--- title: "\"I don't regret a single surgery\": South Korean woman shares having 400 plastic procedures in 15 years" description: "South Korean tvN STORY show participant Gil Lee-won revealed she spent about 300 million won on 400 cosmetic procedures over 15 years, starting in 2010 after facing mockery over her appearance." date: 2026-10-20T00:27:08.073Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/south-korean-woman-400-plastic-surgeries-15-years tags: [south-korea, cosmetic-surgery, plastic-surgery, tvn-story, beauty] author: "Marina Slivenko" publisher: "XAB.info" --- # "I don't regret a single surgery": South Korean woman shares having 400 plastic procedures in 15 years ![Comparison of a South Korean woman's appearance before and after 400 plastic surgeries over 15 years](https://xab.info/media/2026/10/20/zhenschina-400-plasticheskikh-operatsiy-za-15-let/zhenschina-400-plasticheskikh-operatsiy-za-15-let-1.webp) ## Key Points - Gil Lee-won spent about 300 million won (~$210k) changing her appearance over 15 years. - During this time, she underwent around 400 cosmetic procedures starting from 2010. - She was pushed toward surgeries by mockery of her looks and criticism from a former partner. - The woman stated she does not regret the operations, but follows a doctor's advice not to overdo it. In South Korea, a statement by a woman named Gil Lee-won has sparked widespread online debate. Appearing on the popular tvN STORY show "It's Okay to Be a Martian", she confessed that over the past 15 years she has spent about 300 million won (approximately $210,000) on altering her appearance, undergoing around 400 cosmetic procedures during this time. According to her, her very first procedure took place in 2010, and ever since, visits to surgeons and dermatologists have become an almost daily routine for her. ### How it all began: mockery and criticism from loved ones Gil Lee-won revealed that a combination of circumstances pushed her toward plastic surgery. While preparing for college entrance exams, she gained weight, after which people around her began mocking her appearance. An additional blow, she said, was criticism from a former partner: "My boyfriend, whom I dated from age 27 to 30, constantly criticized my appearance. It destroyed my self-confidence. I wanted to completely change myself," the broadcast quoted her as saying. She did not name the exact first procedure, but noted that this initial experience opened up the possibilities of cosmetic surgery for her and encouraged her to continue operations. ### Full list of interventions Among the procedures she underwent, the woman mentioned fat grafting to the forehead, reshaping the ears, creating double eyelids, eye correction, rhinoplasty, shortening the distance between the nose and upper lip, and reshaping her chin and facial contours. She also underwent the creation and removal of cheek dimples, lip filler injections and removals, filler injections in the shoulders and collarbone areas, neck wrinkle fillers, and botox injections into specific muscles. Gil separately mentioned needle procedures in the buttocks area, repeat surgeries to correct full-body liposuction results, intravenous stem cell therapy, and various skin care procedures. ### How much it cost and how the procedures added up "If you count all the cosmetic procedures and visits to the dermatologist, there were about 400 in total. Over time, they added up," the South Korean woman emphasized. The total amount spent on her appearance over 15 years reached about 300 million won, which she estimates is equivalent to roughly $210,000. Despite such substantial expenses, she stated that she does not intend to stop completely just yet. ### Does she regret it and what's next? Gil Lee-won emphasized that she does not regret the surgeries she has had: "Now I am satisfied with my appearance and feel confident." At the same time, she acknowledged that there are still aspects of her looks she would like to change, but she decided to follow the advice of a doctor from a liposuction clinic who recommended avoiding excessive changes and focusing on maintaining her current condition. Nevertheless, she says she visits dermatology and oriental medicine clinics almost daily to keep herself in good shape. ## Fact-Check & Sources - [Жительница Южной Кореи сделала 400 пластических операций за 15 лет – Zamin.uz, 19.10.2026](https://zamin.uz/ru/mir/224917-zhitelnitsa-yuzhnoy-korei-sdelala-400-plasticheskikh-operatsiy-za-15-let.html) - Primary source: Gil Lee-won's interview on the tvN STORY show; sums, number of procedures, and timeline (since 2010) are cited from the subject herself. ## FAQ ### How many procedures and how much money did Gil Lee-won spend? According to her, over 15 years she underwent about 400 cosmetic procedures and spent around 300 million won (approximately $210,000) on them. ### When and why did she start getting surgeries? Her first procedure took place in 2010. She was driven to make changes by mockery after gaining weight while preparing for exams and criticism from a former partner. ### Does she regret the surgeries and does she plan to continue? She stated that she has no regrets and is happy with her appearance, but following a doctor's advice, she decided against excessive changes, limiting herself to maintaining her current condition.