About Somssi
About Somssi Women's Clinic, Seoul
Somssi Women's Clinic is a surgical gynecology clinic in Gangnam, Seoul, founded in 2000 and led by Dr. Yoon Ho-joo, MD, PhD. We repair vaginal laxity, uterine and pelvic organ prolapse and labial concerns using your own tissue, never mesh or implants, and we welcome patients from Korea and from abroad.
Who we are
A specialist clinic for reconstructive and intimate gynecologic surgery
Somssi Women's Clinic opened in 2000 on Teheran-ro in Gangnam, Seoul, and has been directed by Dr. Yoon Ho-joo, MD, PhD ever since. Dr. Yoon trained at the Catholic University of Korea, where he earned his medical degree, master's and doctorate in obstetrics and gynecology, and later served as an outpatient professor.
Our work centers on a small number of procedures we perform every week: own-tissue vaginoplasty and posterior colporrhaphy , uterus-preserving prolapse repair , labiaplasty and labia majora surgery, hymenoplasty, and revision surgery after filler, implant or mesh complications . We also provide general gynecologic care for women living in or visiting Seoul.
Every nurse on our team is a registered nurse, and the clinic has been registered with Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare for international patients since 2011.
Our philosophy
What guides every operation at Somssi?
Three principles shape how we plan and perform surgery. They are deliberately conservative, because the vaginal wall is thin and the structures around it matter for the rest of your life.
01
Your own tissue
We repair laxity and prolapse with your own vaginal wall, pelvic floor muscle and supporting tissue. We do not place mesh, bands or implants, and we offer native tissue surgery even for advanced prolapse where the clinic finds it appropriate.
02
Minimal-scope surgery
The mucosa is peeled to less than 1 mm with micro ophthalmic scissors rather than cut, then the pelvic muscle layer and the mucosa are closed in two separate layers. The anterior wall, urethra and bladder are left alone.
03
Measure first
Before any plan is made, Dr. Yoon measures vaginal length, width and wall thickness and assesses pelvic floor strength and any uterine descent. The plan, and the written quote that follows, are based on those findings rather than on a standard package.
Milestones
Twenty-six years in Gangnam
A short timeline of the clinic, as reported by Somssi Women's Clinic.
2000
Somssi Women's Clinic opens in Gangnam, Seoul, under Dr. Yoon Ho-joo.
2005
Dr. Yoon publishes a clinical paper on colpoperineoplasty and female sexual function in the Korean Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (vol. 48, no. 6).
2006 to 2008
Conference presentations at ESSM in Vienna, the World Association for Sexual Health congress in Sydney and ISSWSH in San Diego.
2011
Registered with the Ministry of Health and Welfare as a medical institution for international patients.
2013
ISO 9001:2008 certification; posterior colporrhaphy presented at Medical Korea 2013; presentation at the SMSNA annual meeting.
2014 to 2015
Invited lectures for the Hunan Provincial Health Commission and the Chinese Society of Cosmetic Surgery, the latter with a live surgical demonstration.
2016
Selected as a Seoul Medical Tourism cooperation clinic; also a Gangnam-gu medical tourism partner clinic.
2017
Presentation at the ESSM congress in Nice.
2018
SCI-indexed paper on hypoactive sexual desire disorder in Korean women published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
2026
According to the clinic, a retrospective series of 150 women with pelvic organ prolapse received an outstanding-abstract award at the Korean Society for Sexual Medicine spring conference.
The nursing team
Who will look after you?
Every member of the Somssi nursing team is a registered nurse, and several have worked at the clinic for many years after earlier posts in university and general hospitals.
When our nurses describe their work, a few themes come up again and again. Many women arrive carrying worries they have not been able to say out loud, so emotional comfort is treated as part of the care, not an extra. Nurses call patients after surgery to check on recovery, and they are trained by Dr. Yoon in operating-room standards and in how to treat every patient with discretion and respect. Several have said that what the clinic describes publicly matches what they see in the operating room each day, and that they would recommend the same surgery to their own family. International patients are a regular part of the week, and the team is used to working alongside coordinators and translation tools so nothing is lost in explanation.
Credentials and registrations
Registered and recognized for international care
The documents below are issued by Korean public bodies. They confirm the clinic's standing as a registered provider for overseas patients; they are not a guarantee of surgical outcome.
Ministry of Health and Welfare
Registered medical institution for attracting and treating foreign patients, 2011.
Seoul Medical Tourism
Selected as a Seoul Medical Tourism cooperation clinic in the field of female vaginoplasty, 2016.
Gangnam-gu Office
Appointed as a Gangnam-gu medical tourism partner clinic. ISO 9001:2008 quality certification was obtained in 2013.
Our clinic
A calm, private space on the 7th floor
The clinic occupies the 7th floor of the Sangkyung Building at 120 Teheran-ro, about 100 meters from Gangnam Station Exit 1. Consultation rooms, the operating room and the recovery area are all on one floor, so you never have to move between departments. Find directions, hours and contact details on our contact page.
Common questions
Questions about the clinic
More answers about procedures, recovery and visiting Seoul are on our full FAQ page .
Is Somssi a hospital or a clinic?
Somssi is a private specialist clinic, not a general hospital. Surgery is performed on site under sedation plus long-acting local anesthesia, or local anesthesia alone, and you go home the same day once you have urinated comfortably. For conditions that need inpatient care or a multi-department team, Dr. Yoon will say so at consultation and refer you.
Do you treat international patients?
Yes. The clinic has been registered with the Ministry of Health and Welfare for foreign patients since 2011 and became a Seoul Medical Tourism cooperation clinic in 2016. Coordinators help with English communication, scheduling and follow-up from abroad. See our international patients page for how a visit works.
Do you use mesh or implants?
No. Laxity and prolapse are repaired with your own tissue: the vaginal wall, pelvic floor muscle and the ligaments that support the uterus. We do not place synthetic mesh, bands or silicone implants, and we regularly see women for revision after complications from such materials placed elsewhere.
Where are you?
7F Sangkyung Building, 120 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, about 100 meters from Gangnam Station Exit 1 on subway line 2 and the Shinbundang line. We are open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 09:30 to 18:00 with no lunch break, and closed on Thursdays, Sundays and public holidays. Call +82-2-575-1599 or send an inquiry.
Next step
Talk to us about what you are experiencing
Share your history and concerns, and we will reply with Dr. Yoon's first impressions and the next step. No procedure is decided until you have been examined, and a written quote follows the consultation.
