Asia, learn well the lessons from Argentina, where they spent so much of their GDP on plastic surgery that the country went belly up about five years ago...
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He cuts up plain Janes to make them beautiful
With more S'porean patients, South Korean plastic surgeon Dr Kim Byung Gun wants to set up shop here.
Elysa Chen
Sun, May 18, 2008
The New Paper
TURNING plain Janes into beauties is all in a day's work for renowed South Korean plastic surgeon Kim Byung Gun.
Some of his patients even went on to become showbiz stars.
And several times a year, Dr Kim, 46, says he works his magic on faces from Singapore.
In fact, he claims the number of patients from Singapore has tripled in the last few years.
And this has spurred him to make plans to set up shop right here in Singapore.
Speaking to The New Paper on Sunday when he was here on vacation with his family two weeks ago, Dr Kim said he's planning to open a clinic, and even a plastic surgery hospital here.
The director of BK Dongyang Plastic Surgery Clinic, South Korea's largest chain of plastic surgery clinics, could not give the exact number of Singapore patients he sees in Seoul.
In an interview with The Straits Times in November 2006, Dr Kim said up to 20 Singaporeans visited him every year.
He told The New Paper on Sunday that he sees about 50 foreign patients a month.
He also runs a medical centre in Shanghai.
Dr Kim, who is likely to be the first Korean plastic surgeon to set up shop here, said: 'So many people in Singapore want plastic surgery, more and more of them are coming to Korea.
'Korean doctors have performed surgery on more patients and have much more experience.
'Many of the Singaporean patients I see in Korea have had to get revisional work done. If I come here, I can do a better job for patients the first time around.'
He claimed he had seen some patients from Singapore with botched nose and double-eyelid jobs.
When contacted, Ms Priscilla Tan, the secretariat of the Singapore Association of Plastic Surgeons, said they were not aware of other foreign plastic surgeons who are practising here, or any who plans to do so.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) said any foreign doctor who wants to practise here must first be registered with the Singapore Medical Council (SMC). The clinic must also be licensed by MOH.
A check on the SMC website showed that the university which
Dr Kim went to, Seoul National University's Medical College, is recognised here.
| Korean stars who go under the knife |
 |
| » Harisu, a transgender actress-singer-model. Went for a sex-change operation (above) » HAN Ae Ri, formerly from girl band Babyvox Re.V, wanted bigger breasts and a sharper 'V-line' chin. She went under the knife twice in the space of just three weeks in November last year. She lost so much blood that she had to be hospitalised. » Kim Dong Wan of boy band Shinhwa. Fixed his 'flat nose' after his debut in 1998 because he was unhappy with it. » Actress Kim Jung Eun, who acted in the Korean drama, Lovers. Her parents paid for her chin job as they were worried nobody would marry her. » Actor-singer-model Kim Hee Chul of Korean boy band, Super Junior. Got a nose job after he injured his nose after falling down from the stairs in his home. » Actress Chae Rim, who acted in All About Eve. Got a nose job |
BUSY PRACTICE
But it's not just work that will bring Dr Kim, who said he became a Singapore permanent resident two months ago, to our shores.
He said: 'I may want my children to study in Singapore because there are very good international schools here, and English is taught as the main language.'
Dr Kim and his wife, who is a supreme court judge in South Korea, have 2-year-old twin girls.
But his busy work schedule - he claims to work 350 days of the year - means he has little time left for his family.
Dr Kim said he operates on 20 patients a day, and flies to Shanghai on Sundays.
Laughing, he said: 'My wife and I talk for about 10 minutes a day!'
Dr Kim claimed to have earned more than US$30 million ($41million) in the last three years.
His charges do not come cheap. It's US$3,000 for a nose job, and US$2,000 for double eyelids.
SURGEON TO CELEBS
And he claims to be the plastic surgeon to 'most of Korea's celebrities'.
So, who are some of these famous people who have gone under his knife?
Dr Kim declined to reveal their identities, but he did let on that they included two Miss Koreas and the winner of a supermodel competition.
'When I went to the beauty competition, I was surprised to see one of my patients there,' he recalled.
'She had surgery just four or five months back, and yet she won!'
Seeing his client reap the rewards of his work gave Dr Kim a great sense of satisfaction.
But he does not just operate on famous people.
He also does pro bono work.
He operated for free on one woman who had been slashed more than 40 times on her abdomen, thighs and legs during a robbery.
Because she was a poor woman from the countryside, she could not afford surgery and had to save up for 10 years before she approached a plastic surgeon.
But Dr Kim said he did not take a single cent from her.
Gratitude from her and her husband was reward enough.
Although Dr Kim was unable to correct completely the scars on her legs, her husband came to his clinic a year later and gave him fruit to thank him for helping his wife.
Dr Kim said: 'Plastic surgery is really challenging. If it's easy, everyone can be a plastic surgeon. But it's the challenges that keep me going on.'
When contacted, Dr Woffles Wu, a prominent plastic surgeon here, said that it is 'quite difficult' for foreign plastic surgeons to practise in Singapore due to strict guidelines and the selection process.
But he welcomes new competition.
'We are a globalising country. So, if the government allows it, and if the doctor is a bona fide plastic surgeon with a good reputation and a high level of skill - who is not just here to make money - I think it would be great.'
This article was first published in The New Paper on May 18, 2008.
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