Note №32PRICE INTELLIGENCE
Korean clinics price energy-device treatments in shots, lines, cc, Units and cartridges — not in treatments. We read the manufacturers’ own manuals on 19 August 2026. A Thermage treatment tip is specified for single-patient use. An Ultherapy transducer is specified to be wiped and used between patients. Neither manual tells you how many shots a consumable holds.
You ask what a lifting treatment costs in Seoul. English guides answer with a range: one to two million won. Then the actual quote arrives, and it does not look like that at all. It says 300 shots. Or 600. Or 900. Sometimes it says 100 shots and a price that seems impossibly low.
That number is not a discount tier and it is not a package size. It is a quantity of consumable — a metered part that the machine burns through and that the clinic has to buy again. Once you know that, the range in the guides stops being a price and becomes what it always was: a number with the unit removed.
Why is a Korean price quoted in shots rather than treatments?
Because these machines meter themselves, and the manufacturers built the counting into the device.
The Ulthera System — sold in Korea as 울쎄라 — displays, on its own screen during treatment, the “Number of treatment lines remaining/total treatment line capacity of transducer.” When that counter hits zero the system raises an error and the manual instructs: “The Transducer’s remaining line count is zero. Remove and replace the Transducer.”
So the quantity is real, it is enforced by the hardware, and the clinic is passing it to you. The unit is not marketing. It is the machine.
Note the vocabulary problem already: the manufacturer’s own word is lines, and the Korean price board says 샷 (shots). Those are the same quantity under two names, and neither appears in the English guides that quote you a range.
What is the consumable, and may it be used on more than one person?
Here the two best-known machines part company completely, and they do it in their own documentation.
Thermage (써마지). The Thermage CPT System technical user’s manual — model TG-2B, document P009240-06, September 2021 — says this in three separate places:
“The Non-Sterile Treatment Tips are designed for single patient use only.” (§6.7)
“The Treatment Tip is for single-patient-use only. Do not reuse Treatment Tips.” (§10.1.4)
“Treatment Tips are for single patient use only. Do not reuse. Multiple patient use creates a risk of cross contamination of microorganisms from one patient to another.” (§4.2.53)
Ultherapy (울쎄라). The Ulthera System Instructions for Use — document 1015107IFU Rev 05, April 2024 — says this:
“Because the transducer will come in contact with the skin of a patient, the standard practice for cleaning and low-level disinfection of transducers between patients is to gently but thoroughly wipe the transducers with a standard 70% isopropyl alcohol prep pad for a minimum of one minute.” (§9.1)
Two manufacturers, two consumables, two opposite instructions. One says the part goes in the bin after you. The other describes the procedure for cleaning it before the next person.
This is a difference in device design, not a ranking of clinics. It is also the reason a request that sounds reasonable for one machine is meaningless for the other: you can ask to watch a Thermage tip come out of its packaging. There is no equivalent moment for an Ultherapy transducer, because the manufacturer never intended there to be one.
⚠️ One precision we owe you: the Thermage manual we read covers the CPT system, model TG-2B. We did not obtain the manual for the newer FLX system, and we are not asserting that its wording is identical.
Is the Ultherapy instruction a hygiene problem?
No — and it is important not to read it that way.
Reusable-between-patients is an ordinary, regulated category of medical device. Ultrasound probes in hospitals work the same way, and the manufacturer does not leave the question open: the Ulthera IFU specifies the disinfectant, the technique, and the minimum contact time, and adds that “Neither the transducers nor the handpiece should be submerged in liquid” and to “Place the transducer back into its original packaging between uses.”
We are not evaluating whether any clinic follows that procedure, and we have not reviewed any infection data. What the two manuals give you is narrower and more useful: the right question changes depending on the machine. For Thermage, the question is whether the tip is new and genuine. For Ultherapy, the question is the disinfection routine, because that is the control the manufacturer actually specifies.
How many shots does one cartridge hold?
We could not find out, and that is worth saying plainly.
The Ulthera documentation confirms a transducer has a “total treatment line capacity” and shows it on screen — but none of the Merz documents we read state what that number is for any transducer model. We also could not find published cartridge shot ratings for the Korean HIFU and RF devices in their manufacturers’ own product pages.
Numbers do circulate online. We found a specific figure being repeated on social media for the Ultherapy transducer; we could not trace it to any manufacturer or regulator document, so we are not repeating it here. An unsourced capacity figure is worse than none, because it invites arithmetic that may be entirely wrong.
What you can rely on is the structure, not the number: the consumable is metered, the meter is visible on the machine, and the clinic knows the figure even when the internet does not.
What else changes the number on your quote?
Shots are only one of five axes. Change any one and two quotes stop being comparable.
| On the quote | What it counts | Can you verify it? |
|---|---|---|
| 샷 / shots | Pulses drawn from a metered consumable | The machine counts it; the rating is not published |
| lines | The manufacturer’s own word for the same quantity | Shown on the Ultherapy screen during treatment |
| cc / mL | Volume of injected product | Yes — it is on the syringe |
| 유닛 / Units | Biological potency of a toxin | Yes, but only within one brand — see below |
| 부위 / area | Nothing quantitative at all | No |
| kJ | Total energy delivered | The machine counts it |
| 가닥 / ea | Number of threads placed | Yes |
Toxin Units are the trap. BOTOX Cosmetic’s US prescribing information states that “The potency Units of BOTOX Cosmetic are specific to the preparation and assay method utilized” (§5.1), and that units “cannot be compared to nor converted into units of any other botulinum toxin products assessed with any other specific assay method” (§2.1). For reference, that label puts a full glabellar-line dose at 20 Units, and the vials at 50 and 100 Units.
So “50 units” quoted for one brand and “50 units” quoted for another are not the same quantity of anything. A price per unit compared across brands is not a comparison. Korean quotes make this harder still by sometimes pricing toxin in cc — which is reconstitution volume, not potency, and tells you nothing at all.
Filler is quoted in cc or mL, which is honest, but lidocaine-containing versions of the same filler are separate products with their own approvals — so “the same filler” may not be.
And then there is VAT. Medical services in Korea are exempt from value-added tax as a rule, but cosmetic-purpose treatment is written out of that exemption by name. The Enforcement Decree of the Value-Added Tax Act, Article 35, subparagraph 1, removes the exemption for treatment excluded from national health insurance benefit under Article 41(4) of the National Health Insurance Act, and then lists it: item (a) covers double-eyelid surgery, rhinoplasty, breast augmentation or reduction, liposuction, wrinkle removal, facial contouring, dental cosmetic work and orthognathic surgery; item (b) covers pigmented-lesion, freckle and melasma treatment, acne treatment, hair removal, hair-loss treatment, hair transplant, tattooing and tattoo removal, piercing, fat dissolving, skin regeneration, skin whitening, anti-aging treatment and pore reduction. The rate is 10 percent (Value-Added Tax Act, Article 30: “The value-added tax rate shall be 10 percent”) — we set out the full list of procedures the decree names separately. The decree writes its own exceptions back into the exemption — treatment of complications caused by cosmetic surgery, reconstruction of a congenital deformity, breast reconstruction after cancer surgery, and reconstruction after tumour removal. That is why Korean clinic price pages routinely carry the line 부가세 별도 (VAT not included). Some price lists say it. Some do not say anything, which is not the same as saying it is included. If the quote does not state which, it is a question, not an assumption — and the 10% refund that foreign patients used to reclaim at the airport ended on 31 December 2025.
What can you ask?
The point of all of this is not to negotiate harder. It is to make two quotes describe the same thing before you compare them.
- “How many shots, and of what?” A price without a shot count is not a price. A shot count without the device model is not a quantity.
- “Is the consumable single-use on this machine?” For a tip-based device you can ask to see it opened. For a transducer-based device, ask instead how it is disinfected between patients — that is the control the manufacturer specifies.
- “Which brand, and how many Units?” For toxin, both halves are required. One without the other is not information.
- “Is VAT included?” Ask even when the list says nothing, because saying nothing is common.
- “Can I have the quote written down with the units on it?” A clinic that quotes in units can write in units.
The posted-price rule that protects Korean patients has a gap that foreign patients fall through, and the first number you are given functions as an opening position rather than a fixed price. Neither of those is a reason to distrust a clinic. They are reasons to make the unit explicit before the number matters.
If you want to check the other claim on the tablet — the FDA one — we read what four Korean radiofrequency devices were actually cleared for.
Common questions
Why does a Korean clinic quote lifting treatments in shots?
Because the machines meter themselves. The Ulthera System displays the treatment lines remaining against the transducer’s total capacity and stops when it reaches zero. The clinic is passing on a quantity the hardware enforces.
Is a Thermage tip reused between patients?
The manufacturer says it must not be. The Thermage CPT technical manual states in three places that treatment tips are for single patient use only and warns of cross contamination between patients. We read the CPT manual, not the FLX one.
Is an Ultherapy transducer reused between patients?
Yes, by design. The Ulthera System IFU describes the standard practice for cleaning and low-level disinfection of transducers between patients using a 70% isopropyl alcohol wipe for at least one minute. This is an ordinary category of reusable medical device, not a defect.
How many shots are in one cartridge?
We do not know. The manufacturer documents we read confirm a transducer has a total line capacity and show it on screen, but none of them state the figure. Numbers circulating online could not be traced to a manufacturer or regulator, so we have not repeated them.
Are 50 units of one toxin brand the same as 50 units of another?
No. BOTOX Cosmetic’s prescribing information states that its potency Units are specific to its own preparation and assay method and cannot be converted into the units of any other botulinum toxin product. A price per unit compared across brands is not a comparison.
Sources
Manufacturer documents read in the original on 19 August 2026. Korean statutes read in the original on the National Law Information Center on 21 August 2026.
- Thermage CPT System Technical User’s Manual, model TG-2B, document P009240-06 (September 2021), §§4.2.53, 6.7, 10.1.4 — https://ca.thermage.com/siteassets/hcp/pdf/thermage-cpt-technical-users-manual-model-tg-2b-p-np009240-06-2021.pdf
- Ulthera System Instructions for Use, document 1015107IFU Rev 05 (April 2024), §§7.2.1, 8, 9.1 — https://merzaesthetics.com/app/uploads/2024/09/1015107IFU-Rev-05-US-Ultherapy.pdf
- Value-Added Tax Act (부가가치세법), Article 26(1)5 and Article 30 — current text as of enforcement 2 January 2026, Act No. 21065 — https://www.law.go.kr/법령/부가가치세법
- Enforcement Decree of the Value-Added Tax Act (부가가치세법 시행령), Article 35, subparagraph 1, items (a) and (b) — current text as of enforcement 27 February 2026, Presidential Decree No. 36133 — https://www.law.go.kr/법령/부가가치세법시행령
- BOTOX Cosmetic US Prescribing Information, §§2.1, 2.2, 3, 5.1, via the openFDA drug label API — https://api.fda.gov/drug/label.json
The Clinic Notes — verified, source-cited information on cosmetic medicine in South Korea. We accept no payments or benefits from clinics, hospitals, doctors, or referral agencies.
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