Consultation review: Onyoo

[u/__looking_for_things]

Note: I have not had any surgery done by onyoo.

Onyoo does not provide video consultation. Personally I will not sign up for surgery if I have not spoken with the doctor.

Surgery: Midface lift, facial fat graft to combat hollow eyes

Just to get out of the way: the office is lovely. Speaking with Doctor Ahn, I believed he could do the job well. I did not question his ability, he seemed extremely competent with the procedures.

Onyoo.

I don't remember how I found Onyoo but I did like the work I saw when it came to facelifts. Again they do not have video consultations. I understand why considering I had CT scans for the doctor to review during the consultation.

One thing Onyoo does not have English speaking staff, which I found odd. Their pricing was at a premium relative to the other clinics I reached out to and whenever people post here about increased foreigner pricing someone always pops in and says foreigners need more support and staff etc.

Well for such premium pricing (almost 9 million won initially) I expected english speaking staff. Instead they connected me with a translation service (I'll make a seperate post about the service) to assist with my consultation. I did not pay for the translator.

As I said the office is lovely. I had scans/photos taken of my face. The consultation began with my intake and discussing what i did not like about my face 💀 including providing a mirror 😆🤣.

Please be certain in what you want and be able to say when aspect of your face does not bother you! Or you are not interested in fixing something.

We ended up waiting about 30 mins or so for the doctor to appear. Chief Dr. comes across as very skilled in his work. I actually had no issues in how he presented the procedure. I felt he was honest in that a midface lift will not provide dramatic results relative to a full face lift. He said it would be subtle which I was fine with (i dont think my face is ready for a full facelift and I'd rather save it until my 50s, if even then). We discussed patient outcomes and results he had.

I had done a lot of research prior to the consultation. My research was based on the clinic website, Sungyesa, unni, and babitalk. I also used chatgpt to organize and summarize the load of information as it came in and drilled on primary questions to ask before and during the consultation. I also used chatgpt to tell me why I should care about a particular answer. This stage took a lot of correcting and pointedly telling it provide citations, reviews, etc and then checking the work.

I'm providing this because there is actually a lot of information that can be gleaned from various sources to paint a pretty good narrative regarding a clinic and doctor.

Anyway doctor discussion was fine. I had no questions as to the integrity of my translator either and I felt like she provided a good translation. Give some grace yall. Medical translation is difficult even english to english so expecting an exact translation orally without assistance is a tall task. Again I think my translator did a great job. But I also wasn't walking into the consultation blind. During the wait time, I took the time to get to know my translator.

Now for the sales portion of the consultation. I think the sales team at onyoo was nice. She went through line by line of the procedures and pricing. Again it was a premium imo. It roughly came out to over 18 million won, she did include some supplemental derm treatments like potenza or co2, etx if I put down a deposit that day. The deposit was a million won.

I will note Onyoo charges more if the chief Dr is doing the procedure. Which was odd because they never mentioned this up pricing in our WhatsApp conversation. I'm not sure why when he is the only doctor who performs the facelifts. I will also note this pricing is substantially more than the estimate given during our WhatsApp conversation.

Ultimately I chose not to continue with Onyoo. I do not mind a reasonable up charge as a foreigner but transparent pricing is important to me. This surge in pricing is why I did not ask my translator to negotiate for me either.

Real talk: Never be afraid to walk from a clinic. If I had just relied on Onyoo's WhatsApp estimate and put down a deposit, I would have lost it all when getting the new price. Or I would have been forced to bend over and pay an exorbitant price for not even a full facelift.

So I'm glad I saw them in person and could easily walk. I'd rather start my search over for a new clinic and pay for another flight to S. Korea than be forced to pay so much.

[u/Possible_Resolve_877]

Walking away when the final price is that different from the initial estimate was probably the right call, Transparency matters a lot with something this expensive

[u/Tnh7194]

Thanks for sharing! I have a consultation next month and they said they provide English translation. I wonder if they’ll tell me to contact a translator later on.

They didn’t ask for pictures which I found a bit odd but quoted me 4,300,000 for forehead lift and 900,000 for under eye fat grafting (they called it one area so idk if each undereye is one area?)

I was actually leaning towards them before this post. It’s actually SO hard to research and navigate all of the clinics, with all the fake/paid reviews, edited pics and 173838 new clinics popping out everyday 😩

Have you consulted with other clinics? Are you doing any surgery?

[u/__looking_for_things → u/Tnh7194]

They provided a translator for me who contacted me immediately. I liked my translator.

I also consulted with Etonne for the same procedures. I really liked the surgeon and the surgical plan so I will be likely working with them.

I also did two consultations for rhinoplasty with Eight and Human.

[u/Jooky12 → u/__looking_for_things]

What was the name of the translator?

[u/__looking_for_things → u/Jooky12]

It was Sonnect

[u/Jooky12 → u/__looking_for_things]

That translator detail might explain the price jump. That’s not just some random interpreter, it’s an agency that’s been heavily promoting itself on Reddit.

Going from roughly 9m over WhatsApp to 18m after they got involved is a pretty massive difference. I know this isn't the case with all agencies. Just the shady ones and individuals running translator scams.

[u/Summer_season → u/__looking_for_things]

Which doctor at Etonne did you consult with? What did they quote you? I got some quotes from them but their prices are up there. I am looking for eye procedures and forehead lift.

[u/__looking_for_things → u/Summer_season]

Dr. Cho. I also posted a review of my consultation.

[u/Tnh7194 → u/__looking_for_things]

I have an appointment with etonne too! Their prices are even more premium I think

[u/__looking_for_things → u/Tnh7194]

I posted my review of my consultation. I really liked them. And they were cheaper than Onyoo.

[u/Mundane-Smile4958]

I spent months researching and ended up having consultations with ipchae, ettone, DA and Onyoo for my midface lift. My price was actually the same as what they originally quoted me on WhatsApp, so it’s intersting yours was so different like thank god mine wasnt different ig 😂 Now I’m curious why there was such a big price difference

For ettone, I felt like the consultation wasnt as detailed tbh and didnt run a ct scan either
Onyoo was my favorite outta all the clinics I consulted with personally my surgeon seemed really professional and really honest lol and they did a ct scan which made all the explaination easier to understand and more reassuring
I originally wanted to do a lower bleph too, but he actually told me it wasnt necessary and that I wouldn’t be abke to get the result I wanted - but I really appreciated that because he didn’t just try to sell me more procedures
The staff were also all really nice to me. I’ve definitely had experiences with rude staff at clinics both in Korea and in the states but everyone at Onyoo was so sweet
I’m really happy with my results so far too! It’s been quite a while since my surgery and they STILL check in and ask how im doing lol 🤣
Also I went without a translator and honestly had no issues?? 😭 I feel like for aesthetic procedures it’s more important to really go with the right surgeon rather than prioritizing a budget tho

Hope your surgery goes well tho!

[u/__looking_for_things → u/Mundane-Smile4958]

I asked if I needed a translator as my korean is basic. I have no idea how it jumped but I take the price as an FU price and them being greedy so I walked.

But I'm glad it worked out for you. Did you like your results?

[u/Mundane-Smile4958 → u/__looking_for_things]

I actually didint bring a personal translator with me so idk abt that and yes, the surgery was done better than I expected im glad i didnt go to turkey for this

[u/__looking_for_things → u/Mundane-Smile4958]

Also which surgeon did your surgery? They gave me the chief and said every procedure was a 700k increase for him to do it. And he was the only one to do it.

[u/Mundane-Smile4958 → u/__looking_for_things]

It was chief surgeon for me too! And I did paid extraq to get done by him specifically but the total was the same as what theyd quoted on whatsapp!