Focused ultrasound lifting
Shurink and Shurink Universe in Myeongdong, Seoul
The HIFU treatment that makes the arithmetic awkward for everyone selling the expensive one. The clinic sells it as two items: Shurink on the standing price list, and Shurink Universe as a one-time first-visit offer.
- KRW 97,900Shurink Universe 300 shots, first visit, VAT included
- 30–90 minin the chair
- Redness 1 daytenderness usually milder than Ultherapy
Quick answer
Shurink at Kind Global Clinic Myeongdong is high-intensity focused ultrasound on the Shurink Universe platform by Classys, sold internationally as Ultraformer MPT. A 300-shot full-face session costs KRW 163,900 including 10% VAT on a return visit, and takes 30–90 minutes. The clinic lists a separate first-visit item, Shurink Universe, at KRW 97,900 for the same 300 shots.
Mechanism
The same physics, a different business model
Shurink and Ultherapy Prime both use focused ultrasound. They differ in imaging, cartridge design and price; the gap depends on the treatment and price tier.
High-intensity focused ultrasound concentrates acoustic energy at a focal point beneath the surface, heating that point enough to contract collagen and trigger a healing response, while leaving the surface largely intact. The Shurink Universe platform delivers this through interchangeable cartridges fixed at set depths — 1.5 mm into the superficial dermis, 3.0 mm into the deep dermis, and 4.5 mm at the level of the superficial musculoaponeurotic system. That is the same mechanism and the same depth logic as the more expensive platforms.
The platform is made by Classys, a listed Korean device manufacturer, and sold outside Korea as Ultraformer MPT. It is approved by Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the regulator that governs treatment performed in Seoul. Within Korea, Shurink is close to the default HIFU platform, which is worth knowing when you read a Seoul price list: it is not a budget substitute for the local market, it is what the local market largely uses.
What you do not get is real-time visualization. On the Shurink Universe platform the operator places energy at a depth set by the cartridge, without an ultrasound image confirming the tissue layer under the handpiece on that particular face. In practice, for a healthy face with typical anatomy treated by an experienced operator, that matters less than the price difference implies. It matters more if your anatomy is unusual, if you have had filler or threads placed at depth, or if the treatment area sits over structures where a few millimeters change what the energy reaches.
The other real difference is cost per session, and it is large. A first Shurink Universe session at KRW 97,900 sits against KRW 979,000 for the same shot count on Ultherapy Prime. That is a per-session figure, not an annual one: how often either platform needs repeating is a decision at consultation rather than a fixed schedule, so it is not the whole cost picture. If budget is the binding constraint, this is where to start.
Suitability
Who it suits, and who should not have it
The right-hand column matters more than the left. A physician confirms both in person before anything starts.
Likely a good fit
- A first experiment with focused ultrasound, where the point is finding out how your skin responds before committing more money
- Early laxity along the jawline and cheeks, in skin that still has reasonable thickness and elasticity
- Someone who would rather spread the spend across smaller sessions than commit it to one large treatment
- A visitor on a short trip: no open wound, daily activity generally possible the same day
- Maintenance between more expensive treatments, or after a good result from HIFU elsewhere
- Anyone for whom the premium platform is not worth several times the money for their particular complaint
Not suitable, or needs review first
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding — treatment is deferred, as there is no supporting safety data
- Volume loss rather than laxity: focused ultrasound tightens tissue and cannot replace lost fat
- Advanced laxity that has passed what any non-surgical treatment can address
- Active infection, open lesions or inflammatory acne in the treatment area
- Any electronic or metal implant, including cardiac devices and dental hardware, unless the physician has assessed it against the specific device instructions
- Recent filler or thread placement in the treatment area, or isotretinoin within the last six months, without review first
- Anyone whose anatomy or treatment history makes depth confirmation genuinely important — that is an argument for the imaging platform instead
On the day
How long you are actually there
Each step carries its duration so a visit can be planned around a flight rather than the other way round.
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01
Assessment and cartridge selection
15–20 minutes
A physician assesses laxity and skin thickness, then selects which cartridge depths to use and over what area. Cartridge choice is the whole plan on this platform.
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02
Cleansing and topical anesthetic
20–30 minutes
A nurse applies numbing cream and leaves it to work. Shorter than for some treatments but still real waiting time.
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03
Delivery, deepest pass first
15–40 minutes
The operator delivers the lines pass by pass. Sensation is a brief deep heat along each line, generally reported as milder than on the higher-energy platforms.
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04
Cooling
10 minutes
Cooling in the powder room to settle surface warmth and redness before you leave.
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05
Aftercare briefing
5–10 minutes
Written aftercare, the expected timeline, and when the next session would be if you want one.
Allow about 65 to 110 minutes for the steps above. Reception, first-visit paperwork and payment sit outside them. This is the treatment most easily fitted into an afternoon between other plans.
Recovery
What happens over the following weeks
Individual response varies. What follows is the usual pattern, not a promise about yours.
| Phase | What you may notice | Do | Avoid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 0 | Redness and surface warmth, mild swelling. Occasional small welts along treatment lines. | Moisturize, use sun protection, keep the rest of the day unremarkable. | Sauna, jjimjilbang (Korean bathhouse), alcohol, strenuous exercise. |
| Day 1–3 | Mild tenderness to pressure, occasional bruising. Usually less pronounced than with the higher-energy platforms. | Normal skincare, continued sun protection. | Facial massage, strong exfoliation, high heat on the treated area. |
| Week 1–2 | Tenderness resolves. Little visible change yet. | Return to normal routine. Photograph in the same light as your reference shot. | Concluding it has not worked. Two weeks is too early to judge. |
| Month 2–3 | Peak of the collagen response, and the point at which the result is assessed. | Compare photographs and decide with the clinic whether to repeat. | Expecting a surgical degree of change from a non-surgical treatment. |
A meaningful proportion of people see little change from any single HIFU session, and it is not a sign that anything went wrong. Contact the clinic if redness lasts beyond 48 hours, or if you develop blistering, numbness or visible depressions in the treated area. If you suspect a complication, seek medical care promptly; messages cannot replace an examination.
Prices
List, standard and first-visit prices in one table
Three prices exist for many items, so all three are shown together. The final column is what you hand over.
Focused ultrasound lifting
| Treatment | List price (KRW) | Standard price (KRW) | First-visit price (KRW) | You pay, VAT included |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shurink300 shots | 178,000 | 149,000 | — | KRW 163,900≈ $123 |
| Shurink600 shots | 334,000 | 279,000 | — | KRW 306,900≈ $230 |
| ShurinkEye 100 shots · eye area | 118,000 | 99,000 | — | KRW 108,900≈ $81 |
| ShurinkBody 100 shots · body | — | 99,000 | — | KRW 108,900≈ $81 |
| Shurink Universe300 shots · first visit only | 133,000 | — | 89,000 | KRW 97,900≈ $73 |
The other 6 treatments in the focused ultrasound lifting group belong to Ultherapy Prime, priced on its own page — or see the full price list for the group side by side.
The last column is what you hand over — the applicable price plus 10% VAT, which Korean clinics exclude by convention. Korean and foreign patients pay the same. US figures convert at KRW 1,336.2 to $1 (September 9, 2026).
The price page carries every treatment, how the three price columns work, and what changed with the tourist VAT refund in 2026.
Comparison
Shurink Universe against Ultherapy Prime, honestly
Written to be useful rather than to steer you upward. The row that matters most is the last one.
| Dimension | Shurink Universe | Ultherapy Prime |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Classys (Korea), sold abroad as Ultraformer MPT | Merz Aesthetics (Germany) |
| Energy | High-intensity focused ultrasound | Microfocused ultrasound |
| Cartridge / transducer depths | 1.5, 3.0 and 4.5 mm | 1.5, 3.0 and 4.5 mm |
| Real-time tissue imaging | No | Yes — the layer is confirmed before energy is delivered |
| Reported sensation | Generally milder | More intense, particularly at 4.5 mm over bone |
| Cost of a 300-shot face treatment | Lower published price; check the applicable tier | Higher published price; check the applicable tier |
| Choose it when | Cost matters, or you are finding out how your skin responds | Depth confirmation matters, or your anatomy or treatment history warrants imaging |
The price columns in the table above this one carry the actual amounts. The reason a clinic can offer both is that they answer the same complaint with different degrees of certainty about where the energy landed — and for many faces, that certainty is not worth the difference.
Physicians
Who decides the plan, and who performs it
The physician sets the energy level, the depth and the treatment area at consultation, after examining your skin.
Dr. Lee Won Jin, Dr. Lee Kang In and Dr. Oh Se Won — the physicians of Kind Global Clinic Myeongdong — assess the treatment area in person and set the plan before anything begins. All three are licensed physicians practicing at a dermatology clinic, and the two representative directors have held senior elected office in the Korean Public Health Doctors Association.
If you want to know who will be holding the handpiece for your session, ask when you get in touch and you will get a straight answer in writing before you travel.
Evidence
What the literature actually says
Every citation below was checked against CrossRef and PubMed on August 17, 2026, and each carries its own limitation.
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Fabi SG. Microfocused ultrasound with visualization for skin tightening and lifting: my experience and a review of the literature. Dermatologic Surgery. 2014;40(Suppl 12):S164–S167.
A single-author clinical experience report and literature review on microfocused ultrasound with visualization for skin tightening and lifting.
Limitation A narrative review and personal case series, not a controlled trial.
These are small studies. None of them is a large randomized trial, and none of them was run at Kind Global Clinic Myeongdong. They are here so you can read the primary sources and judge them yourself. They also show the size of the evidence base, which for aesthetic devices generally is thinner than marketing implies.
Questions
Questions people ask about this treatment
Answered with numbers and intervals rather than a referral to consultation.
How much does Shurink Universe cost in Seoul?
Shurink Universe is the name Kind Global Clinic Myeongdong puts on its one-time first-visit item, and it costs KRW 89,000 excluding VAT for 300 full-face shots, or KRW 97,900 including 10% VAT. On any visit after the first, the same 300 shots are sold as Shurink at KRW 149,000 excluding VAT, which is KRW 163,900 including VAT. It is the same platform either way. A 600-shot treatment, a 100-shot eye-area treatment and a 100-shot body treatment are priced separately in the table on this page. Korean and foreign patients pay identical amounts.
Is Shurink better than Ultherapy?
Shurink and Ultherapy Prime use the same mechanism at the same depths, so neither is straightforwardly better. The difference is that Ultherapy Prime confirms the tissue layer on a live ultrasound image before delivering energy, and Shurink does not. For a typical face and an experienced operator, that difference is smaller than the price gap suggests. It grows in importance if you have had filler or threads placed at depth, or if the area being treated sits close to structures where a few millimeters matter.
How often should I repeat Shurink Universe?
Kind Global Clinic does not publish a fixed repeat interval for Shurink, and neither does this page. What the clinic publishes is the same line on almost every treatment — that the interval is decided at consultation, or as needed — which is category guidance rather than a schedule for this treatment. The result is assessed at two to three months against a photograph taken on the day, and the decision to repeat is made then, with a physician who has seen both.
Why is Shurink so much cheaper than Ultherapy in Korea?
Shurink Universe is cheaper primarily because it is made in Korea by Classys and is close to the domestic default, so there is no import premium and there is intense local price competition. It is not a case of a cheap machine imitating an expensive one — Classys is a listed manufacturer whose platform is approved by Korea’s MFDS and CE-marked in Europe. The functional difference you are paying for on the premium platform is real-time visualization, not better ultrasound.
Does Shurink Universe hurt?
Shurink Universe is generally reported as milder than the higher-energy focused-ultrasound platforms, though it is still felt as a brief deep heat along each delivered line. Topical anesthetic is applied for 20 to 30 minutes beforehand. The deeper 4.5 mm cartridge is felt most, particularly where the treatment passes over bone along the jawline. Energy can be reduced mid-session if a particular area is too much, so say so at the time.
What is the difference between Shurink and Shurink Universe?
Shurink Universe is the current-generation Classys platform, with a wider cartridge range and faster delivery than the earlier Shurink systems that many Korean clinics still run. It matters when comparing price lists: a very low HIFU price in Seoul is sometimes an older platform or a smaller shot count rather than a better deal. Kind Global Clinic runs Shurink Universe, and the shot counts in the price table on this page are for that platform.
Can I have Shurink Universe and Rejuran in the same visit?
Combining Shurink with a skin booster such as Rejuran in one visit is common, and it is what the clinic’s single-visit packages are built around. The two work on different things: one on tissue tension, the other on skin quality. The usual order is the energy treatment first, then the injectable, and the total sitting runs to roughly 60 to 120 minutes. Whether it suits you is a physician’s call, because stacking treatments raises the chance of swelling.
How soon can I fly after Shurink Universe?
The timing of your flight after Shurink Universe should be agreed with the treating physician before you book. Share your arrival and departure dates, and leave time for any follow-up the clinic recommends. Visible redness or swelling is only part of recovery; feeling well enough to travel does not rule out a later complication. Avoid scheduling treatment on your departure day, and confirm how to obtain care if a concern develops after you return home.
Will one session of Shurink Universe be enough to see a difference?
One session of Shurink Universe produces a visible difference for some people and very little for others, and there is no way to know in advance which you will be. That is true of every focused-ultrasound treatment and it is the reason starting with the cheaper platform is defensible: you learn how your skin responds for a fraction of the cost. Assess at two to three months against a photograph taken in the same light, not at two weeks.
Is Shurink Universe approved by regulators?
Shurink Universe is approved by Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, which is the regulator that governs a treatment performed in Seoul, and the platform is CE-marked for the European market. Its manufacturer, Classys, is a listed Korean medical device company, so its filings and product range are matters of public record you can check independently. Ask the clinic to confirm the platform and cartridge in use at your consultation if you want it on the record.