Methodology

One page, one question

Each article is built around a single primary question, for example "What is Rejuran?" or "How much does Ultherapy cost in South Korea?". The page opens with a Short Answer of two to four sentences, followed by key facts, and only then the full explanation. Long introductions are not used.

Sources and how they are ranked

Claims about safety, effectiveness, procedure, or price carry a source. Sources are listed at the end of every article and typed by class, in this order of preference:

1. Government and public bodies (for example the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the US FDA)
2. Official medical institutions
3. Peer-reviewed research
4. Manufacturer documentation
5. Professional medical bodies
6. Reputable press
7. Other

A page is not published unless it cites at least three sources, at least one of them from the first four classes.

Numbers and prices

Prices are given as ranges with the basis stated (for example, per session, per area, per vial) and the date they were checked. We do not quote a single clinic's price as the price of a treatment.

The ranges come from prices that Seoul clinics post publicly, on their own websites or on listing platforms, which Korean law requires them to post and forbids them to exceed. For each treatment we read at least ten clinics, compare only the same product at the same dose, and record whether a price is a regular or an event price and whether it includes VAT. The page shows the range without naming clinics. The full dataset, with the page each price was read from, is published alongside it so every figure can be checked. Session counts, downtime, and effect duration are stated as reported in the cited sources, not as promises.

Medical review

No page on this site has been individually reviewed by a clinician, and every page that describes a medical procedure says so in its own byline. We would rather tell you that than imply a check that did not happen. What stands behind the medical content instead is the sourcing rule above: written by the editorial team from regulators, peer-reviewed research, and manufacturer documentation, with every number traceable to a source listed on the page.

Two doctors have agreed to act as reviewers for this site:

• Dr. Seungsun Yoo — Korean Medicine Doctor, Republic of Korea. Founding director of Dongkyung Korean Medicine Clinic, in practice since 2010, working on purpura, vasculitis, and skin conditions with an immune component. Holds a Korean patent for a herbal formulation for purpura and has published on the subject in an international peer-reviewed journal.
• Dr. Yeri Kim — Korean Medicine Doctor, Republic of Korea. Director of the Yongsan branch of Dongkyung Korean Medicine Clinic, working in the same fields.

Where one of them reads and signs a specific page, that page names them, states their credential, and gives the date, and only that page. Until then the byline reads "Not individually reviewed".

Reviewers check accuracy against the sources cited on the page. They do not endorse any clinic, device, or product.

Pages in Official Resources relay a rule published by a Korean ministry, agency, or statute. They are not medical content, they name no reviewer, and they cite the document instead.

Entities and comparisons

Treatments, skin concerns, and locations are maintained as named entities with their common aliases (including Korean names), and pages link to each other through those relationships. Comparison pages present both treatments on the same criteria without declaring a universal winner; suitability depends on the individual.

Updates and corrections

Each page shows its publication and last updated dates. Pages are reviewed when the underlying sources change and at least annually. Corrections are made on the page and noted at the bottom. To report an error write to editors@aestheticskorea.com.

What we will not publish

Content without sources for its medical claims, "best clinic" rankings, before/after galleries, unverified effect claims, and any content paid for by a clinic that is not clearly labelled as sponsored.