A beautiful Nigerian doorman greets you with a dazzling smile in front of JK Plastic Surgery Center before swinging open its pearly gates, where five receptionists from different countries heartily attend to your needs from the moment you step into their stylishly luxurious building.

With JK Plastic Surgery Center’s lavish-themed interior and their professional staff, it’s no surprise that the establishment is the first and only plastic surgery center in the nation that is certified by the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) as an Outstanding Institution in Medical Tourism for foreigners.

The center has also won recognition and received awards from numerous organizations such as the Korea Tourism Organization, Gangnam Medical Tour, the Seoul Metropolitan Government, and Medical Korea throughout its 19-year service since 1998.

Foreign doctors attend JK’s training program to receive its highly sought certification. JK Plastic Surgery Center has eight board-certified plastic surgeons, each specializing in a particular field with more than 10 years of clinical experience. As the center of Korea’s medical tourism, JK received an enormous amount of international media attention such as CNN and ABC news to report its success.

JK Plastic Surgery Center is only one of many services that JK Medical Group provides in its seven-story building located conveniently in Apgujeong, Gangnam’s “Beauty Belt.” The multitude of services includes a technological advanced stem-cell center, a medical spa, U.S. federal-standard operation rooms, a medical hotel, and Dr. JK’s cosmetic line consisting of stem cells and ginseng.

Since foreign patients account for nearly 80 percent of their total revenue, JK Plastic Surgery Center provides its “Premium One-Stop Service” to cover customer’s needs from the beginning to the end. Among its customer base, many world-class celebrities and VIP customers seek their service, requiring attention even to the smallest details to meet their standards.

The inclusive package consists of airport pickup/drop off in luxury cars, multilingual staff to respond to their needs from a full understanding of the patients’ cultural and personal differences, consultations, medical checkup, surgery, and accommodation. The package also includes a guide on where to go for sightseeing, shopping, and restaurants that suit the patient’s tastes.

A coordinator is assigned to each patient for the consultation, and throughout their entire stay at JK, preoperative instructions, follow-up appointments, and any contact with the medical personnel is translated into the patient’s language.

JK firmly regards safety as its priority principle and confirms this foundation by maintaining a zero percent rate of medical malpractice incidents, an achievement that no other establishment can report.

It boasts an accurate diagnostic system, international standard sterile surgical systems from their air filtration system to their vacuum-powered dust suction mats, and 24-hour nursing and resident care that together created their “Perfect Safety System.”

Surgeries such as facial bone/body contouring, breast, and Eye-Nose Petit surgery-- a shortened name for non-invasive surgery such as Botox and fillers -- are popular for women. JK Plastic Surgery Center has also been seeing an increasing number of male patients as the trend of becoming a “flower boy” is on the rise. For Korean male patients, eyelid surgery and hair transplant are in high demand.

For both genders, JK’s anti-aging program is deemed to be sought-after for its best surgical results of the neck, laser and full face-lifting, stem cell fat grafting, and lower/upper blepharoplasty. With its stem-cell lab, JK has developed two cosmeceutical lines called Dr. JK Stem Cell and Dr. JK Ginseng, a unique solution to nourish damaged skin, whitening and regenerating, anti-wrinkles and wound healing properties. Both lines have won the approval of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and Good Manufacturing Practices.

JK’s autologous bone marrow stem cell therapy is the world’s first and only government-approved treatment, harvested from the patient’s bone marrow which is cultivated for 28 days to be re-injected to turn back time and regain youth.

For all surgeries, JK maintains and focuses on their zero-swelling programs, where patients can expect a quick recovery with significant results with relived pain, anti-inflammatory effects, reduced swelling, bruising and scars.

“Since 2009, JK Medical Group has been providing our services to foreign patients, preparing us to attract patients overseas before anyone else,” said Dr. Joo Kwon, CEO and founder of JK Medical Group. “We also had already expressed our opinion that credible evaluations such as accreditation systems are necessary for our patients to trust us.”

Kwon explains his morning routine, which begins with rounds to check on patients who received surgery to make sure nothing is uncomfortable for them. Operations are examined and performed, medical treatment is given, and consultations for patients and their families are held according to schedule.

“I would say that language service is the most fundamental element. Our patients who visit our hospital come from a wide variety of nations (more than 60 countries), with the highest numbers traveling from China, followed by CIS countries, such as Russia and Kazakhstan, Middle Eastern nations, Southeast Asia, America and European nations,” Kwon said.

The CEO believes that communication is crucial to make his patients feel assured in their decision to choose JK. “Which is why among the 90 staff members employed at JK, around half or approximately 40 employees speak a second language and of those, 20 are native speakers of languages other than Korean,” He added.

Asked about the hospital’s goals, Kwon replied that he wishes to continue expanding into the overseas market so that future customers can be able to receive JK services around the world.

“Also, we want to maintain our longstanding reputation for safety, customer service excellence, and leadership,” he said. “It is an honor to get recognition of the government, and we look forward to earning widespread acclaim as we expand the JK brand.”