Reverse Aging: What a Korean Dermatologist Thinks Is Realistic

I'm Dr. Hongseok Kim, a board-certified Korean dermatologist with 21 years of practice and the medical director of VOS Dermatology Clinic in Gangnam, Seoul, in front of Dosan Park. At VOS I see every patient myself, from the consultation to the treatment.

Reverse aging is a phrase I hear more and more, often after a news story about a billionaire trying to turn back his biological clock. In this video I talk about why people chase youth, what science currently says about young blood, stem cells and senolytics, and which habits I actually follow. My honest view is that aging can be slowed, not erased. This page is based on my YouTube video from November 2024, rewritten for readers abroad, and the video above can be watched with translated captions.

Can aging really be reversed?

Short answer: no one can stop aging, but we can slow it, which is why I think "slow aging" describes the goal better than "anti-aging" (in the video at 11:11).

The word anti-aging sounds as if we could suppress aging or remove it completely. How would we dare? Getting older is natural, and accepting it matters too (in the video at 11:28). For me, youth is not an age. It is being free to do what you want without worrying about failure, and a person can stay young in that sense when their health stays young (in the video at 00:58). Keeping that state for longer is what I mean by anti-aging, and it is the reason so many treatments, studies and supplements exist.

Young blood: why the idea is tempting, and why I hesitate

Short answer: younger blood carries better-functioning stem cells, so a benefit is plausible, but the ethics are unresolved and I would not do it myself today (in the video at 01:56).

When I read the story of a wealthy man who had a litre of his son's blood transfused, my first thought was that it could work in theory. Our bodies hold stem cells that can make many kinds of cells, but they lose function with age: a 50-year-old's stem cells are still stem cells, yet clearly weaker than those of a 20-year-old (in the video at 02:06). If the blood type matches, a younger person's blood might help without a large immune reaction. The problem is ethics. Drawing or buying someone else's blood for your own health is not clearly settled in medical ethics (in the video at 02:47). Asked whether I would do it with my own child, my answer was that I would not, at least not now (in the video at 03:59).

Why do we want this so badly? Partly because modern life is comfortable enough that we want to keep it longer, and partly because younger cells are more diverse and adapt better to change. As cells age they respond more slowly, and that slower response alone can open the door to disease (in the video at 05:21). We also live far longer than before: in Korea's Joseon era the average lifespan was around 40 (in the video at 08:16).

Everyday habits that slow aging

Short answer: eat less, avoid blood sugar spikes, fast for at least 10 to 12 hours overnight, exercise moderately and take in antioxidants (in the video at 11:57).

In human history, we have only been well fed for a very short time, and eating well has brought its own problems: fat storage, obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes (in the video at 09:15). When you restrict food, the body starts recycling damaged material inside its cells, a process called autophagy, a bit like cleaning out rubbish (in the video at 09:28). Eating less also reduces the workload on mitochondria, whose decline is one of the features of aging (in the video at 12:04).

Blood sugar is the second point. Korean food is often sweet and salty, which drives blood sugar spikes and large bursts of insulin; what the body cannot use is stored as fat, and over time the body stops responding well to insulin (in the video at 12:25). I think intermittent fasting matters a great deal for slow aging: at least 10 to 12 hours without food. The easy way is to skip breakfast, or to have no late-night snack after dinner, which is close to what I do (in the video at 13:01). When I am very hungry in the morning, I have coffee blended with butter, which has fat but no sugar and keeps me going for about four hours (in the video at 13:16).

Exercise looks contradictory, because it stresses the body and produces free radicals, a major driver of aging. Yet moderate exercise trains the body's defence against that stress, an idea called hormesis; too much exercise breaks the body down, while the right amount makes it stronger (in the video at 10:36). Antioxidants such as vitamins C and E and glutathione are another pillar (in the video at 13:39).

Research is also moving towards removing aged cells themselves. These "senolytics" target old cells that refuse to die and keep releasing harmful substances, and compounds such as dasatinib, fisetin and quercetin are being studied (in the video at 13:50). Telomeres shorten with age, and exercise helps here too, while gene editing remains risky because we cannot predict the chain reaction one change may cause (in the video at 14:19). These are research directions, not promises for every person.

Skin treatments: matching the whole face, layer by layer

Short answer: skin ages through every layer, from the surface to the deep tissue, so there is no single fix; the treatment has to fit the face (in the video at 15:33).

Skin boosters are the treatments people ask for most right now. Some, like Juvelook Volume, help your own skin build collagen and strength from inside; at VOS, Juvelook Volume is a collagen-stimulating injectable for areas that have lost volume (in the video at 15:01). Energy-based devices such as Ultherapy, Thermage and Opus act at different depths (in the video at 15:20). Many people think fixing the surface is enough, but aging happens through all layers. Some faces need a botulinum toxin injection, some need filler, some have lost fat and some have fat that has sagged, and correcting only one of these rarely works (in the video at 15:45). Results differ from person to person, so I look at the whole face before recommending anything.

Lifestyle and testing come first

Short answer: I think anti-aging without lifestyle correction is an empty shell, and ideally treatment starts by checking how your body is working (in the video at 16:08).

Making the skin look better matters, but the ideal approach is to test the body through blood tests, hair mineral tests and similar checks, correct imbalances and treat accordingly (in the video at 16:16). At VOS this is the role of functional medicine testing, which looks for the causes behind skin aging and fatigue. Few people go that far, so nutrient drips and supplements become the practical starting point; our IV Clinic prescribes drips individually after diagnosis (in the video at 16:39). My wider guide to Korean anti-aging care explains how this fits with skin treatments.

Stem cells and anti-aging: where things stood

Short answer: at the time of the video, Korea allowed stem cells to be extracted and used immediately but did not allow them to be cultured and multiplied, which some other countries permit (in the video at 16:51).

Stem cells can be collected from blood, fat or bone marrow, and are then given by drip or injected into the treated area, a joint, or the scalp and skin for concerns such as hair loss, wrinkles and pores (in the video at 17:40). Skin stem cells can only become skin cells, not hair or teeth, so the source matters (in the video at 17:24). I tried it myself and did not feel a dramatic change; because cells cannot be multiplied in Korea, several sessions are needed (in the video at 18:20). An acquaintance who had cultured stem cells abroad looked noticeably younger to me some years ago, but one person's experience is not evidence for everyone.

Start with what you can do today

Short answer: if you wear sunscreen every day but overeat and eat badly, your body as a whole is still aging in the wrong direction (in the video at 19:35).

Sunscreen still matters, but it cannot make up for the rest. Health and anti-aging can no longer be separated, so begin with the habits you can change now. Visitors who combined clinic care with their daily routine share their stories in our creator experiences at VOS.

Results vary from person to person, and the right plan for your skin and health is decided at an in-person consultation.

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Results, swelling and recovery vary from person to person. This page is general information from VOS Dermatology Clinic based on Dr. Kim's video and does not replace an in-person consultation.