Registry report · 2026
Seoul foreign-patient registered skin & cosmetic clinics — 2026 registry snapshot
As of 2026-06-25, Korea's official foreign-patient registry lists 1253 Seoul dermatology and plastic surgery clinics across 23 districts — 648 dermatology and 606 plastic surgery (1 listed as both), of which 5 hold KAHF accreditation. The two largest districts, Gangnam-gu and Seocho-gu, together hold 78.5% of them. 109 clinics publish some foreign-language support of their own. This is a public-data snapshot, not a ranking or a recommendation.
Headline numbers
1253
Registered clinics
648
Dermatology
606
Plastic surgery
23
Districts
Distribution by district
Every Seoul district with at least one registered skin or cosmetic clinic, ordered by count. Count order is not a ranking of the districts or of the clinics in them.
| District | Clinics | % of Seoul total | Dermatology | Plastic surgery | List English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gangnam-gu | 736 | 58.7% | 310 | 427 | 63 |
| Seocho-gu | 248 | 19.8% | 101 | 147 | 29 |
| Jung-gu | 55 | 4.4% | 50 | 5 | 2 |
| Mapo-gu | 47 | 3.8% | 42 | 5 | 0 |
| Songpa-gu | 25 | 2% | 21 | 4 | 1 |
| Yeongdeungpo-gu | 25 | 2% | 23 | 2 | 3 |
| Yongsan-gu | 18 | 1.4% | 15 | 3 | 0 |
| Gangseo-gu | 16 | 1.3% | 15 | 1 | 0 |
| Seongdong-gu | 16 | 1.3% | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| Seodaemun-gu | 8 | 0.6% | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| Eunpyeong-gu | 7 | 0.6% | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| Gangdong-gu | 7 | 0.6% | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Gwangjin-gu | 7 | 0.6% | 7 | 0 | 1 |
| Dongdaemun-gu | 6 | 0.5% | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| Gwanak-gu | 5 | 0.4% | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Jongno-gu | 5 | 0.4% | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Nowon-gu | 5 | 0.4% | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Yangcheon-gu | 5 | 0.4% | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Guro-gu | 4 | 0.3% | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Dongjak-gu | 3 | 0.2% | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Gangbuk-gu | 2 | 0.2% | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Seongbuk-gu | 2 | 0.2% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Dobong-gu | 1 | 0.1% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Top 10 neighbourhoods
Legal neighbourhood (dong) as recorded in the registry address. Rows with a page link have at least 10 registered clinics.
| Neighbourhood | District | Clinics | % of Seoul total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sinsa-dong | Gangnam | 279 | 22.3% |
| Nonhyeon-dong | Gangnam | 169 | 13.5% |
| Yeoksam-dong | Gangnam | 141 | 11.3% |
| Seocho-dong | Seocho | 141 | 11.3% |
| Cheongdam-dong | Gangnam | 96 | 7.7% |
| Jamwon-dong | Seocho | 58 | 4.6% |
| Banpo-dong | Seocho | 38 | 3% |
| Donggyo-dong | Mapo | 31 | 2.5% |
| Samseong-dong | Gangnam | 21 | 1.7% |
| Myeongdong | Jung | 15 | 1.2% |
Other neighbourhoods with a page: Yeouido-dong (14), Magok-dong (12), Jamsil-dong (12), Seongsu-dong (11).
Language support listed by clinics
Not a registry field — see methodology. Counts are clinics whose own website or Naver Place listing states support in that language.
| Language | Clinics | % of Seoul total | Most common district |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | 101 | 8.1% | Gangnam-gu (63) |
| Chinese | 42 | 3.4% | Gangnam-gu (22) |
| Japanese | 33 | 2.6% | Seocho-gu (17) |
| Thai | 9 | 0.7% | Gangnam-gu (7) |
| Vietnamese | 8 | 0.6% | Gangnam-gu (4) |
| Indonesian | 5 | 0.4% | Gangnam-gu (3) |
| Mongolian | 3 | 0.2% | Gangnam-gu (2) |
| Russian | 3 | 0.2% | Gangnam-gu (2) |
| Arabic | 1 | 0.1% | Yeongdeungpo-gu (1) |
| Spanish | 1 | 0.1% | Gangnam-gu (1) |
Methodology
- Source dataset: 외국인환자 유치기관 현황 ("Status of Institutions Attracting Foreign Patients"), Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), published on data.go.kr under an open licence permitting commercial reuse. Snapshot downloaded 2026-06-25.
- Scope: rows filtered to Seoul institutions of type 의원 / 병원 / 종합병원, then to those classed as skin or cosmetic practices. Final set: 1253 clinics across 92 legal neighbourhoods (dong).
- How specialty was classified: the registry has no specialty field. A clinic whose registered name contains 피부 is classed as dermatology and one containing 성형 as plastic surgery; generically-named clinics were classified using their Naver Place medical category. This means a registered name that differs from the practice's actual scope can be misclassified, and the label describes the clinic's category, not the procedures it offers.
- Language data: also not a registry field. The language figures come from what each clinic publishes about itself on its own website or Naver Place listing, collected into a separate enrichment dataset (109 of 1253 clinics publish anything at all). We did not test interpretation quality or availability.
- What registration means — and its limits: foreign-patient registration confirms an institution has met legal requirements, including medical malpractice insurance. Registration is valid for three years and must be renewed, so a lapsed or newly added clinic can differ from this snapshot. It does not certify treatment quality, safety, or any individual doctor's board specialty.
- This report contains no rankings, scores, reviews, or recommendations. Clinic ordering anywhere on this site follows the registry, and commercial relationships do not affect any figure or order on this page.
How to cite this
This page is free to quote and link. Please cite the snapshot date, because the registry changes as clinics register, renew, or lapse.
Glow in Seoul (2026). "Seoul Foreign-Patient Registered Skin & Cosmetic Clinics — 2026 Registry Snapshot." https://glowinseoul.com/reports/seoul-foreign-patient-clinics-2026 (registry snapshot 2026-06-25; source: 외국인환자 유치기관 현황 / Status of Institutions Attracting Foreign Patients, Korea Health Industry Development Institute, data.go.kr).