Korean V Line Surgery: Shaping the Jawline and Chin as One Line

I am Park Sang Wook, Deputy Medical Director and board-certified plastic surgeon at VG Plastic Surgery in Seoul, working in our facial contouring and nose centres. I am a member of the Maxillofacial Contouring Surgery Research Group. Korean V line surgery is one of the questions I hear most from patients abroad, and it usually arrives as a photo with one line drawn on it: from the ear down to the chin.

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Park Sang Wook

Deputy Medical Director · Board-certified in Plastic Surgery

• — Board-certified plastic surgeon
• — Plastic surgery residency, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, Catholic University of Korea
• — Former director, DA Plastic Surgery

That drawn line is the right way to think about it. A V-line is not a single bone. It is how the jaw on each side and the chin at the front meet.

What V-line surgery is — and what it is not

In Korea, V-line describes a lower face that narrows from the jaw toward the chin without a corner or a step along the way. To get there, two parts of the korean jaw are planned as one design: the jawline on each side, and the chin.

So what is it not? It is not cheekbone reduction, which changes the upper width of the face. It is also not jaw-angle reduction on its own. Taking off only the corner of the jaw can make the face less square, but if the chin stays wide or short, the line still breaks at the front.

If you are still deciding between cheekbones, jaw and chin, start with our facial contouring Korea guide, which maps all three areas. This article stays with the lower face.

Who V-line surgery suits — and who should not have it

V line surgery is a reasonable answer when the shape you dislike comes from bone.

• A square angle below the ear that gives the face a harder impression
• A chin that is wide, short or off-centre, so the lower face ends bluntly
• A lower face that looks wide from the front because of the jaw itself
• You can stay in Korea two weeks or more for follow-up

And these are the situations where I advise against it, or suggest something else first.

• The fullness is soft tissue, not bone. A soft line under the chin is often fat, and double chin liposuction is the first thing to consider
• Facial bone growth is not yet complete
• Your schedule is too short to stay through the swelling and the follow-up visits
• You have an uncontrolled systemic or bleeding disorder

This patient had chin reduction and square jaw reduction in the same operation, with no cheekbone work. You can see the full V-line case from every angle, with the time since surgery.

How the chin decides the shape of your V-line

Most people come in talking about the jaw. In my consultations the chin decides more of the final shape. The jaw sets how wide the V is; the chin sets where it ends.

A wide or long chin: chin reduction

If the chin is broad, the V ends in a flat line rather than a point. Narrowing the chin, together with the jawline, lets the two sides meet softly at the front.

A short or receding chin: chin advancement

A short chin makes the profile look unfinished. Here the chin may need to come forward, not get smaller. Reducing a chin that is already short would make the side view worse.

A chin that sits too far forward: chin setback

Less often the chin projects too much, and the profile looks long and strong. Setting it back is a different movement again, so it is planned on its own.

This is why a V-line plan is drawn after CT, not before. How much of the jaw comes off is decided only once the nerve position and bone thickness are read.

Surgery day and recovery after V-line surgery

Facial contouring takes 1.5–4 hours under general anesthesia, depending on how much is treated. We advise one night in the clinic, and you can wash your hair from the day after surgery. A board-certified anesthesiologist attends the operation.

Lower-face swelling is the part people underestimate. In the first weeks the jawline can look wider than before surgery, which is normal and temporary. The V-line you planned shows gradually over months, not days.

V line surgery in Korea: your stay, stitches and fee

For korean v line surgery, we ask international patients to stay at least 14 days. That covers the swelling peak, stitch removal at 10–14 days and the follow-up visits before you fly. You can work through the dates with our guide on how many days to plan in Seoul.

• An interpreter in the room for consultation, surgery day and follow-up visits
• One coordinator from your first message to three months after you fly home
• Partner hotels near the clinic at partner rates, so you do not cross Seoul the day after surgery
• Three months of remote follow-up after you return home

On cost: there is no foreigner surcharge. International patients pay the same surgical fee as Korean patients, and the quote comes to you itemised and in writing after consultation, before you decide. A V-line that needs only the chin is a different plan from one that needs jaw and chin, so we do not publish a single price.

The first case shows a long-curve jaw reduction; the second combined chin advancement with liposuction, because both bone and fat were part of the shape. You can filter more lower-face cases by area on our facial contouring surgery page.

What I check first in a V-line consultation

Our team works to one principle: bone does not grow back, so we cut less of it. A chin that only needed narrowing does not need the jaw touched as well.

You can read my training and memberships on my surgeon profile. Your photographs are reviewed by the surgeon who would plan your operation, and at the in-person consultation in Seoul you speak with that same surgeon.

Risks of V-line surgery and how we reduce them

V-line surgery is hard to undo. You should hear the risks from me before you decide, not after.

• Nerves run through the jaw and chin. Their position is read on CT before the osteotomy is planned, not during surgery.
• Swelling is heavy and slow. It peaks around days 7–14 and the face only starts to look natural at 3–6 months. Leaving Korea early means missing your follow-up visits.
• Too much bone removed cannot be put back. We plan conservatively and leave what does not need cutting.
• Soft tissue can loosen after bone is reduced. If the skin along the jaw slackens, a lift is the answer rather than more bone surgery — see our Korean facelift guide.
• General anesthesia carries its own risk. We do not proceed with an uncontrolled systemic or bleeding disorder.

If something looks different once you are home, the three months of remote follow-up exist for that. Send photographs and I answer in writing.