Sightseeing After LASIK in Seoul: What Fits Which Day

Sightseeing after LASIK in Seoul works best when you match it to the day: the morning before the exam is free, the surgery evening is for rest, and indoor sights fit well once your next-day check-up is done. Light daytime outings usually follow from day 2 or 3.

I'm Dr. Kim Sun-young, medical director of Healing Eye Clinic, one minute from Sinnonhyeon Station in Gangnam, Seoul. I was a clinical professor of cornea and cataract surgery, and many of the international patients I see want to fit a little of Seoul around their surgery.

A message I read often goes like this: "Dr. Kim, I've only got five days. Can I still see something of Seoul, or will I spend the whole trip in the hotel?"

You can see Seoul. You just need to put the right activity on the right day. Here is the order I give patients in the consultation room.

Sightseeing after LASIK in Seoul: the day-by-day order

For Clear SMILE LASIK the shortest plan is 1 night, 2 days: exam in the morning, surgery in the afternoon, check-up the next day. Most people add a day or two, and that is where the sightseeing goes.

Before the exam: the freest hours of the trip

If you arrive the day before, that evening and the next morning are yours. Walk, eat, shop. Just keep wearing glasses, not contact lenses, because contacts change the shape of the cornea and skew the measurements. Ask us how many days before the exam to stop, since soft and hard lenses differ.

Exam day: keep the evening near Gangnam

The full exam is around 20 tests. Your pupils are usually dilated, so reading and bright light feel uncomfortable for a few hours afterwards. A café or a short walk near the hotel suits this evening better than a trip across the city.

Surgery evening: hotel, drops, sleep

Vision starts recovering right away, but some grittiness and light sensitivity are normal that evening. Take a taxi back, put your drops on the bedside table and rest. This is not a night for a night market.

Day 1, after the check-up: indoor Seoul

At the next-day check-up I look at the cornea and confirm your drops. From then, normal indoor activities are fine. Museums, a mall, a long lunch, a slow afternoon in a bookshop: these are good choices for day 1.

Days 2 to 3: light daytime outings

Vision is mostly stable by now, and light outings are fine. A palace in daylight with sunglasses on, a market street before the evening crowd, a short ride on the subway. Most daily routines are back within about a week, following your surgeon's advice.

Whether you can then board your plane is a separate question, which I answer in flying after LASIK.

What to leave off the itinerary for now

Some things are not about how well you see, but about protecting a fresh cornea.

• Rubbing or pressing the eyes, including sleeping face-down on a bus.
• Saunas, jjimjilbang, swimming pools and the sea, where heat, water and bacteria come near the eye.
• Eye makeup for the first period.
• Packed concerts, amusement rides and contact sports, where a knock to the face can happen.
• Late walks in unfamiliar streets in the first evenings, while glare and halos are strongest.

When each of these can come back depends on the procedure. I give you the exact timetable at the check-up, in writing, because it differs between Clear SMILE LASIK, LASIK, LASEK and ICL.

If your procedure is LASEK or ICL, the plan shifts

After LASEK, a protective lens sits on the eye while the surface regrows. The first three to five days are honestly the most uncomfortable, with stinging and watering, so plan rest and short meals out rather than sightseeing until the lens comes out.

After ICL, most people return to daily life within one to two days. For the first one to two weeks, avoid rubbing and anything that could hit the eye. Indoor sights are fine; amusement rides are not.

How many nights each procedure needs in Korea is set out in how long to stay in Korea for eye surgery. If no one is travelling with you, read laser eye surgery Korea solo trip as well.

Planning the travel side without making it harder

The medical plan is ours. The travel plan is yours, and it helps to keep it simple: one hotel close to the clinic, taxis on surgery day, the subway once your eyes feel comfortable.

For the travel side, some of our patients use KBeauty Wallet, a visitor guide run by Afformation in Seoul that lists clinics, stays, tours and restaurants across Korea in English, Japanese, Chinese and Indonesian. It charges visitors no fee. If you want a gentle half-day activity for day 2 or 3, you can browse tours and day activities in Seoul and choose something short and seated. Before you land, it is worth reading how Seoul's transport cards work, so that you are not reading small print at a ticket machine with freshly operated eyes.

Our clinic listing on KBeauty Wallet also shows our address in Korean to show a taxi driver. You will find it on our Korean site's Clear SMILE LASIK page too.

Questions to send me before you book tours

Send these on WhatsApp with your prescription and travel dates:

1. Which procedure is likely for my eyes, and how many nights should I plan?
2. On which day after surgery can I do a half-day outing?
3. When can I use a sauna, swim or wear eye makeup again?
4. Do I need sunglasses or anything else from home?

The answer to the first question comes from the exam, not from a message. An interpreter is with you from the exam to the next-day check, at no extra charge, and the same doctor examines you, operates and sees you the next morning. Results and recovery vary from person to person.

Clinic hours: Mon–Thu 10:00–18:30, Fri 10:00–21:00, Sat 10:00–14:00.

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