코리아 타임즈에 라프린 성형외과와 박병춘 대표원장님 인터뷰!
한국의 세계적인 성형 인프라와 한류 열풍으로
성형 수술을 받기 위해 한국을 방문하는 중국인과
현재 중국 성형 시장에 대한 기사를 위해
라프린 성형외과∙피부과 박병춘 대표원장이 코리아타임즈와 인터뷰를 진행하였습니다.
A patient undergoes plastic surgery at a clinic in southern Seoul.
/ Courtesy of LaPrin
By Joel Lee
A cosmetic surgery hospital in southern Seoul mirrors a Chinese drama set in a luxury model home.
Beside a statue of Venus, a woman lies with her face wrapped in bandages. A young woman in a patient gown talks with a man in black sunglasses.
A group of Chinese tourists curiously listen to a staff speaking in Mandarin.
In a marriage of capitalist desires and socialist wealth, legions of Chinese women are rushing to visit Korea for plastic surgery.
After half a century of development, Korea now has one of the world’s best infrastructures in cosmetic surgery, riding high on the Korean Wave or “hallyu” boom.
Clusters of clinics line the “beauty belt” of southern Seoul along Apgujeong, Sinsa, Sinnonhyeon and Gangnam Station.
“Chinese patients come prepared with an idealized, set image.
They quickly follow the changing looks in drama, music and fashion and ask for the exact same thing in their surgery,”
said Lee Chang-mi, a manager at Regen Medical Group.
Most patients are from the upper-middle class or above of China’s burgeoning metropolises.
Chen Shui, 36, a patient from Chengdu said, despite decades of socialist emphasis on gender equality, women still face discrimination in society.
Single women in their late twenties are called “shengnu” or “leftover women.” In the workplace, employers seek young and attractive women.
The popularity of celebrities such as “Angelababy,” who had a facial makeover in Korea according to “rumors”
and now enjoys “goddess status” in China, is helping the liberalization of society, Chen said.
For those housewives struggling to attract their husbands’ eyes,
getting a breast implant in Korea helps "keep the family together and raise self-esteem," according to Jin Wen-bin, another Chinese manager at Regen.
“One of our patients discovered her husband’s infidelity and upon meeting the mistress was impressed by her beauty.
She got breast implants at our clinic,” Jin said.
Jin added costly operations like breast implants are popular among rich housewives.
Those in their 40s or more come for face-lifts which tighten sagging skin.
For the Chinese patients, simple procedures such as the double eyelid and rhinoplasty (nose enhancement) are the most popular.
From there it advances to reshaping facial contours and the rest of the body.
While the Japanese patients want subtle changes, the Chinese prefer clean-cut and highlighted features, officials from clinics said.
Also, unlike the Japanese who try one surgery at a time, Chinese patients easily opt for multiple surgeries in one visit, they said.
Penchant for Korea
“China still lags behind Korea in the plastic surgery field. The experience and skill of the doctors can’t be made overnight by investing money,”
said Eric Young, director of Young Life in Seoul, a medical tourism agency associated with the Ministry of Health & Welfare and Korea Tourism Organization (KTO).
With increased wealth, Chinese women known for their “strong character” have no outlet to satisfy their pursuit of beauty, Young said.
Their desire is absorbed by the Korean hospitals in a saturated domestic market with a shrinking population.
“The signs used to be in English but nowadays they are in Chinese.
What’s lacking in southern Seoul are the hotels, which cannot be built due to a shortage of land.
Those already built are not linked to medical tourism,” Young added.
The Chinese penchant for Korea runs deeper than their infatuation with Korean pop-culture.
“It comes from the mistrust of the system entrenched in their psyche,”
said Park Byong-choon, a surgeon and CEO of LaPrin plastic surgery clinic in Cheongdam-dong.
“Chinese parents come to Korea even for childbirth.
The death of a young singer under a Chinese cosmetic surgeon’s knife a few years ago makes people think twice about doing it at home.”
“중국 사회에 대한 뿌리 깊은 불신에 의해 성형 수술을 받고자 한국을 방문하는 중국인들이 늘어나고 있다고 생각한다.
중국인들은 출산을 위해 한국까지 오는 경우도 있다.
몇 년전 중국의 젊은 가수가 중국 내 성형외과에서 수술 도중 사망하는 사건이 발생해 본토에서의 성형 수술을 꺼리는 경향이 있다.”고
청담동 라프린 성형외과 박병춘 대표원장/CEO는 말했다.
In China, cosmetic clinics are not owned by doctors but by licensed businessmen who pay the doctors.
Even the good doctors are no match for the mass marketing and it’s hard to know who’s who in such a populous market, Park said.
또한 박원장은 중국의 경우 의사들이 병원의 주인이 아니라 일명 사무장 병원인 경우가 많으며
실력이 있는 의사라고 해도 대량 마케팅에 맞서기가 힘들고 인구 수가 많은 중국에서 누가 실력 있는 의사인지 파악하기도 힘들다고 덧붙였다.
“Then there are the bloodless surgeons bent on maximizing profit. With so many ruined faces around, patients think it’s better to do it right in Korea by paying more.
Even the Chinese Communist Party cannot control that,” he said.
“이익을 극대화하는 것에만 초점을 맞추는 의사들이 있다.
주변에서 부작용 사례를 접한 사람들의 경우 비용을 더 많이 지불하더라도 제대로 수술하는 것이 옳다고 생각한다. "고 그는 말했다.
Park also believes the Chinese medical system prevents competition.
“The brightest are allocated to the big hospitals by the state and the rest work in small clinics,” he said.
박원장은 또한 “뛰어난 인재들은 국가에서 운영하는 큰 병원으로 유치되고 나머지는 작은 클리닉에서 일한다”고 언급하며
중국의 의료 시스템이 경쟁을 막고 있는 것이라고 추측했다.
Language plays an important role in the medical business and cutting-edge aesthetics.
In Korean medical schools, Korean and English are used together, but only Chinese in China.
With the medical terminologies in Chinese, the doctors can’t follow the latest news in international
papers and journals, Park said.
그는 의료 산업과 미용산업에서는 사용하는 언어 역시 매우 중요한데
한국 의대의 경우 한글과 영어를 함께 사용하지만 중국의 의대는 오직 중국어만을 사용하여
의학 용어를 중국어로만 아는 의사들의 경우 최신 국제 논문의 내용을 확실하게 이해하기 어렵다고 설명했다.
“Technology develops through competition. Especially in the beauty industry where innovation is the key, there’s no progress without study.
Korea is good at that. We have actively incorporated from outside and created something with our name,” he said.
“경쟁을 통해서 기술은 발전한다. 특히 최신 정보가 중요한 미용 산업의 경우 연구 없이는 발전하기 힘들다.
한국은 그런 면에서 뛰어난 편이다. 활발하게 외부의 기술을 받아들이고 그것을 우리만의 새로운 것으로 재창조 해낸다.”고 덧붙였다.
