Gangnam Unni

What Gangnam Unni does

Gangnam Unni (강남언니), operated by Healing Paper Co., Ltd. (주식회사 힐링페이퍼) and founded in Seoul in 2012 (with the medical beauty platform launching in 2015), is a two-sided marketplace and information platform for the Korean medical beauty industry. The core Gangnam Unni app provides transparent non-reimbursable procedure pricing, verified user reviews, and consultation booking for dermatology and plastic surgery clinics in Korea and Japan; the UNNI global platform extends the same offering to medical tourists with multi-language support (Korean, Japanese, English, Thai, Simplified and Traditional Chinese). The platform serves approximately 9 million users across 104+ countries on the demand side and 4,800+ partnered clinics (2,700+ in Korea, 1,500+ in Japan) on the supply side, with cumulative engagement of 720 million+ consultation requests and 280 million+ registered reviews.

Underlying technology centers on a mobile app platform augmented by proprietary AI systems, including an AI Fake Review Detection Bot (which has blocked approximately 100,000 suspected fake reviews over 2.5 years), an AI Medical Advertisement Review Bot for Korean medical advertising-law compliance (flagging 38% of submitted ads as containing illegal elements such as superlative claims or discounts above 50%), a five-concern-area personalization recommendation algorithm, receipt-based review verification, and real-time price-consistency monitoring between advertised and actual receipt prices. Naver's Papago machine translation system is integrated for cross-language consultation chat and review translation across 13 languages. The platform was the first medical beauty service in Korea to receive ISMS certification (March 2024) and operates a 3-stage ad-review pipeline combining AI screening, operational review, and consumer post-monitoring.

The company monetizes primarily through (1) clinic-side advertising (CPA/CPV referral fees and listing fees, averaging ~350,000 KRW/month for small-to-medium clinics), (2) B2B solutions including CRM software and photography equipment sold to clinics on a subscription basis, and (3) premium listing and partnership fees with partnered clinics. The Unni Guide service (in-person interpreters and a Seoul walk-in center) deepens monetization per medical tourist. The company became profitable in 2023 and has raised approximately 661 billion KRW across seed, Series A (2019), Series B (2020), and a 428 billion KRW Series C (February 2025) led by Korean Investment Partners.

Name

Gangnam Unni

Legal name

주식회사 힐링페이퍼 (Healing Paper Co., Ltd.)

Website

https://team.gangnamunni.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Gangnam Unni (Healing Paper Co., Ltd.) operates a two-sided medical beauty marketplace serving 9M+ users across 104+ countries and 4,800+ clinics in Korea and Japan, providing transparent pricing, verified reviews, AI-driven fake-review and ad-compliance screening, and multi-language medical-tourism booking.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Medical Beauty Marketplace

NAICS

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (541)

akta.pro primary industry

Consent, Preferences & Patient Identity/Profile Management (CIAM) (HLACAEAG)

Keywords

• Medical beauty platform
• Cosmetic procedure reviews
• Medical tourism marketplace
• Clinic advertising platform
• Aesthetic booking app

Headquarters

HQ city

Seoul

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Hospital Advertising: Medical beauty clinics pay for advertising placement on the platform. The company has 4,800+ partnered clinics across Korea and Japan generating advertising revenue.
2. B2B Solutions: CRM software and photography equipment sales to medical beauty clinics for customer management and marketing support.
3. Consultation Request Referrals (CPA/CPV): Revenue generated per consultation request click (CPA) and per advertisement page view (CPV). Payment processing is free for users due to medical law restrictions on patient brokering.
4. Platform Commission (Clinic Partnership): Revenue from partnership fees with medical clinics for premium listing and enhanced visibility features.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Gangnam Unni is a medical beauty information and booking platform that connects patients with cosmetic and plastic surgery clinics in Korea and Japan. The platform provides transparent non-reimbursable procedure pricing, authentic user reviews, AI-powered review and advertisement verification, in-app consultation booking, and direct purchase/reservation payment. It serves consumers via the Gangnam Unni app (Korea/Japan) and the UNNI global app, and supports clinics with paid advertising placement and B2B CRM/photography solutions.

Product overview

Gangnam Unni operates as a unified medical beauty information platform with multiple product layers: the core Gangnam Unni app (강남언니) serves as Korea and Japan's primary medical aesthetics information platform with transparent pricing, authentic reviews, and booking; the UNNI global platform extends services to international patients with multi-language support; Unni Guide provides offline in-person interpretation and consultation center services for medical tourists; B2B solutions offer CRM and advertising tools for partner clinics; and specialized modules including AI review bots, receipt verification, and direct purchase payment processing support the ecosystem. The company also maintains content channels through Gangang TV YouTube and Magazine Select. All services are unified under Healing Paper Co., Ltd. with expansion across Korea, Japan, Thailand, and 104+ countries globally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• UNNI (언니): 외국인 환자 유치 플랫폼 - 한국 피부과, 성형외과의 외국인 환자 유치 및 글로벌 미용의료 정보 제공 서비스
• 루쿠모 (Lucmo)
• 강남언니 가이드 센터 (Unni Guide Center)

Products and services

• Gangnam Unni (강남언니) Main medical beauty information platform providing transparent non-reimbursable medical pricing, authentic user reviews, and hospital consultation booking for dermatology and plastic surgery procedures in Korea and Japan, serving 7M+ users with reviews from 5,000+ registered doctors.
• UNNI (언니) Global Platform Global cross-border medical tourism platform enabling international patients to search Korean dermatology and plastic surgery prices and reviews, book consultations, and communicate via auto-translation in 6 languages (English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Korean).
• Unni Guide In-Person Interpretation Service In-person interpretation service providing vetted interpreters who accompany international medical tourists through the entire clinical process, available in English, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and Vietnamese, with dedicated walk-in consultation center in Seoul's Nonhyeon-dong.
• Lucmo (ル쿠모) Japan's No.2 medical beauty information platform acquired in August 2020, providing 100,000+ procedure reviews and local market presence for Gangnam Unni's Japan expansion, with 180,000 Japanese users.
• B2B Solutions for Medical Clinics CRM software, photo shooting equipment, and specialized solutions for medical beauty hospitals to support effective customer management and marketing, including B2B advertising solutions for international patient attraction.
• Gangang TV (강언TV) YouTube Channel YouTube channel featuring medical professionals explaining cosmetic medical procedures, with 100+ videos and 49.5 million+ cumulative views; includes content hosted by Vice CEO Park Ki-beom.
• Magazine Select (셀렉트) Gangnam Unni's editorial magazine content service providing procedure information and medical beauty guidance.

Quantifiable outcome

• 99% retention rate for hospital partners (average churn below 1%)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability7 records

Feature6 records

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• SoYoung International: SoYoung is China's largest online medical aesthetics community/marketplace with consumer reviews, clinic listings, and booking. It is the closest direct geographic and product peer to Gangnam Unni's medical beauty platform model.
• RealSelf: RealSelf is a US-based consumer review and discovery platform for cosmetic procedures that connects users to verified doctors and clinics. Same product/category dynamic - reviews, listings, and booking for medical aesthetics - in English-speaking markets.
• Bookimed: Bookimed is a global medical tourism marketplace that helps patients compare clinics and arrange treatment abroad. Closely mirrors Gangnam Unni's cross-border medical tourism workflow (consultation, booking, support services).
• Perfect Corp: Perfect Corp is a beauty/AI technology company offering AR try-on, skin analysis, and clinic partnerships serving the beauty industry. Comparable as a beauty-tech platform with consumer and B2B clinic monetization, intersecting with medical aesthetics workflows.

Regional players

• DocDoc: DocDoc is a Singapore-headquartered medical booking platform that matches patients to specialists across Asia. Comparable as a regional medical marketplace, though broader (general medicine) than Gangnam Unni's medical beauty focus.

Broad incumbents

• Zocdoc: Zocdoc is a US patient booking platform that matches consumers to providers across many specialties. It shares the consumer-driven healthcare discovery/matching model with Gangnam Unni, though it covers general healthcare rather than medical beauty.
• Kyruus: Kyruus is a US healthcare provider data/CRM platform sold to hospitals and health systems. Comparable to the B2B solutions and CRM offering Gangnam Unni sells into clinics on the supply side.
• Naver Healthcare: Naver operates Korea's dominant search/portal with expanding healthcare content and Papago translations, which Gangnam Unni itself integrates with. Comparable as a Korean incumbent whose content/information plumbing sits adjacent to Gangnam Unni's discovery surface.

Emerging players

• Clinics on Call: Clinics on Call is a cross-border medical tourism facilitator focused on inbound patients to Turkey and other hubs. Comparable in the cross-border medical tourism marketing and patient-acquisition model, though geographically distinct.

Others

• Healthline Media / StyleCaster health vertical: Healthline is a large consumer health information and content platform with a significant medical aesthetics/beauty content vertical. Comparable as an informational content layer informing medical beauty purchase decisions, though not a transactional marketplace.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/gnun_jp
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCm7h6S-9amJETdvSBgzCvSw
• Facebookfacebook.com/gangnamunni.kr
• Instagraminstagram.com/gangnamunni_kr

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors9 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Gangnam Unni