Botoxin Seoul by Area: Jaw, Trapezius, Calves, Lines

Botulinum toxin acts on muscle, so the useful question is whether a muscle is causing what you see. Lines that deepen when you frown, raise your brows or smile come from movement, and relaxing the muscle softens them. A lower face that looks square because the chewing muscle at the jaw angle is thick, a neck that looks short because the trapezius bulges, and a calf that looks bulky from muscle are shapes made by muscle volume. That volume shrinks gradually once the muscle is used less.

When width or fullness comes from bone, fat or loose skin, a relaxed muscle has little to act on and the injection is the wrong tool. The same applies to creases that stay etched when the face is completely still: toxin can quiet the movement over them, but the groove itself may remain.

Botulinum toxin type A blocks the release of acetylcholine, the chemical messenger a nerve uses to tell a muscle to contract. The nerve and muscle are not damaged. The signal is paused at the junction, and over the following months the nerve endings form new connections, so the effect fades and treatment is repeated. On a wrinkle area, the outcome is softer movement. On a large muscle such as the masseter, the muscle works less and slowly thins, and the contour changes with it.

A prospective study that tracked masseter injections with ultrasound and muscle recordings found a measurable reduction in muscle size, together with the caution that the change can be temporary and may need maintenance injections (To, 2001). An early series on jaw contouring described the injection as simple, with few side effects and a quick return to normal activity, on the condition that the indication is right and the facial muscle anatomy is understood (Kim, 2005).

Botox is a brand name. BOTOX Cosmetic is Allergan's onabotulinumtoxinA and XEOMIN is Merz's incobotulinumtoxinA; people also use the word for botulinum toxin in general, and the headings on this page do the same. The third tier on the price list is a Korean-made botulinum toxin, listed by category without a product name. A systematic review of clinical studies found short-term safety consistent across three commercial toxin A products (Cavallini, 2014). Dr. Choi Yul, a family medicine specialist, focuses on Botox, injections and pigment treatment at the clinic.

Each line on the list is one area or one 100-unit block, priced separately for the three toxin tiers. Areas add up line by line, so a plan for the jaw and the trapezius combines two lines. The temple and salivary gland lines share the masseter price, and the list also covers the jawline, a gummy smile and the scalp. All figures exclude VAT (10% VAT is added at payment).

The tiers differ by product and manufacturer, and the list does not rank them. Picking one comes down to preference and to what you have had before.

Several of the risks below come from toxin reaching a neighboring muscle, so they depend on the area treated and the dose.

• Bruising, swelling, raised bumps or stinging at the injection points for two to three days.
• A heavy brow or a drooping upper eyelid after forehead or frown-line injections, lasting until the toxin wears off.
• An uneven smile, or tiredness when chewing hard food, for a period after masseter injections.
• Neck or shoulder weakness, or fatigue when lifting, after trapezius injections.
• Calf fatigue on stairs or slopes after calf injections.
• Headache or flu-like symptoms in the days after treatment.
• A weaker response over repeated treatments: a 2025 review linked this secondary nonresponse to factors such as injections less than three months apart and high cumulative doses, and found little evidence on how to treat it once it develops (Kroumpouzos, 2025).

Contact the clinic straight away if you notice trouble swallowing, speaking or breathing, double vision, or weakness spreading beyond the treated area.