CAN CHINA CHALLENGE SOUTH KOREA?
While South Korea remains a leading global destination for cosmetic surgery, industry observers said China’s appeal is steadily growing as it develops its own identity in the market.
South Korea’s rise “was no accident, but rather a carefully planned national strategy”, said Lisa Wan, an associate professor in the School of Hotel and Tourism Management and Department of Marketing at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School.
The country integrated K-pop with “easy visa policies, instant tax refunds for cosmetic procedures, and translation services directly inside clinics”, Wan said.
China, however, has strengthened its own competitiveness in recent years – expanding visa-free entry to citizens of around 50 countries, while its growing domestic market has helped clinics build expertise at scale.
“China’s doctor base is big,” said Nie from Shanghai Huamei Medical Aesthetics Hospital.
“Our doctors gradually got trained up and techniques got better and better.”
Even so, industry observers said reputation remains China’s biggest hurdle.
For patients, trust often matters more than price.
“Cosmetic work cannot be tried before it is bought,” Wan from CUHK said, explaining that patients often rely on a country’s reputation as a shortcut when deciding where to undergo treatment.
“It is much easier for a consumer to trust Chinese technology in a car than it is to trust a Chinese needle in their face.”
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