Eye care in South Korea
South Korea offers three eye procedures through Medbook, in Seoul, Busan and Incheon: laser eye surgery (LASIK, LASEK and SMILE), ICL lens implants, and cataract and lens replacement surgery.
It is the only destination where Medbook arranges ICL lens implants at the moment. This page explains what you can have done in South Korea and how a trip for eye treatment there usually goes.
You see a price only when a clinic makes you an offer.
Procedures available in South Korea
- Laser eye surgery (LASIK, LASEK, SMILE)
- ICL lens implant
- Cataract & lens replacement surgery
Cities
Seoul, Busan, Incheon
What is arranged for you
- Accommodation
- Online consultation before you travel
How a Medbook trip works
- Tell the assistant what you need treated, where you travel from and when.
- See the destinations that offer your treatment and choose where to ask.
- Receive offers with a price and dates.
- Confirm an offer and get a day-by-day travel roadmap.
What you can have done in South Korea
For vision correction, South Korea offers laser eye surgery (LASIK, LASEK or SMILE) and ICL lens implants. Cataract and lens replacement surgery is offered as well. Medbook's guide to eye care, under Treatments, explains what each procedure is.
Glaucoma treatment, retina and macular treatment, keratoconus and cornea treatment and strabismus surgery are not offered in South Korea through Medbook; Turkey offers them. If you are not sure which procedure you need, choose "Not sure yet" under eye care when you describe your case, or write in your own words what your eye doctor has told you. The clinic looks at the details of your case before it makes you an offer.
How the trip usually goes
Before you travel, gather the results of your recent eye examinations and your current glasses or contact lens prescription, along with a list of the eye drops and other medications you use. In the online consultation, ask whether you should stop wearing contact lenses before the examination and for how long, whether both eyes will be treated on the same trip, and when you can fly home.
Once you confirm an offer, your roadmap lets you book your flight yourself or ask Medbook to arrange it, and then do the same for the transfer from the airport. Accommodation is arranged for you for the length of your stay, and each offer shows where your treatment takes place. How long you stay depends on the procedure, and your clinic confirms the dates in its offer. Aftercare is not among the services in South Korea, so when you compare offers, look at whether follow-up is included, and before you travel ask which follow-up checks are planned and whether your own eye doctor can do any of them.
Questions
Where can I have an ICL lens implant?
In South Korea. Through Medbook, ICL lens implants are offered only there at the moment. Turkey offers laser eye surgery and cataract and lens replacement surgery, but not ICL.
Is glaucoma or retina treatment offered in South Korea?
No. Glaucoma treatment, retina and macular treatment, keratoconus and cornea treatment and strabismus surgery are offered through Medbook only in Turkey. If you choose one of them when you describe your case, your results show the destinations that offer it.
Will both eyes be treated on the same trip?
That is for the clinic to decide after it has looked at your case. Each offer shows the dates, and you can also ask about it in the online consultation before you travel.