Plastic Surgery in South Korea. Yay or nay?
As someone who’s lived in South Korea for five years, I can confirm that women in Seoul are definitely beauty-obsessed. There are all kinds of Internet buzzwords to describe ideal face and body types, and even Oprah chimed in, calling the country “the mecca for plastic surgery.”
This photo of a jumbo-sized advertisement for a plastic surgery clinic in Seoul was a striking reminder of how Korean women often feel the social pressure to not just look good, but to also look better. The national obsession has also spilled over to other Asian countries like China, where surgeons advertise the availability of “Korean look cosmetic surgery.”
What do you think of the South Korean obsession with plastic surgery? Has it affected your self-image as well?
What do they call or stereotype the “ideal” image? In other words, what are they aiming for? I can’t really tell from the Ad that is shown. The only difference I see is bigger, rounder shaped eyes and higher eyebrows.
In Latin America, the majority of the plastic surgery is for body perfection. Giselle is their idea of perfection.
Here in the U.S., women have been trying for decades to eminate a “barbie doll” type image through plastic surgery. You can always tell because it is fake and looks plastique, if you will. The nosejob is a dead giveaway. Very LA–aka Land of the Living Anime Babes. LOL That is why the “Barbie Collection” is a collection of dolls, not people. You always know that you are at a party in LA when women approach one another to ask so matter of factly, “what Doctor did you go to for your nose and breasts?” The same way women in NYC would ask one another about a good hair stylist.
The “ideal” changes slightly every year. Back when my mother was young, it was enough that you had what society considered a “pretty face.” Now they are aiming for a more perfect body, longer legs (a challenge for many women of East Asian descent), as well as the rounder eyes, pointier noses, etc.
The latest fad is the ‘S-Line’ which translates into round and curvy in the hip and chest areas, with a flatboard stomach in between! Needless to say, many women wind up feeling inadequate.
Yes, unfortunately. There’s definitely a preference for rounder, more “Western” eyes not just in Korea but in other East Asian societies.
Very interesting and impossible to achieve without major plastic surgery. Much of the plastic surgery needed may also be very harmful to your health. Korean women are not known for any of the features that you mentioned. Each ethnic group has their own stereotype. Korean women are envied for their gorgeous cheek bones, hair and petite body types and thinness just to mention a few of their many beautiful attributes. It looks to me like the salesmen (in this case the doctors who run the plastic surgery centers) are paying the publicists to promote this “ideal.” It only makes sense for them to promote the opposite “ideal” of what the typical Korean girl/woman is endowed with in order to increase business and profits. Don’t fall for it. The best way to hurt these guys is in the wallet!
I would love to see giant Ads around Seoul suggesting that the MEN are inadequate with large graphics of before and after photos promoting plastic surgery for them. Perhaps performance is the root of the entire problem. Enhancements are available with the help of plastic surgery. I think I speak for everyone when I say that a kick in the wallet isn’t the only way to hurt these guys. Something tells me that the Ads won’t provoke them to line up at the Doctor’s office out of shame. I envision a completely different course of action.
I really enjoyed reading your column and learned quite a bit from it! 🙂
I just don’t understand…I mean, no matter where you are, especially in the free world, people are always trying to improve their appearance. I believe all people are truly beautiful at their most natural. I love the eyes of South Korean people, and don’t like that they strive to make themselves more “Western” looking.
I have to admit though, as a fan of Kpop, that the beauty of Kpop stars is sometimes overwhelming. I feel like they belong to a different world because they are so beautiful, but I do also understand that they’ve acheived their flawless looks through (no doubt) plastic surgery. This is both a disappointment and relief. Disappointment that they don’t accept themselves the way they are, and a relief that they are just human like the rest of us 🙂 Either way, it’s not something that any of us can change, so I try to focus on their talents, personalities and charisma and hold fast to those aspects as the reason why I am a fan…
I think east Asian eyes are beautiful. They are so unique so I don’t know where they get the idea that looking “Americanized” is better. It isn’t. No one is ever satisfied.
I can’t believe they have such prominent ads like this in South Korea. Is that for eyes to be more Americanized?
I remember when I was growing up in Texas asking my relatives in Taiwan to get me “eye tape” to make my eyes (single eyelid, not the kind with a crease) look bigger! I wore the tape religiously almost every day even though people asked, “…er, what is that on your eye?” It made me feel prettier regardless. At some point I stopped using the tape probably because I had to study so much in college all makeup and “girlie” things went out the window. Perhaps it is the achievements I have accomplished in my career that one day I realized I didn’t care about making my eyes look bigger. Nowadays I am happy with my eyes and my face. I have gotten to a time in my life where I am fine going out without makeup. I don’t want to say burlesque solves everything, but it has definitely made me feel happy with who I am inside and out.
I’m finding more and more Asian women today are embracing their ethnicity. It’s nice to see!
i heard 90% of women in seoul get plastic surgery ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C746VSnX4Qs ) is this true? thats crazy if true
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In my opinion it is uicahnetl to expect an employee to change drastically for a position. If the characteristic they require is punctuality and your always late then an improvement is warranted. Punctuality at work is a universal requirement; objectively it can be measured. However someone’s appearance is judged subjectively, as the saying goes Beauty’ is in the eye of the beholder, therefore it is highly unecessary to expect potential employees to change their physical appearance through plastic surgery in order to conform to one definition of beauty. What happens if company A perfers small noses, while company B perfers big ones? Do you change your nose like you do your hairstyle, just so the company you work for is pleased. In addition this will limit your job options, if each company is seeking a certain set of physical characteristics.
Amazing, keep it up. Very informative.
It’s unfortunate that South Korea, especially K-Popsingers, has this obsession with plastic surgery. We only hope the trend diminishes before it gets worse!
I really do not think that the south Koreans need to go into this field at all. I mean, look at them. They EMR software companies all look amazing just the way they are. I am just so amazed that they have been trying to opt for plastic surgery.
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