Korea is a pioneer in plastic/cosmetic surgery and dentistry.

In 2015, Korea was recognized as the third-largest market for plastic surgery in the world, next only to the United States and Brazil.

The Korean plastic surgery market comprises almost 25 percent of the entire global market value.

With 650,000 operations performed annually, Korea is ranked in the seventh place in terms of the absolute number of plastic surgery operations performed each year, as opposed to the United States where plastic surgery is most frequently performed (3,110,000 annually). When these numbers are converted into the per-population ratio, however, the rankings are reversed.

With 13.5 plastic surgery operations performed for every 1,000, Korea tops the rankings, followed by Greece (12.5 per 1,000), Italy (11.6 per 1,000), and the United States (9.9 per 1,000).

There is growing interest worldwide in tooth whitening, orthodontics, and double jaw (orthognathic) surgery.

Korea is famous worldwide for its topnotch cosmetic dentistry.

Korean cosmetic dentistry businesses are rapidly increasing their share of the global market, and already boast a 40-percent combined share of the Chinese market.

Sources: International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS), Korean Trends Total 2017