What a Gangnam clinic knows about you before you land is only what you sent it. Send five things in one message, in this order: what you want looked at, two photos in daylight, the medicines you take, what you have had done before and when, and what you react to. Do it in the clinic’s messenger before you fly. The point of it is not the paperwork — a coordinator who has read it can tell you before you arrive that the treatment you had in mind is the wrong one, or that you need to stop a medication first.

The five items

1. What you want looked at — in plain words. “Pigmentation on both cheeks that got darker this summer.” “Acne scars on the jaw, indented.” “Skin looks tired, no specific problem.” Do not name a device or a procedure unless you have had it before, because naming one steers the consultation toward selling it.

2. Two photos. Face-on and three-quarter, no makeup, in daylight near a window, no filter, phone held at arm’s length. If the problem comes and goes (redness, hives, a flare), add one photo of it at its worst with the date.

3. Medicines and supplements. Generic names if you know them. The ones a clinic must know about: isotretinoin (Accutane/Roaccutane) in the last 6–12 months, blood thinners, retinoids you apply, antibiotics, anything for a heart condition, and pregnancy or breastfeeding. What disqualifies you from a given treatment is the clinic’s call, not this list, so report everything and let the doctor decide what matters.

4. What you have had done, and when. Lasers, injectables, threads, peels, surgery — the approximate month and the country. If you have a document, photograph it. Many devices have minimum intervals between sessions, and the clinic needs the date to schedule you safely.

5. What you react to. Allergies to medications or topical anaesthetics, keloid scarring, cold sores that flare after treatments, and a note if your skin marks easily. If you do not know, say so.

The format that works in a messenger

Coordinators read hundreds of messages. One message, labelled, beats five:

Hello — I would like a consultation at [clinic name, branch] on [date range]. Concern: [one line]. Photos: attached (2). Medications: [list, or “none”]. Previous treatments: [what, when, where]. Reactions/allergies: [list, or “none known”]. My passport name is [name]. Which language will the consultation be in?

Name the clinic and the branch in that first line even though you wrote to the clinic’s own button: eight of the twenty-seven skin clinics listed on K-Beauty Station publish the same WhatsApp number, and two further groups of three share a number each — the Abijou branches on one, the Reverse branches on another. The person reading you may be handling several listings at once.

Ready-made versions for booking, changing and cancelling: message templates.

Where to send it, and when it gets read

Send it in the channel the clinic’s own page opens. On the English store pages of K-Beauty Station, all twelve Gangnam skin clinics open WhatsApp, while the Japanese and Traditional Chinese pages open LINE and the Simplified Chinese pages WeChat. A KakaoTalk ID or an email address is not published on those pages, so do not go hunting for one — the button is the route.

Put a date range in, not a single date, and keep it inside the clinic’s published hours. The twelve Gangnam clinics close between 19:00 and 21:00 on most weekdays and between 16:00 and 19:00 on Saturdays. Seven of the twelve are closed on public holidays. GU Clinic Gangnam Branch in Seocho-gu (4.9 from 10,000+ Google reviews) is at the long end: 10:30–21:00 on weekdays, 10:30–19:00 at weekends, and 10:30–19:00 on public holidays too. No store page publishes a cut-off for registration, so if your flight lands late, ask in the same message what the last consultation slot of the day is.

No one can promise how fast a clinic replies. One desk does publish its hours. K-Beauty Station’s guide desk states them in its first message on every store page: Monday to Friday, 10:00 to 19:00 Korea time, closed on Korean public holidays. Messages sent outside those hours are answered in order during business hours, so allow for that before you send the same thing again somewhere else.

What not to send

Your passport photo page (they will see it at the desk), payment details, or a diagnosis you have decided on. Do not send photos of other people’s results as a request — send them, if at all, as “this is the direction I like”, and expect the doctor to say what is realistic for your skin.

What happens with what you send

The coordinator relays it to the doctor and books the consultation. At the clinic you will repeat much of it on an intake form. That is normal. Some replies come back with a specific treatment and a price before anyone has seen you, so treat that as a quote to be confirmed at consultation, not a plan.

Nothing you send at this stage has to include payment details. Every store page on K-Beauty Station carries the same line on the arrangement: you agree a date through the messenger channel, and payment is made on site after the visit. If a deposit is required, the clinic tells you in advance. A first message asking for your card is not how the listed clinics work.

Then book

Send this a week or more before the date you want, so the clinic still has time to tell you to pause a medication. How far ahead to aim, and which days to avoid: lead times and weekday closures. The booking itself, step by step: how to book a skin clinic in Gangnam. The clinic pages themselves are on K-Beauty Station, with published prices, hours and the messenger button you will be writing into. GU Clinic Gangnam Branch lists eight published products from ₩29,000 to ₩1,990,000, so you can put a realistic budget in the same message as the photos.

FAQ

Will the clinic ask for my medical records?

Rarely, for skin treatments. For surgery, sometimes. Bring what you have.

Should I stop my retinoid before the visit?

Ask the clinic; do not decide alone. Some treatments require a pause, and the clinic will tell you how long.

How early should I send this?

When you book the consultation, ideally a week or more before, so the clinic can advise on medication timing. K-Beauty Station's own guide desk states its response hours on every store page — Monday to Friday, 10:00 to 19:00 Korea time, closed on Korean public holidays — so a message sent on a Friday evening is read on Monday.

Which messenger do I send it in?

The one the clinic's own page opens. On the English store pages of K-Beauty Station, all twelve Gangnam skin clinics open WhatsApp; the Japanese and Traditional Chinese pages open LINE and the Simplified Chinese pages WeChat. Eight of the platform's twenty-seven skin clinics share one WhatsApp number, so put the clinic name and the branch in your first line.

Do I send payment details with it?

No. Every store page on K-Beauty Station carries the same line: you agree a date through the messenger channel, payment is made on site after the visit, and if a deposit is required the clinic tells you in advance. Nothing in the first message needs a card number.

Where do I book?

In the same thread. Each Gangnam clinic with listed prices has a page on K-Beauty Station carrying a messenger button, its day-by-day hours and its published prices, so the message you prepared and the date request go to the same place. Only DIORE CLINIC of the twelve also has a Book now form beside that button; at the other eleven the date is agreed in the messenger.