At an English-speaking skin clinic in Seoul, the paperwork you sign can cover more than the treatment itself: clinical photos, how your chart is stored, and whether your face may appear in advertising. These are separate questions, and a visitor is entitled to clear answers on each before signing. Treatment consent explains the procedure, its risks and the alternatives. Photo and marketing consent should be a distinct, optional item. Korean law also gives patients the right to request copies of their medical records, and to ask that personal data used for marketing be withdrawn. Medical charts themselves must be kept for a period set by law, so what can be deleted is narrower than many people expect.
Guide
Treatment consent and photo consent are two different signatures
A consent form for a laser or injection answers one question: do you agree to this procedure, knowing its risks? Permission to photograph you, and to use those photos, is another matter. Mixing them on one line makes it easy to agree to something you did not read.
Kapoor, writing in the Journal of Cutaneous and Aesthetic Surgery in 2015, discusses informed consent in aesthetic procedures as a process of disclosure and understanding that should be properly documented, not a single signature on the day. For a foreign patient that means reading each part in a language you follow well, and asking which items are required for treatment and which are optional.
- Is this form for the procedure, for photos, for marketing or for all three?
- Which items can I decline and still be treated?
- Can I take a copy of every page I sign?
Guide
What clinical photos are for, and who sees them
Baseline photos taken before treatment are part of good medical practice. They let the treating doctor judge the result and spot a reaction, and they protect both sides if a dispute arises. Declining all photos may limit what a doctor can safely document, so many clinics treat baseline images as part of the chart.
Use outside the chart is where your choice matters. Before-and-after images on a website, in an ad or on social media should rest on separate consent that you can refuse. Ask where the images are stored, whether staff ever use personal phones to take them, and whether your face would be cropped.
Guide
Getting copies of your records before you fly
Korean medical law lets patients request copies of their own records, including treatment notes and, in most cases, clinical photos. Ask on the last visit rather than from home, with your passport at hand, since clinics need to confirm identity and may charge a small copying fee.
Records matter most when something goes wrong later. Mafi and colleagues, reporting in Cureus in 2026, reviewed five years of patients at a UK tertiary hospital with complications after cosmetic surgery abroad: 29 patients accounted for 58 hospital presentations, and 48.3% of presentations were repeat visits after an earlier complication. A doctor at home who can read exactly what was done starts from a far better position.
- The treatment name, product or device and the dose or settings used.
- The areas treated and the date of each session.
- Any medicine prescribed, with the generic name.
- Baseline photos, if you want your own copy.
- An English summary if the clinic can provide one; if not, the original record to translate at home.
Guide
What you can ask to have removed
Korea's personal data law allows people to withdraw consent and ask for personal information to be deleted or no longer used. That right meets a limit in medicine: charts have to be kept for a period set by law, so a clinic usually cannot erase the treatment record itself. Marketing is different, and a request in writing leaves a clear trail.
| Item | Can you ask to remove it? | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Before-and-after photos posted online | Yes, by withdrawing marketing consent | Send a written request naming the post and date |
| Your contact details on a marketing list | Yes | Ask to stop promotional messages and delete the contact entry |
| Clinical photos in the chart | Usually kept with the record | Ask that they stay internal and are not reused |
| The treatment record itself | Kept for the legal period | Request a copy instead |
Guide
Privacy around the consultation itself
A friend or hired interpreter in the room hears your medical history, so choose that person with care. Skin photos sent through a chat app sit on that service as well as with the clinic; if that worries you, ask about another way to share them.
Evidence
Research behind this page
- Informed consent in aesthetic surgeryJournal of Cutaneous and Aesthetic Surgery · 2015 · doi:10.4103/0974-2077.167284
Discusses what informed consent involves in aesthetic procedures and why disclosure and documentation matter before treatment.
- Recurrent Clinical Burden and Cost of Cosmetic Surgery Tourism Complications: A Five-Year Retrospective Study From a UK Tertiary CentreCureus · 2026 · doi:10.7759/cureus.109006
Among 29 patients with complications after cosmetic surgery abroad, 58 hospital presentations were recorded and nearly half were repeat presentations.
FAQ
Questions about aesthetic clinics in Hongdae
Can I refuse clinical photos and still have my treatment?
You can usually refuse marketing use of your photos and still be treated, but baseline photos for the medical record are often part of the clinic's standard care. Ask which images are for the chart and which would be used elsewhere. If you decline chart photos, the doctor may explain what that limits, such as judging the result later. Agree only to what you understand, and ask for that choice to be noted.
How do I get my face removed from a clinic's social media post?
Send the clinic a written request that withdraws your marketing consent and names the post, the platform and the date it appeared. Keep a screenshot and a copy of your message. Under Korea's personal data law, consent for this kind of use can be withdrawn, and the clinic should take the image down. If nothing happens, a privacy complaint can be raised with the national data protection authority.
Can I request my records from a skin clinic in Seoul in English?
Patients in Korea have a legal right to request copies of their own medical records, but the copy is normally issued in Korean. Make the request in person with your passport, ideally on the final visit of your stay, and ask whether an English summary is possible. If not, have the original translated at home. A small copying fee may apply.
Who else can see what I say during a skin consultation?
Medical staff are bound by confidentiality, and your chart should be seen only by those involved in your care. The main gaps come from people you bring into the room and the channels you use to send photos. Choose an interpreter or companion you trust, and remember that images sent by chat are stored on that service too. Ask the clinic not to discuss your visit with anyone you have not named.
Should consent forms at an English speaking skin clinic in Seoul be in English?
You should understand every form you sign, so ask for an English version or a full explanation before signing, not after. If only a Korean form exists, ask a trusted interpreter to go through it line by line, and write down the key points. Take a photo or copy of each signed page so you can check later what you agreed to.