Plastic surgery is often cited as one of the sectors that has benefited from the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. (image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Dec. 7 (Korea Bizwire) – The number of plastic surgery patients is increasing in South Korea as the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has enabled them to stay longer and ‘recover’ at home.
The demand for plastic surgery is increasing since more people are attempting to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic, when plastic surgery patients can hide their treatment behind a mask and recover at home.
Plastic surgery is often cited as one of the sectors that has benefited from the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Hana Institute of Finance analyzed and compared the spending data of Hana credit card holders between the first quarter of last year and this year.
In March, when a sense of crisis deepened over the COVID-19 pandemic, spending on plastic surgery marked a 9 percent increase from a year earlier.
This is in contrast to a decline in spending at other types of hospitals, including pediatric clinics (-46 percent) and otorhinolaryngology (-42 percent).
Reflecting this trend, the use of cosmetic medical information applications is on the rise.
The number of new subscribers to a plastic surgery information platform jumped to 2.5 million in November 2020 from 1.6 million a year before.
The number of applications for mobile consultations through the platform also doubled to 1 million from 500,000 during the same period.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
