South Korea is fast becoming a centre for medical tourism in the Asia-Pacific region. The government says the number of people who visit for cosmetic surgery, who mostly come from China, is rising by 30 per cent a year.

A main cause for the attraction, besides the country's abundancy of specialised physicians and advanced equipment, is the growing popularity of South Korean pop music in the region, which lures tourists who want to obtain looks similar to their idols.

Andrew Thomas reports from Seoul.