As foreigners visiting Korea expand their K-beauty spending from cosmetics to skin procedures, the beauty industry's business scope is widening. Dermatology clinics are opening inside hotels, and cosmetics corporations are entering the hospital medical device market. At Olive Young and large pharmacies, products for pre- and post-procedure care are increasing, signaling a shift in the K-beauty ecosystem centered on skin procedures.
According to related industries on the 4th, Lotte Hotel Seoul in Sogong-dong, Seoul, is reducing some rooms and expanding medical facilities such as dermatology on the lower floors through a large-scale renovation being carried out for the first time in 18 years. As demand rises for foreign medical tourism in dermatology and plastic surgery, the strategy is to combine lodging and medical services to extend customer stays. The hotel plans to reopen on the 14th of this month under the high-end brand "The Grand Lotte Seoul."
Lotte Hotel has steadily strengthened its ties to the medical and wellness fields. Lotte City Hotel Mapo hosts dermatology, dental, and plastic surgery clinics, and Lotte Hotel Busan has also operated a medical center. The analysis is that attracting tourists who need lodging before and after procedures raises average spend per guest and secures demand for long-term stays.
Resorts are also introducing services aimed at medical tourism demand. Inspire Entertainment Resort on Yeongjongdo, Incheon, opened a medical clinic last year that offers stem cell procedures, plastic and dental treatments, and anti-aging programs. The idea is to allow foreigners visiting the resort for casinos or shows to receive skin procedures and depart without traveling into downtown Seoul.
Cosmetics corporations are moving into hospital medical device development, expanding into the skin procedure field. Amorepacific Holdings(002790) recently teamed up with Higher Corporation, a company specializing in aesthetic medical devices, to jointly develop skin boosters, cosmeceuticals (cosmetics + pharmaceuticals), and medical devices. It is also pursuing development of post-procedure aftercare products and distribution partnerships with hospitals and clinics, with plans to build a business model that covers both professional procedures and aftercare.
APR(278470) will enter the hospital medical device market in the second half of this year. It is preparing to launch one or two professional energy-based devices (EBD) used in hospitals and clinics, going beyond its existing home beauty device business. Neopharm, which operates the ZEROID brand, supplies biostimulator medical devices to hospitals and clinics.
As competition in cosmetics intensifies within the beauty market, there is analysis that corporations are seeking new growth engines in the medical and procedure fields. In particular, hospital medical devices carry higher price points and profitability than cosmetics or home beauty devices, and they also offer the advantage of proving technical capability in clinical settings.
Distribution channels are changing as well. At Olive Young, aftercare product lines that help soothe and heal after dermatology procedures—such as PDRN, cica, and recovery creams—are increasing. Among large pharmacies, more are putting front and center functional cosmetics needed after procedures like lasers and products that improve skin elasticity.
In practice, foreigners' K-beauty spending is gradually shifting from cosmetics to procedures. In Japan, content featuring early-morning flights to Seoul for skin procedures with a same-day return is gaining popularity on YouTube and other social networking services (SNS). In the United States, demand is also rising for "K-beauty travel," which plans Korea trips around dermatology appointments.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) introduced Seoul as the so-called "mecca of well-aging," noting that more American women are enjoying trips that combine skin procedures, shopping, and tourism. It cited as a competitive edge the ability to receive skin procedures at more reasonable prices than in the United States, along with K-beauty shopping.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), medical tourists who visited Korea last year totaled 2,011,822, up 71.9% from a year earlier and surpassing 2 million for the first time. By department, dermatology accounted for the most at 62.9%, and foreign patients visiting dermatology increased 86.2% in one year. Medical tourists' per-capita spending was about 7.75 million won, 4.7 times that of general tourists.