Cataract Surgery in Seoul: One Eye or Both, How Long to Stay

I'm Dr. Kim Sun-young, medical director of Healing Eye Clinic in Sinnonhyeon, Gangnam, Seoul. I was a clinical professor of cornea and cataract surgery at a university hospital, and every week I see patients who have flown in for their eyes, with an English interpreter in the room from the first test to the consent form.

The messages from people planning a trip are rarely about the surgery itself. They sound like this: "Dr. Kim, can you do both eyes while I'm in Seoul, and how many days do I need?"

If you're searching cataract surgery seoul, you're probably planning the logistics as much as the operation. That makes complete sense. You can't pop back next month for the other eye.

So here's my honest answer first: the surgery takes about 15 to 20 minutes per eye. The trip is shaped by two other decisions — one eye or both, and which lens — and both are made after the exam.

Cataract surgery in Seoul: three decisions a visitor has to plan for

I explain these in the order they come up in clinic.

1. One eye or both?

Many patients who travel to us have both eyes treated within the same visit. We usually space the two eyes apart rather than doing both on the same day.

The reason is simple: I want to see how the first eye heals, and how its result feels to you, before operating on the second. It's like tasting the first batch before seasoning the second.

Sometimes only one eye needs surgery now. If the other eye's clouding is mild and not affecting daily life, waiting is often the better choice. Cataract surgery is usually not an emergency.

2. How long to stay

For one eye, the minimum is exam, surgery and the next-day check. For both eyes, add the spacing between them and a second next-day check.

I set the exact schedule after the exam, because the measurements and the lens decision affect it. Book flights you can change by a day or two. It's the single most useful thing you can do before you arrive.

3. When to choose the lens

This is the decision people try to make at home, and I'd ask you not to finalise it there. Biometry measures your eye's length and corneal curvature; those numbers decide the lens power and can rule a lens type in or out.

What you can do before flying: think about your day. Do you drive at night? Read a lot? Work at a screen? That's what we'll talk through together once the numbers are in.

The full picture of the procedure is in my cataract surgery in Korea guide.

Why the surgeon who chooses your lens should be the one who implants it

At our clinic, the doctor who examines you, chooses the lens with you and operates is the same doctor, and I'm the one checking you the next morning.

With cataract surgery that continuity matters more than usual. The lens stays in your eye for life, and the person who measured your eye is the one who knows why that power was chosen.

What you can check: international patients pay the same price as Korean patients, we hold 4.8 stars from 154 Google reviews, and I'm a full member of ESCRS, the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons. Evidence you can verify, not a boast.

So what should my trip look like?

A rough planning guide. The exam sets the final schedule.

Cost. A monofocal lens is ₩1,250,000 per eye. Premium lenses are priced per eye, lens by lens, and the full exam is ₩150,000. How the lens drives the total is explained in cataract surgery cost in Korea; the full list is on our price page. The procedure is described on our cataract surgery page, and lenses that also address reading vision on our presbyopia and cataract page.

Side effects, and when I'd tell you to wait

Cataract surgery is well established, but it is real surgery.

• Grittiness and watering for the first days, usually settling on its own.
• Infection and inflammation are uncommon, which is why drops and the next-day check matter.
• After-cataract, a later haze behind the lens, cleared with a simple laser procedure.
• Night glare and halos with multifocal lenses, which some people notice.

I'd advise waiting if the clouding is mild and not bothering you. Conditions such as macular degeneration, glaucoma or uncontrolled diabetes can limit the result, so tell us about them early. Results and recovery vary between people. The Korean head office explains cataracts in more depth on its what is a cataract page.

Practical notes for your Seoul stay

• Changeable flights, especially if both eyes are planned.
• Bring your medication list, including any prostate medicines and blood thinners.
• Avoid sauna, swimming and heavy exercise for a while after surgery.
• We're one minute from Sinnonhyeon Station, about 70 minutes from Incheon Airport.
• Book your local follow-up before you leave: one week, one month and three months, with the written record we give you.

What the first weeks feel like is in cataract surgery recovery time.

Don't book the operation yet — book the exam

It's tempting to fix the dates first and fit your eyes around them. With cataract surgery, it works better the other way round.

It doesn't have to be our clinic. But choose one where the surgeon who measures your eye chooses the lens with you and operates.

Send your age, which eye is bothering you, any other eye conditions and your travel window on WhatsApp. If surgery isn't needed yet, I'll tell you plainly.

I hope to see you in Seoul.

— Dr. Kim Sun-young, Medical Director, Healing Eye Clinic (Sinnonhyeon, Gangnam, Seoul)