Cheongdam RETOO Clinic?

Cheongdam RETOO Clinic focuses on lifting and anti-aging, alongside skin, volume and recovery treatments. Lifting options include Ultherapy Prime, Thermage FLX, Personal Sofwave, ONDA Lifting, Hyper Titanium, EmFace and TuneFace MAX, as well as combinations such as Ultherti, which pairs Ultherapy Prime with Thermage FLX, and Tita Tune, which combines Titanium with TuneFace.

For skin concerns, there's care for acne and scars, pores and blackheads, pigmentation, melasma and blemishes, and facial redness, using devices including BBL HERO, Dual Pico, OPUS Detox and CORAGE 2.0. For volume and skin regeneration, there's Juvelook Volume Plus, fillers, RETOO Booster and Mirajet, which delivers product without needles. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is also available to support recovery after treatment.

You don't need to pick a treatment from this list before you come, though. The right treatment for the same concern depends on your skin, so it's more helpful to lead your message with your concern than with a treatment name.

What should I include in my first consultation message?

Start with what bothers you most. "My face looks saggy" can mean skin that has lost firmness, lost volume in the front of the cheeks that makes smile lines look deeper, or added fullness under the chin that makes the jawline look heavy, and each cause calls for a different treatment. Describing when it started, which area, and how it has changed is more useful to your consultation.

Second, your travel dates. Treatments differ in how long redness takes to settle, which activities to avoid for about a week, and how far apart sessions in a series need to be. Knowing your arrival and departure dates lets us look at what can be done, and in what order, within that window.

Third, your health and treatment history. Any recent skin treatments, fillers or energy-based treatments, the medications you take, allergies, and past experience with anesthesia are all needed to choose the treatment method and the type of anesthesia. Thermage FLX can't be performed if you have an electrical implant such as a pacemaker, and treatment over fillers or during pregnancy or breastfeeding has not been studied ^[3]; EmFace isn't applied over areas with electronic or metal implants ^[4]. If any of these apply to you, let us know at the messaging stage.

Worth including in your consultation mes

• The area that bothers you most and when it changed
• Your arrival and departure dates in Seoul
• Treatments you're interested in (fine if you haven't decided)
• Recent skin treatments · fillers · energy-based treatments
• Medications · allergies · past anesthesia
• Electrical implants such as a pacemaker · metal implants
• Whether you're pregnant or breastfeeding

Your message doesn't need to be long. Something like "My cheeks and jawline have looked saggy for about two years. I'll be in Seoul for six days in the second week of March. I'd like to compare Thermage and Ultherapy, and I had filler in my front cheeks a year ago. I'm not taking any medication" is plenty to start a first consultation.

Should I send photos, and what can a clinic tell from them?

Photos are optional. If you do send them, they help us look at your areas of concern together and talk about a general direction. Photos showing only the areas you're concerned about are enough. Please don't send photos of your passport or ID.

That's as far as photos go. Skin thickness and firmness, how much volume has been lost, and the condition of fat and muscle are hard to judge from a flat image. Cheongdam RETOO Clinic decides on treatment after assessing your age, face shape, skin condition, facial bone structure, and fat and muscle, so the device, the shot count and energy distribution, and the treatment area are decided at your in-person consultation on the day of your visit. If the pre-treatment consultation shows a high expected risk of side effects, treatment can't go ahead, for your safety.

What photos can tell us

• Where your concern is
• A general direction
• Whether the treatment you're interested in fits your concern

What's decided in person

• Skin thickness · firmness · volume
• Device · shot count · energy distribution
• Treatment area · cost · recovery schedule

We also suggest taking photos of your face before you travel, in the same lighting and angle and with a similar expression. Lifting and collagen-stimulating treatments show change over weeks to months, so photos taken under the same conditions make it easier to compare your progress once you're home.

How is my appointment confirmed, and when will I know the cost?

When we receive your message, a staff member will reply with the dates and times available. Choose one, and your appointment is confirmed. Listing two or three possible days within your stay makes scheduling easier. All hours and dates are in Korea time. Clinic schedules can change, so please check again through the consultation options as your visit date gets closer.

Cost depends on the treatment area, the shot count, any treatments combined, and the materials used. With Thermage FLX alone, the Total Tip used for the face, neck and body comes in 300- and 600-shot configurations, and the Eye Tip for the eye area comes separately in 225- and 450-shot configurations ^[5], so the setup changes with which areas are treated and how much. That's why the figure is given after your treatment plan is set at the in-person consultation, before treatment begins.

What are the clinic's hours, and how do I get there?

Cheongdam RETOO Clinic is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, until 9 p.m. on Thursday for evening hours, and until 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. The clinic is closed on Sundays and public holidays.

Day	Hours
Mon · Tue · Wed · Fri	10:00 – 19:00
Thursday (evening hours)	10:00 – 21:00
Saturday	10:00 – 16:30
Sundays · public holidays	Closed

The clinic is closed on Korean public holidays, so check whether any fall during your trip before you set a date. If your days are packed, Thursday evening is an option; if you're coming on a Saturday, keep in mind that the clinic closes at 4:30 p.m.

The address is 5F–6F, First Light Tower, 417 Dosan-daero, Gangnam-gu, Seoul (lot address 87-11 Cheongdam-dong, postal code 06014). By subway, it's a 500 m walk from Exit 4 of Apgujeongrodeo Station on the Bundang Line, in the building across from the Mercedes-Benz Cheongdam Showroom.

By bus, get off at one of the nearby stops: Mnet Music Broadcasting Station (91-162), in front of NongHyup (23-180), CHA Hospital Chaum (23-185) or in front of Cheongdam Elementary School (23-182). The reservation page links to map directions, including Naver Map and Google Maps, so you can check the route from your hotel in advance. If you take a taxi, just show the driver the address or the building name (First Light Tower).

If you plan to drive, for example in a rental car, we'll let you know about parking availability before your visit, so ask about it through the consultation options when you book.

What happens on the day of my clinic visit?

At Cheongdam RETOO Clinic, a dedicated one-on-one team looks after you before and after treatment. A dedicated coordinator guides you through the whole process, the Medical Director personally handles everything from diagnosis to treatment, and treatment takes place in a private single room.

1. 013D precision skin diagnosisImaging under four light sources with makeup removed · about 70 facial landmarks measured
2. 021:1 consultation with the Medical DirectorDesign and treatment plan · cost and recovery explained before treatment
3. 03Numbing creamDual anesthesia with SonoStyler, depending on the treatment
4. 04TreatmentHeat-based lifting is delivered while watching skin heat on HeatView
5. 05AftercareHome-care prescription · Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy depending on the treatment

The first step is the 3D precision skin diagnosis. Images are taken with your makeup removed, and nothing touches or irritates your skin. Each of the four lights reveals something different: standard light shows pores, skin tone, wrinkles and dark circles; polarized light shows pigmentation, redness and brown spots; gloss light shows hidden wrinkles, texture and radiance; and UV light shows melanin, sebum and acne bacteria ^[1]. A 3D scan of your face measures contours, lengths and angles, and aging and pigmentation simulations preview how your skin might look after treatment ^[1]. Cheongdam RETOO Clinic also measures about 70 facial landmarks to check left-right differences and firmness, and builds up data with each session so the next visit can be compared on the same basis.

Next, in a one-on-one consultation with the Medical Director, you'll set treatment goals based on the results and plan which device to use, where, and how much. Identifying areas better left untreated for now is part of this step too. The treatment plan, recovery and cost are explained before treatment. Depending on the treatment, numbing cream is applied, with SonoStyler added for dual anesthesia if needed. If you have sedation, you shouldn't drive that day, and you'll be told in advance about preparations such as fasting.

Heat-based lifting is performed with the HeatView™ system, developed by Medical Director Dr. Kim Jae-rim and registered as a Korean patent in 2023 (No. 10-2538270). Skin temperature captured by a thermal imaging camera is displayed on screen, and the detected temperatures are divided into three ranges so that hotter zones are kept from spreading ^[2]. Watching this screen, the provider reinforces areas that haven't heated enough and adjusts output where heat builds up. Only genuine devices and tips are used, with the full shot count.

After treatment, a home-care prescription sets out what to do at your hotel. If the goal is to calm skin that's sensitive right after laser lifting or skin boosters, you may also have Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy the same day, breathing medical-grade pure oxygen for 60 minutes in a chamber pressurized to 2–3 atmospheres. The treatment itself and the time for diagnosis and anesthesia prep are separate. With Thermage FLX, for example, the treatment itself takes around 30 minutes, with diagnosis and numbing-cream prep on top ^[5], so leave plenty of room in the rest of your day.

What should I keep in mind before and after flying home?

Cheongdam RETOO Clinic's treatment-specific aftercare instructions share some common points. On the evening of treatment, wash your face gently with lukewarm water and don't rub the treated area hard. Light makeup is fine from the same day, and your usual makeup from the next day. For a week, avoid alcohol, smoking, strenuous exercise, saunas and jjimjilbang (Korean bathhouses), wear sunscreen when you go out, and moisturize thoroughly. If you're spending long hours outdoors sightseeing in Seoul, sun protection matters even more.

When you can fly and how many days to stay in Seoul depend on the treatment you have and how your skin responds, so they're decided at your consultation based on the treatment and your recovery. Recovery times and precautions by treatment are covered separately in our column on planning a Seoul beauty trip around recovery.

Once you're home, learn to tell expected changes apart from symptoms that need checking. If pain gets steadily worse, redness is still spreading a day or two later, or you see blisters, oozing or a marked change in skin color, don't wait; contact the clinic. Persistent numbness, a change in how your face moves when you make expressions, or swelling that's noticeably worse on one side also need to be checked. Taking photos and getting in touch through the consultation options below this page helps us understand the situation quickly.

How does Cheongdam RETOO Clinic approach consultations for overseas visitors?

Even when your time in Seoul is short, Cheongdam RETOO Clinic starts from diagnosis, because the same device needs energy placed in different locations and amounts depending on skin condition and facial structure. Turning the measured data into a treatment plan is handled personally by Medical Director Dr. Kim Jae-rim, a graduate of Yonsei University College of Medicine and a Key Doctor for several lifting treatments. Your 3D precision skin diagnosis record becomes the baseline for comparing change under the same lights and angles when you return.

What can be done within your schedule, and what's better split up, is also decided at your consultation. Rather than packing several treatments into one go, it's sometimes more appropriate to space them out in order, with your length of stay and recovery in mind. If you're starting a consultation from overseas, begin by letting us know your areas of concern and how long you'll be in Seoul through the consultation options below this page.