Do foreigners pay the same price in Korea? Check the posted non-covered fee list

Korean clinics must post the prices of non-covered procedures. Comparing the posted list with your quote is the most direct way to confirm that foreign and Korean patients pay the same.

The short answer

Aesthetic procedures in Korea are "non-covered" (비급여) services outside national health insurance. Under Article 45 of the Medical Service Act, a medical institution must post its non-covered fees inside the clinic and, if it has a website, on the website. So the question "do foreigners pay the same as Koreans" does not depend on a verbal promise. Compare the posted list with the quote you receive.

How to compare

1. Ask for the non-covered fee list (비급여 진료비용 고지표) or find "비급여 안내" or "가격 안내" on the clinic's website.
2. Make sure your quote names each item, the device or product brand, and the dose or number of shots.
3. Compare line by line. Convert units where the posted list uses a different shot count.
4. Ask the clinic to explain any difference. Event or package prices should state their conditions.

Common points of confusion

• Shots and doses. The same treatment costs differently at different shot counts or volumes. If the quote does not state them, ask.
• VAT. Cosmetic medical procedures carry 10% VAT. Posted prices may or may not include it. The refund scheme for foreign patients expired at the end of 2025; see "Can foreign patients still get a VAT refund".
• Agency fees. If you book through an agency, it may charge a service fee or take a commission from the clinic. You can ask which part of your payment goes where. Korean law caps the commission an attraction business may receive from a medical institution.
• Exchange rates. Clinics quote in Korean won. The amount in your currency moves with the rate; payment is settled in won.

Documents to take home

• The quote: item, brand, dose or shots, unit price, total, VAT included or not.
• The receipt (영수증), issued on the spot. It is the first piece of evidence in any later dispute.

"Same price for everyone" is a promise. The posted fee list and the receipt are evidence. Only promises backed by evidence count.