CRI听力:Chinese Love Affair with South Korean Plastic Surgeries

The rise of affluent Chinese citizens and an infatuation with Korean pop culture, or "Hanliu," has spurred sharp growth in South Korea's medical tourism industry, mainly in the field of cosmetic surgery.

The Korea Health Industry Development says the number of medical tourists coming to South Korea ballooned last year to nearly 82,000, generating about 700 million U.S. dollars in revenue.

Park Won-jin, a plastic surgeon and director of the Wonjin Aesthetic Surgery Clinic in Seoul, sums up his experience of the boom.

"Recently, the number of patients has sharply increased along with the popularity of South Korean dramas and K-pop. These days, we have more than five patients for surgeries or consultations on a daily basis."

But Korean pop culture is not the only reason rich Chinese and other Asians are coming to South Korea for beauty treatments.

Dr. Park explains the importance people attach to their looks nowadays is also behind the surge.

"In Asia, South Korea has much more advanced and high-tech skills in terms of plastic surgery. Asians not only have issues with their eyes and nose, but also with the contour of their faces, such as having large faces and protruding mouths. Our country has skilled doctors who are good at contouring faces."

Twenty-four-year-old Wang Li from Beijing is in South Korea for double-eyelid surgery, a nose job and other procedures to contour her face.

She says she was totally convinced about having cosmetic surgery after seeing the results of her friends' procedures.

"My friends all come here for their surgery. The pricing is, how should I put it, not about how cheap or expensive it is; as long as the result is good, it's fine. I've seen my friends after their surgery here. Their results are great. And after their recoveries, their faces do not show any signs of the surgery. It's especially good, so I decided to come here for the surgery."

The Wonjin Clinic has more than 30 plastic surgeons and a staff of medical coordinators fluent in Mandarin who are trained to handle Chinese patients.

The clinic offers a multiple-language website and provides tours and shopping excursions for patients after their operations.

With surgeries costing half of what they do in the U.S., the South Korean government expects some 200,000 foreign patients will come next year. And by 2020, it says one million medical tourists will visit annually.

For CRI, I'm Xiao Yi.