I overheard a girl at the next table complain in a coffee shop in Sinsa-dong: “I clearly told the staff that I was a foreigner, but the price still increased by 30%…” At that moment, I really wanted to go over and tell her about BeautsGO. But I held back and continued to drink my coffee in silence.
In fact, there is an well-known secret within South Korea’s cosmetic surgery industry: for the same treatment, foreign tourists often have to pay 1.5 to 2 times more than local residents. This phenomenon is particularly evident at some “internet-famous clinics” in Gangnam. Some of these clinics even have two sets of price lists—one for local residents and another for foreign tourists. If you speak Korean, you get the local price; if you speak English or Mandarin, sorry, it’s the tourist price.
In this article, I will directly disclose the actual price references for Theia Clinic Seoul (Sinsa Branch) in 2026. These are not promotional reference prices, but the actual fees that can be obtained through the BeautsGO platform.
💰 2026 Theia Clinic price reference (BeautsGO channel)
High-energy ultrasound devices
- Titanium Lifting with 80KJ of energy (for the entire face): Please visit BeautsGO for real-time quotes.
- For the American-style HIFU device with a capacity of 300 treatments, please visit BeautsGO for real-time quotes.
- For the 600-shot package of the American-style HIFU, please visit BeautsGO for real-time quotes.
Thread Lifting treatments
- Thread Lifting (comprehensive): Please visit BeautsGO for real-time quotes.
- Thread Lifting for a single area, such as the mid-to-lower face: Please visit BeautsGO for real-time quotes.
🔍 Why are the prices on the BeautsGO platform more transparent?
BeautsGO has an official cooperation agreement with Theia. For all customers who make reservations through BeautsGO, the clinic must offer them the same “contractual prices” as local customers, and there should be no situation where “foreigners are charged higher prices”.
BeautsGO also offers:
- Pre-operative quotation confirmation: No on-site price increases will be applied upon arrival in South Korea; the price shall be subject to the confirmation letter issued by BeautsGO.
- Chinese pre-treatment instructions: The details and precautions for each treatment are provided in Chinese.
- Post-operative follow-up service: A dedicated team will monitor the recovery process after the procedure.
- Price guarantee: If the on-site contract price offered by the clinic is higher than the price listed on BeautsGO, the difference will be covered by BeautsGO.
How can one avoid being charged the tourist rate?
The following are my practical experiences, as well as the painful lessons learned by my sisters around me:
- Under no circumstances should you make reservations on-site: waiting in line at the clinic after arriving in South Korea usually results in the highest prices, and these prices are the so-called “tourist rates” with no room for negotiation.
- Don’t limit your communication to English only: Asking for prices in English will automatically assume that you are a tourist, and some clinics even have separate price lists in English that are 20–50% higher than the prices listed in Korean.
- Use the BeautsGO channel: Lock in the price before the procedure, and present the BeautsGO reservation form at the clinic – the entire process is completely transparent.
- Request for a detailed quotation: Before any treatment, the clinic is required to provide a complete quotation sheet that includes the specific services, the quantity required, the unit price, whether anesthesia is included, and whether post-treatment care is provided.
- Do not undergo any treatment on the first day: When you arrive in Seoul on your first day, you can compare prices from several different places first. Bring the quotation provided by BeautsGO’s customer service with you and use it to negotiate prices at other clinics.
Other factors that affect prices
In addition to the issue of tourists paying a higher price, the following factors also affect the final fee:
- Number of treatments: Both HIFU and Titanium Lifting are charged based on the number of treatments administered; the more treatments, the higher the cost. However, it is important to note that some clinics may deliberately administer more treatments than necessary. Dr. Jin’s approach is to tell you exactly how many treatments are required, and only proceed with them after you have given your consent.
- Whether the injection is performed by the director himself/herself: In some clinics, there is a difference in the fees depending on whether the injection is given by the director or by the chief physician; this information will be clearly indicated when booking through BeautsGO.
- Anesthesia method: Sedation anesthesia is more expensive than topical anesthetic ointments, and it requires fasting before the procedure.
- Post-operative care kit: A post-operative care kit, which includes soothing facial masks and skincare products, is usually charged as an additional fee.
- Whether consultation is included: Some clinics offer free initial consultations, while others charge a fee; BeautsGO will clarify this in advance.
When making a reservation through BeautsGO, the customer service will clearly explain all possible fees in advance, with no hidden charges.
Is Theia’s price worth it?
Objectively speaking, Theia’s prices are not the cheapest in Gangnam. However, compared to other similar institutions, Theia’s advantages lie in the following aspects:
- President Kim Hyung-dao’s skills and experience
- Prices are transparent, with no hidden fees.
- The BeautsGO platform ensures competitive prices.
If what matters to you is “choosing the right director and achieving good results,” then the price of Theia on the BeautsGO platform is quite reasonable.
I suggest that before coming to Seoul, you contact the customer service of BeautsGO to confirm the prices of all the clinics and treatment programs. In this way, once you arrive in South Korea, you simply need to present the reservation confirmation from BeautsGO, and there will be no need to compare prices or negotiate further. You can then focus all your attention on enjoying your trip in Seoul.
BeautsGO’s price guarantee mechanism enables foreign guests to enjoy the services of top South Korean medical institutions at reasonable prices, just like local residents. This model breaks the unwritten rule that “foreigners are always overcharged”, making medical tourism more fair and transparent.
If you still have questions after reading this, you can always make a one-on-one consultation appointment through s-sourire and directly discuss your concerns with the consultants. They will help you organize your thoughts before confirming them with the clinic, thus saving you a lot of time and hassle.
Factors affecting the prices of various HIFU treatments
There are many factors that determine the final cost of HIFU. The following are the main influencing factors:
- Instrument costs: Genuine equipment manufactured by the original manufacturers is expensive, resulting in high rental costs. Some low-cost clinics use second-hand or counterfeit instruments, which significantly reduce the effectiveness and power of these devices.
- Number of treatments: Both HIFU and Titanium Lifting are charged based on the number of treatments administered. Appropriate treatment range: 300–600 treatments for the entire face; too few treatments may result in inconspicuous effects, while too many treatments may cause tissue damage.
- Operator experience: Treatments administered personally by the clinic director usually cost 30-50% more than those performed by technicians, yet they offer a higher success rate and greater safety.
- Location of the institution: Institutions located in the core areas of Gangnam generally have higher rent costs, resulting in correspondingly higher prices; areas around Hongdae and Nonhyeon offer more affordable options.
- Whether post-operative care is included: In some institutions, the “all-inclusive price” includes post-operative soothing masks and care packages, while in others, these additional services need to be paid separately.
Market trends of HIFU in Gangnam in 2026
In 2026, the HIFU market in Gangnam will show the following trends:
- Transparent pricing: An increasing number of clinics are now providing price lists in Chinese, which has helped to reduce the situation where foreign customers are charged higher prices.
- Instrument upgrades: The new versions of Thermage FLX from the original manufacturer, as well as the upgraded versions of the HIFU devices, have begun to become more widely available.
- Customization becomes the mainstream: As the market for standardized, prefabricated solutions shrinks, customized treatment plans have become increasingly popular.
Let me share a real example that happened around me: A friend of mine went to an online celebrity-owned clinic in Gangnam last year to undergo an American-style HIFU treatment. The price listed on their official website was 800,000 South Korean won. However, when she arrived at the clinic, she was told that “foreigners could enjoy a discounted package,” and in the end, she ended up paying 1.4 million South Korean won. At that time, she even thought she got a good deal, but later she found out that local South Korean patients only had to pay 650,000 South Korean won for the same treatment.
This story tells us: never assume that the “listed price” is the final price. In South Korea’s medical beauty market, it is common for foreign tourists to be charged 1.5 to 2 times the regular price, and this surcharge is usually justified under the pretext of “you are a foreigner, so we need to provide you with additional services”.
The function of BeautsGO is to lock in the price at the time of your reservation, so that you will not be charged additional fees on-site upon arriving at the clinic. The contract price offered by BeautsGO is the same as the price charged to local customers at that clinic.
