03/06/2026

LYFE WEDNESDAY | JUNE 3, 2026

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M EXICAN Maria Zu first visited Seoul eight years ago to tour the cafes and parks of the South Korean capital, but spent a key part of her latest trip in April in skincare clinics under the gaze of doctors wielding laser wands and injection needles. “We feel safe coming to this country for our faces,” said the Dubai-based consultant, one of millions of beauty enthusiasts now boosting South Korea’s tourism numbers and economy as they throng its thousands of skincare clinics. But these days, tourists such as Zu seek treatments such as red light therapy or Botox to smooth out wrinkles, as well as ultrasound “skin lifting” to tighten jawlines, not just the nose jobs and double eyelid surgery of earlier years. “The growth of foreign patients is outpacing that of foreign tourists,” said Hong Seung-wook, global healthcare business director at the Korea Health Industry Development Institute. His department is tasked by the country’s health ministry to attract foreign patients. Foreign visitors spend more on medical services Just over two million foreigners visited South Korea last year for medical treatment, nearly double the 2024 figure of 1.17 million, the health ministry said in April. “We now see foreign tourists spend more on medical services than on tourism in Korea,” said Hong, adding health authorities hoped to keep up the momentum by promoting services such as anti-ageing treatments to middle-aged visitors.

Korean beauty clinics offer a variety of services for affordable prices.

Lasers, facial firming drive South Korea’s tourism wave o K-glow: Advanced treatments at affordable prices Gu receives a skin consultation at Lienjang Clinic. – PICS FROM REUTERS Gu undergoing a procedure at the clinic.

rin Lee, Lienjang’s aesthetic dermatology department director, as there are so many beauty clinics in South Korea. “The competition is pushing the prices of services down,” she said, adding Lienjang’s foreign patients averaged about 100 a day, each with an average spend of about 1.5 million won (RM3,945). About 15,000 clinics offer skincare treatments, mostly run by general practitioners rather than dermatologists, the Korean Dermatologists Association says. “Korea is doing a really great job in many areas, not only in skincare. Now my dream is to live here,” said Zu, adding she was working on a project to deliver experiences for travellers to Korea and connect the country with the world.

a fifth cheaper than those at home, while communication was not a problem, as many clinics employed multilingual coordinators. “I like that there is a variety of K-beauty treatments in general that are not even offered in the US,” said Cindy Gu, a 30-year-old social media video editor from US. She was waiting to undergo a facial lifting treatment at Lienjang, a beauty clinic in Seoul’s upscale Gangnam district. Competition is key to affordability Competition is the key to affordability, said Se

best mullet in Europe, hopefuls first had to fill out a questionnaire explaining more about themselves. “Of course, we choose a great hairstyle, but what we really want is to choose a wonderful person. What matters is that the person carrying the mullet truly embodies values such as tolerance, kindness and the freedom to be oneself,” said jury member Lolita Demoustiez, 39 – known as Dalita. Belgian competitor Christine, 60, said her striking new haircut had helped her get through a recent difficult period in her life. “It feels absolutely brilliant, and I still haven’t taken any antidepressants. Long live the mullet!” she said, showing off her silver grey do. Around 50 finalists were selected to show off their mullets before the cheering crowds. Winners were selected in a range of categories, including junior mullet, traditional mullet, unusual mullet and veteran mullet. Eventually, the overall champions for 2026 were selected: The duo of Berenice, 44, and Samuel, 46 – better known to their fans as BesaMulet. Zu, a former flight attendant who has visited South Korea at least six times, said she tended to pack several non-invasive treatments into a single trip. That is a growing trend exemplified by hashtags such as “#koreaglowup”, popular among users of social media such as Instagram. The major attractions are cost and South Korean expertise in beauty techniques that enables it to offer technologies and techniques often years ahead of those in the West. Several visitors told Reuters skincare treatments in South Korea could be as much as

Many foreign visitors are going to South Korea for beauty treatments.

‘Party in the back’: Competitors vie for European mullet crown

HUNDREDS coiffured participants gathered recently in southern Belgium for the annual European Mullet Championship to celebrate the once-maligned hairstyle. Best captured by the tagline “business in the front, party in the back”, the mullet typically combines a closely cropped fringe and sides with flowing locks down the back of the neck. Popularised in the 1980s, it fell dramatically out of fashion before making a somewhat subversive comeback in recent years. This year’s European championship is the fourth to be held since a group of enthusiasts in Belgium borrowed the idea from Australia of staging a competition. Would-be champions for this edition came from as far afield as France, Spain and England. For many of those involved, the mullet is much more than a hairdo – it has become a way of life. “The mullet is open – to others, to difference, to adventure. It has a wild side,” said event spokesman David Hubert, who goes by the pseudonym Edgar Funkel. In the quest to be crowned with the title of of distinctively

A man has his hair cut during the annual European Mullet Cup. – AFPPIC