The single most-asked question we see from foreign visitors is some version of "how do I know the clinic has a real dermatologist?" — usually after discovering that many aesthetic clinics in Gangnam look identical from the outside. There's a genuine, legal answer hiding in the clinic's own name.
The signboard rule. Under Korea's Medical Service Act rules, a clinic may only put a specialty — like 피부과 (dermatology) — inside its name if the doctor who opened it is a board-certified specialist in that field. So:
- "OO피부과의원" (OO Dermatology Clinic) → the founding doctor is a board-certified dermatologist (피부과 전문의).
- "OO의원" with a separate line reading "진료과목: 피부과" (Treatment department: dermatology) → a general-practice clinic that treats skin, run by a doctor who is not a dermatology specialist. By law that "진료과목" line must be printed no larger than half the size of the clinic name — so it's often easy to miss.
Neither is "bad." A skilled GP-run aesthetic clinic can be an excellent choice for routine injectables and lasers, and many are. But the two are not the same credential, and Korean law is precise about which word a clinic has earned. Knowing the difference lets you decide, instead of a marketing photo deciding for you.
Why this matters more for a visitor. A local reads these signs automatically. As a foreigner reading a clinic's English-language page — where "dermatology clinic" gets used loosely — you lose that signal entirely. The Korean name on the door, the receipt, and the business registration is where the truth lives.
How SKINAVI encodes it. We label every clinic by tier using public data from HIRA (the national health-insurance review agency), so you can see the distinction before you fly:
- Specialist — a board-certified dermatologist is on staff.
- GP — a general-practice aesthetic clinic.
- Hidden — a clinic Naver categorizes under 피부과 whose generic name doesn't announce it either way.
We show you the tier and the source; we don't rank clinics by it, and "real dermatologist" is not a synonym for "better result" — that depends on the doctor, the treatment, and you.
Two things to check yourself:
- Read the Korean name, not the English tagline. Look for 피부과 inside the clinic name versus a small 진료과목 line beneath a plain 의원.
- Ask directly: "Is the doctor a board-certified dermatologist (피부과 전문의)?" A straight answer is itself a good sign.
SKINAVI lists factual information only and is not a booking agent — you always contact the clinic directly.