[REAL STORY] Ms. Gong Mi-ae

Q. Even though I knew your age before meeting you, I was so surprised! Seeing you in person, it’s hard to guess your age. (You look like you’re in your 30s)

Thank you. My oldest daughter is 18. Once, I went with her to buy hotteok, and someone even asked what our relationship was. I felt good about it, but my daughter didn’t like it. (Laughs)

Q. From your daughter’s point of view, that’s completely understandable! Please introduce yourself to our readers.

Hello. I was born in the 1980s, and I work at Seoul National University Hospital. I have now been with Seoul National University Hospital for 23 years. At first, I worked in a doctor’s office with professors, and now I work in patient reception. While I was in the plastic surgery department, I also watched Director Kim Hak-young, Director Jo Jeong-mok, and Director Kim Jae-gon go through their residency training.

Q. Staying at one workplace for 23 years isn’t easy, so it’s really impressive that you’ve worked at Seoul National University Hospital for 23 years! I think I can guess what people around you asked you the most while you were working. Wasn’t it, “Can you recommend a professor?”

I also heard questions like, “My parents have pain in a certain area—do you know a good doctor for that?” And when I was working in plastic surgery, many people asked me to recommend a good doctor because they had concerns related to cosmetic procedures.

Q. Did you make a lot of recommendations? What were your criteria for recommending a doctor, in your opinion?

First of all, I thought that something not excessive and natural was beautiful. I didn’t like it when it was obvious that someone had had plastic surgery. Once, while working with doctors in plastic surgery, I watched Director Kim Hak-young’s seminar. I saw that he had performed eye surgery in the presentation materials, and it looked so natural and beautiful. Also, seeing how he treated surgery with sincerity, always studied, and cared about the patient’s feelings made me think that he would be someone with both skill and a good sense of how to care for patients’ emotions.

Q. I see. For some reason, I feel proud on behalf of Eton. After recommending him like that, you decided to undergo surgery last year. As someone who usually recommends surgery, you became the one receiving it. I’m curious how you felt at the time and what expectations you had.

Honestly, I thought I’d only do a little around the eyes. I thought I’d keep it minimal, but as we went along, it ended up being a bit more. At first, I worried it might be too much, but the director said it would be better to finish everything at once and that he was confident he could make it look natural, so I trusted him and went along with it. It took a lot of courage for me, but I think it was the right thing to do. After trying it, I realized there was no need to hesitate.

Q. You’re someone who had, so to speak, the list of top Seoul National University doctors in hand, so how was it to receive consultation and surgery directly from Eton Director Kim Hak-young?

The consultation was good because he explained everything in detail. After the surgery, people around me often say it looks so natural, like I just had a little touch-up. They often say it was done naturally and well.

As we age, our eyes start to droop. So I wanted to do something about my eyes, and people who had known me for a long time kept saying it looked so natural that it didn’t seem like I’d had surgery. Of the areas I had done, the under-eye area is what I like the most. I really recommend it! I had under-eye hollowness and dark circles, and now that they’re gone, I’m very happy with my face.

Oh, I liked it so much that I even told a French friend about it, and she was interested too. In the end, she decided to come to Korea next year to have the surgery.

Q. How satisfied are you with the anti-aging surgery results?

At first, there was swelling and bruising, so I wondered if it had really gone well. Even after the swelling and bruising went down, I still wondered how much had changed, but when I compared it with old photos, I could clearly see the difference. I thought people in their mid-40s should definitely try it at least once.

Q. After the surgery, was your daily life uncomfortable because of the bruising or swelling?

It turns out I’m someone who bruises very easily. I bruise more easily than other people, and the bruises last a long time. Since the bruising wasn’t going away easily, I wondered what to do, but they also gave me a laser treatment to help with bruising and took good care of me afterward. The only regret is that I couldn’t receive hyperbaric oxygen therapy because my ears aren’t in good condition. I think it would have been even better if I had been able to do that too, and I might have recovered even faster.

Q. After the surgery, did you notice any changes in your daily life or your mindset?

Maybe it’s because I especially like my eyes, but... I feel like people around me look only at my eyes when they pass by. (Laughs) In daily life, I think that before, I had to be more careful when putting on makeup, but now I can do it more comfortably and still look as good as I did before. I also feel like I’ve naturally gained a bit more confidence.

Q. It’s great to see that you’ve embraced healthy and happy changes through anti-aging. This is my last question, and I’d like to expand on the one I asked earlier. If someone asks you for a doctor recommendation for anti-aging surgery, what would you say?

Then, as now, I would recommend Director Kim Hak-young. He is so good at finding natural beauty. And one more thing... People always want to live looking young, don’t they? I think it’s a good idea to try anti-aging procedures around your mid-40s rather than waiting too long. I recommend doing it even a year earlier if possible. If you do it in your 50s or 60s, you might expect a more dramatic effect. But if you do it in your 40s, you can feel like you’re in your 30s... and I think that makes me feel younger both outwardly and inwardly.