Plastic surgery is always a personal decision, reflecting the need for improvements in self-esteem and body image. For South Korean girls, it is something else that is much deeper than just a “desire to look better.” It borders on obsession.
Even as recently as five years ago, cosmetic surgery was something to be dealt with privately, as for many it was embarrassing. Now you can forget about that as for some girls like the one pictured below, it is a matter of pride to show the world pictures of her surgery on the net.
For South Korean teenage girls, the primary target of change is their eyes. Having big eyes is every teen’s dream and it can become a reality via a simple $800 operation in which a small incision is made above the eye to create an artificial double lid.
Kids as young as 14 are opting for the surgery, and what have come to be known as “eye jobs” have become a favorite graduation gift from parents.
During the winter months when high school seniors are on vacation preparing for either college or the work place, the clinics are at their busiest. Moat of the surgeries requested are for the eyelids, but nose jobs are also becoming popular among the teen population.
“Teenagers are plastic surgery experts. They tell the doctor, using scientific words, which surgery method to use. But despite the medical knowledge they bring to the clinics, many teens still show their age,” says Dr. Lee Min Ku, a Seoul surgeon whose patients are mostly in their teens or 20s.
There is another painful aspect to this plastic surgery phenomenon. The emphasis on looks is fine, but the silent acceptance of a “racially inferior” look is not. The fear of falling behind and not being able to compete unless they have themselves remade is a sad commentary on a generation of teenagers.
“Parents make their kids get plastic surgery, just like they make them study. They realize looks are important for success,” says Dr. Shim Hyung Bo, a Seoul plastic surgeon.
For teenagers in South Korea today, getting their eyes done is a lot easier than getting the keys to their parents’ car.
What do YOU think about this?
(Link)
Chris
Just sick…The Koreans obsession to be perfect could ruin the whole Korean society. Korea has already a lower birth rate than Japan and is one of the most rapidly aging societies.
steve
Think of all the poor parents now living with total strangers.
Even God will not recognize them.
One win and two losses.
It's a regressive deal!
guest
Sorry…you are totally wrong about that.
guest
artificially changing the features you were born with is not beauty its disgusting. But its not these people's fault its society. They are told from day 1 that they must look a certain way to be "beautiful". You are terribly wrong.
guest
When everybody looks the same it wont be beautiful anymore. Anyone ever think its just the plastic surgeons who are out to make as much money as they can? Wake up Korea for fuck sake.
LKH
Seriously? Koreas not evne in the top ten for plastic
surgery rates, Hong Kong is even above them.
Not only is this article discriminating to Koreans who don't get plastic
surgery. Other Asian countries have higher plastic surgery rates than Korea so
don't seek to make Korea seem like they are a plastic nation.
japporn
Well LKH, you are wrong. The latest most recent report by ISAPS 2009, Hong kong is not even in the top 25 unless it was added it to China's ranking in which case, the Top 10 are usa, brazil, china, india, mexico, japan, s.korea, germany, italy, russia. So korea is indeed in the top 10, it is number 7. However when you take into consideration the population sizes of the above 10 countries, Korea has the smallest population of 49m, so Korea is actually number 1 for % of plastic surgery per population size.
Jan
Exactly.
Jan
Where are you getting this 'info' from? I have done my research on this topic as well and Koreans are DEFINITELY in the top ten, if not top 3.
Eunbit
Um no. Korea is definitely one of the top ten, where you getting your information from? I teach students in Korea and they tell me and even confirm the obsession for plastic surgery in their country. It's the entertainment industry wherein beauty is considered more important than talent and people are easily influenced by these celebrities who also undergo surgery to improve their appearance.
Jes
according to ISAPS statistics, plastic surgery rates in korea is the highest in the world…
look it's not a race thing. the author isn't saying that koreans are bad or anything. We're just saying fact. fact is – plastic surgery rates ARE pretty damn high. but it's not KOREA'S fault, it's just the people who make bad decisions and the korean psyche. No one's discriminating. Just accept the fact and know that you're beautiful the way you are (or you're handsome the way you are) and no amount of plastic will make people like you better. That's what makes you different from them.
Sara
I think its not so much an obsession as pressure from society. Jobs are granted based on looks, especially for women. I have known of Korean parents paying for a complete body 'makeover' because their daughter had not married by 30, which is seen as a sort of cut off date for women there. Korean society is incredibly status and looks orientated, couple that with centuries old sexism through Confucian and old style Christian now values and you get this 'obsession'.
Jessica
What happened to the saying to each his own? Not our money, and if the parents are willing to put up the money, that's their choice. Keeps the doctors employed, makes the young women happier…aside from the superficiality of the surgical procedure, I can't see that it's anyone's business. Who are we to judge.
THi
so annoying.
—
My friend, who just happens to be South Korean, told me she is getting double plastic surgery for a graduation present, double eye-lids and I think a nose job.
I've tried to talk her out of it, I think she is really pretty as she is…
Her response is always "Everyone in Korea does it!" Which I think is just plain stupid.
I don't know what to say to her, her mind is set on becoming a plastic beauty.
James
I really don't get how people can look at the celebrities who have had plastic surgery and call them beautiful.
Rico
People have a right to as they please with their bodies.
But I must said, some of those girls didn't even need surgery to look good.
A.F
It's frightening because some girls are already attractive and beautiful but yet they still get surgery just because so many other girls are doing it? This is a personal decision but doing it for the sake of society or because so many other people are doing it is crossing the line.
DJBlanco
LOL, I prefer girls to be as naturally attractive as me
aznpride
It's terribly sad that Asians feel they have to "whitewash" themselves to be beautiful. The double eyelid, big round eyes, high bridge noses: Caucasian standards of beauty are a viral social disease in most of Asia. Why are our natural Asian features considered less attractive than Caucasian? Wake up my people!!
NoNameGiven
I am Caucasian and I find Asian features to be very attractive. Asian eyes are beautiful. I prefer Asian women over Caucasian women. Every race has beauty. People should be proud of who they are.
Kai
but deep down you'd rather do a white chick though right? it's all about supply and demand, there are how many asians in the world now?? not everyone wants to drive a civic. I am a proud chinese, but i have only dated 2 asian girls in my life and will never again. Without substance (shopping and hello kitty is not real substance) they can at least try to look good. I totally agree with their investment.
Kitty
you are a disappointment to the human race. really, you should just kill yourself and do us all a favor.
the majority of people in this world would agree. just sayin'.
amh
while i disagree with plastic surgery, I'm not sure I agree that they are necessarily "whitewashing" themselves. I large eyes as a beauty standard is at least somewhat evolutionarily grounded since females that look younger reproduce better, and we are therefore biologically inclined to see them as prettier. Also, a lot of asians have double eyelids, although in northern regions like north china, mongolia and korea they are fewer than in more southeastern areas; but in any case it isn't necessarily a caucasian standard.
CYborg
OLD NEWS, anyone who has traveled to China, Thailand, South Korea , &/or Japan are aware of just how popular plastic surgery is & how cheap it is compared to plastic surgery in the U.S…a nose job in Japan casts $600, teenagers can afford plastic surgery.
Celene Nelson
seriously? I am studying abroad there and want a nose job…is that the cheapest because I want expensive ^.^
Thank you! 😀
koren lover
never get a nose job, only materialistic people get nose jobs!
suzy
some of the celebs in the video didnt get surgery..
Australian
@ "NoNameGiven" – You are so right, I agree completely.
Dave
Nope. People who criticize this obsessions are the people whose already beautiful. I think everyone is beautiful in their own way. No need for any surgeries.
clay
the need and desire, for females especially, to improve their looks is universal. All girls would love to have big eyes, pouty lips…etc. Girls want to look like dolls… because doll-like creatures are beautiful.
julia
If they are really that beautiful why can’t they win international beauty contests when they are pitted with other nationalities… not even a choice for top 50 in Ms. Universe
moo102
THere was this one country in Africa (I can't remember off the top of my head, and a quick google search isn't turning up much, but it might have been Zimbabwe). That country was extremely poor, and ridden with AIDS, and the people with AIDS tended to look wasted away, so there being fat was beautiful. They never placed in the world beauty contests. One year this country, tired of losing, chose a contestant who was thinner and had more of a Western style of beauty. She got to second or third place, I think.
In conclusion, beauty contests use Western standards of beauty, so they don't count for one country's standard of beauty. Besides, I bet even the European and American contestants got plastic surgery- can they even be used as a standard at that point?
And think of it: if every girl gets plastic surgery in order to be considered beautiful, it will be close to impossible to be born beautiful. Even if you were, it's all in the genes; for most people, the way you look now is ugly or at best plain, and you need to change it or you will never be successful. I think that's a despicable situation that should be avoided at all costs.
Janet
Western women's features are very different from asian women's. They're curvier, have larger eyes with their eyelids starting right under their brow and they're much taller.
Go back fifty years and majority or all Asians living in western countries would have been scorned because of their different features.
The fear of being mocked still lingers with the younger generation, and they find plastic surgery as a way to be more accepted in western society and to look less Asian. They're not ashamed of their origins, they just want to look like the role models set out in front of them by the media.
Choi
Koreans don't want to look white. Koreans want to be beautiful. They want to be taller, have pretty eyes and a small face and a slim nose. If you think that description fits the average white women, then by all means, think so, but I see white women everyday and the only thing I notice about them is that they tend to smell. Well, actually I do notice that they have beautiful blond or red hair, freckles, and sometimes creamy white skin (only the redheads have it), and those things I covet. But really, white women don't fit my typical Korean standard of beauty.
Victor
What I think is that you have not seen statistics on plastic surgery on Venezuela…
It's not about eyes and noses, but about… some other things, and most women get one
Tony
l have to admit I'm drunk but 70% of the women looked way better after plastic surgery. The remaining 30% percent only looked slightly better or very slightly. So in my opinion most of them are better off from having the surgeries as far as looks go. You may flame away at me now.
Alice
It's true a lot of people look better after plastic surgery, but for the people who are opposed to it, it's not the looks that they are concerned about, they don't care if the people come out looking beautiful or mangled, what they care about is that everyone should accept who they are and not alter themselves to feel better. It's just unnatural and it's not the way humans were intended to be.
booobooo
heres the link http://www.asianplasticsurgeryguide.com/news10-2/…
Country
Total Procedures
Total Population
PP10K
South Korea365,000 49,232,00074
Brazil1,054,000193,000,00055
Taiwan103,00022,929,00044
United States1,300,000309,000,00042
Japan411,000127,288,00032
Thailand76,00065,500,00011
China1,215,0001,322,000,0009
India683,0001,184,000,0006
South korea definetly has the highest plastic surgery rate in Asia.
Mighuk Uknow
But I digress… becuz I just read the ingredients for my favorite beverage-Pocari Sweat- one large bottle (two sizes -large is 500ml which isn't that much) contains about 49 GRAMS (choke) of sugar and even larger proportions of salt ( choke choke)…Keerist- drinking corn syrup would be no worse than Pocari – i want my health back !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
jess
its okay i agree with you. as much as we all say beauty is on the inside…we ALL know beauty is only skin deep so why not take it to your advantage? if you're saying this is so wrong then why is it okay to wear make up. look at girls these days the makeup they wear are glued to their faces and oh trust me there are a good amount of guys who wear make up. not always visible, but they definitely wear powder or concealer. and why only attack the koreans? look at all the celebrities in america. yes koreans are obsessed with their eyes but americans are obsessed with their breast. and nose? well who isn't? girls in beverly hills ask for a nose job as a graduation gift. its JUST the same as korea but they focus on different parts of the body from americans. and if you're saying that the eye surgery is so weird, LOOK AT AMERICANS. BUTT IMPLANTS? really? its sad but girls care about their looks just as much as guys care about how hot a girl needs to be.
mimi
Koreans are well known for their good looks and that's one of the reasons why a lot of Asians are crazy about Korean dramas, music and their culture. I don't know about the inferiority complex and specially bullies and rapes by other Asian neighbor? (You just wanna say that to make you feel better) Lol. Koreans are very proud of their country and actually a lot of people resent Korea's economic success and popularity. Actually Koreans don't even care about China and it's a well known fact that Koreans and Japanese really look down on Chinese. Chinese people gets too jealous sometimes…
sobe
Like many others have said, I find this article very insulting. Not only is South Korea behind other Asian countries like Japan and Taiwan in terms of plastic surgery, but categorizing every Korean teen as “troubled by sick obsessions” is extremely offensive. I have a feeling that whoever wrote this article is not even familiar with Korean culture.
Sickofit
Woah woah. The people being defensive about the whole plastic thing are seriously in denial. I am Korean. It is extremely true. Many of my relatives have gone through plastic surgery. Most of them even have the audacity to tell ME to go under the knife, which is ridiculous. I'm glad I was born here in the U.S. I mean look at their celebrities? 80% of them have gone under the knife.
In Korea, there is a much higher standard of beauty, so many women and men feel inferior. Koreans are an extremely shallow people…I would know. I am sick of my relatives constantly poking fun at my looks.
익명성
sucha tragic truth…I understand 'em as a Korean myself. It is about demand and supply…
Girls wanna marry to rich guys, and rich guys r looking for better looking girls. So, girls get plastic surgery so
dat they can marry to rich guys. Sick indeed…
Kate
i feel who so ever goes for plastice surgery anywher in the world-it is always beautifull to be as natural as possible-the orginal self-the one created by God.Lets appreciate nature by being natural and seeing beauty in that.
Sam
I don’t understand why so many people are convinced that S. Korea is the ‘cosmetic surgery capital’ of Asia. From what I’ve read, among Asian countries Japan and Hong Kong (and often Taiwan as well) consistently rank above S. Korea for cosmetic surgeries performed per population. And when it comes world rankings, S. Korea definitely is not in the top ten. I can’t name the specific sources at the moment, but it’s easy enough to look up international plastic surgeons’ associations or some such on the internet. That’s definitely more accurate than ‘your students’, no?
Sam
Hmm, I'm getting the feeling some people here who claim to be Korean and 'sick' of all the plastic surgery going on everywhere around them, are not really Korean… yes, some people really are that… 'shallow' 😀
Ryan is the Raven
A lot of Korean people are swallow
Lizz
Think this is bad? I saw a documentary where various races were trying to 'whitewash' themselves.. Chinese woman wanted bigger western breasts, Carribean woman wanted smaller breasts (fair enough they were massive) and one guy from Thailand I think, wanted to be taller and was actually considering getting implants in his legs to make him taller! Madness!
Also I blame Anime for Asian people wanting to get bigger eyes.. Anime is made in Japan yet the characters all look western
jaymelon
ahahaa, no wonder koreans look like duplicates of each other.. ^_^’ bec, they all have the same standard of beauty. i noticed that, when i was in high school, koreans started to invade the phil. And, it made me wonder, why they look so the same, like a clone or something. O_O’