Many people know that South Korea is known as the plastic surgery capital of the world. Plastic surgery was once a major taboo in Korea, where those who have gotten it done would be looked down upon on by family and friends, but now the pursuit of perfection has made cosmetic surgery much more popular and open to the public. About one in five women in Korea would have some kind of plastic surgery done, and many neighborhoods and subway stations are lined with advertisements and billboards to promote clinics by showing before and after photos (Graham, Popularity Surgery Shrouded in Shame). In my experience of living in South Korea for a few months, I did notice that there were many cosmetic surgery advertisements in certain districts of Seoul. In those areas, I would typically see women’s faces all bandaged up from those procedures that got done and they wouldn’t care if people judged.
The history of plastic surgery in Korea goes back to when an American plastic surgeon named Dr Ralph Millard, who arrived in Korea in 1954 and performed double eyelid procedures for patients who wanted to create a more ‘Caucasian’ appearance for their eye area in order to help them assimilate better into an international economy (Stone, K-Pop Plastic Surgery Obsession)”. Millard’s main intent in Korea was to treat Korean accident and burn victims, but instead “helped” in a different way then planned by performing the first recorded double eyelid procedure in South Korea. As time went on,
Smith focuses on Koreans’ desire to achieve or acquire Caucasian like features. He examines South Korean history in order to uncover the reasons why plastic surgery became so important in South Korean culture. He also explains the benefits of having an attractive appearance not only for social purposes but also for work.
She explains there are two reasons why there are more and more illegal cosmetic surgeries in Thailand. One of the reason is that the poor in society are attracted by the cheap price of illegal surgery, and another reason is that Thais evaluate physical beauty as a fair. Gecker also gives some examples in which people said that they have more opportunities in life with a better face. Besides, she mentions how an illegal clinic is set up in Thailand. She explains the illegal procedures are operated at home with cheap facilities by unlicensed operator. Gecker compares the price of a licensed clinic to that of black markets. Moreover, the author gives some cases in which there are many victims died because of illegal cosmetic procedures. If I were to use this article, I would use it for the supporting ideas because of its incidents and statistics. Overall, this article includes some information I need for one of my B point in my research paper, which presents that cosmetic surgery leads people to risk their lives for the illegal surgery. I found this article from Social Issues Researcher (SIRS Databases) at the Citrus College
Though South Korea is not number one in the world in terms of overall consumption of plastic surgery, they do take that spot for plastic surgery rates per capita (Lee S. H., 2016). Statistics say that around 20 percent of the population has gotten plastic surgery, but the real percentage is most likely higher since clinics are not regulated very well and many procedures remain unlisted (Elfving-Hwang, 2012). Although common, many clinics do not document it when they give customers discounts for paying
Plastic surgery began as bodily reconstruction for wounded soldiers in World War I. The surgery developed in stages, starting with correcting traumatic injuries and deformed facial features. The more cosmetic focus began in the 1970’s, with creating “perfected” facial features and making aesthetically pleasing body parts. Cosmetic surgery boomed in the 1990’s, with 1.2 million procedures performed in the United States alone (plasticsurgery.org). The swiftness in which these procedures have infiltrated society has lead to a change in our view of the value of the body. The modern ease and accessibility of cosmetic surgery has intensified the need for external beauty and has influenced the loss of personal identity.
According to an article published by Seoul Touchup, https://www.seoultouchup.com/korean-plastic-surgery-statistics/, rhinoplasty is the second most common cosmetic procedure performed in Korea. In addition to the Korean population, the country’s plastic surgeons provide procedures to nearly 300,000 tourists a year. The majority of foreigners that travel to Korea for rhinoplasty and other aesthetic surgeries come from China, America, Russia, Japan, and Mongolia. Women represent 72% of the patients and men represent 28%.
First of all, Korean women and American women have had the different standard of beauty about personal appearance. Korean women have looked for the beauty level through special people such as famous actor or actress and model. So, they only want to follow the higher level of beauty for appearance without any anxiety. Besides, in Korea plastic surgery has been become very popular and shared. For example, Korean women think cosmetic that shows
These interviews and surveys would be conducted in Korean with all information pertaining to my research written in Hangul. I will give the willing participant time to ask questions about my research and why I am conducting it to build a relationship with participants in order to receive honest answers. Interview will be conducted before procedures and follow up interviews will be done two weeks, one month, six months, and 12 months after plastic surgery to see any changing feelings towards plastic surgery and the affects it had on the participants’ daily life. All interviews and surveys will be conducted with participant confidentiality in mind. All interviews and surveys are hoped to be repeated with entertainment companies and the use of surveys will also be done in universities and recruiting companies. Although high school surveys and interviews would be ideal, I would need permission from school boards and parents to conduct research. If the school boards and parents say no, this could finder my ability to understand the affects of plastic surgery on the youngest members of my research group, and possibly cause me to have to change my research age demographic. All data collected will be complied into groups according to place collected and will be compared by city and
In South Korea, specifically Seoul are filled with plastic surgery clinics causing the country to becomes the world’s highest rate in cosmetic/plastic surgery . When visiting a clinic, most women’s ideal image would be K-Pop idols,generally, the common factors are double eyelids, v-line face, and slim body. It has been estimated that one out of five South Korean women has had cosmetic work done, compared to about one in 20 American women, according to the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons. In 2013, American approximately spend $12 billion on cosmetic surgery whereas in South Korea, the price is roughly $7.5 million even with a mass amount of clients, all stated by Chang and Thompson, ABC News. The reason being is simply because “in South Korea, each surgery only ranges from $2,000 to $4-5,000” said Choi, a foreign client who comes to South Korea to undergo plastic surgery. Nowadays, not only adults but teenagers are also eligible to undergo surgery with parental consent. Adults tend to have plastic surgery to stand out from others while most teens want to fit in with peers. According to American Society of Plastic Surgeons statistics, 63,623 cosmetic surgical procedures were performed on people age 13-19 in 2013 according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. However, not all surgeries is for cosmetic reasons. In
As the Korean wave becoming popular all over the world, more and more people also want to try to imitate the faces of Korean stars or improve their appearances in order to become more beautiful. So, the industry of plastic surgery in South Korea has drawn many tourists’ attention. According to the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS), the number of “individuals in South Korea who undergo plastic surgery have reached approximately 20,000 per 100,000 of the general population” (Seok-Chan, 2013). It makes South Korea become famous as a country with high technology of doing plastic surgery. The Korean National Assembly also passed a medical law in 2009 in order to provide a legal basis for hospitals to attract foreign patients from overseas countries (Seok-Chan, 2013). Moreover, the cost of plastic surgery in South Korea was 80% lower than that in the US or the UK (Denisenko, 2010). As a result, many people in different countries have travelled to South Korean for doing plastic surgery by
Pressure in both the Starters, and in South Korea, is thrusted upon individuals to ‘perfect’ themselves. 19 year old Lim, a translator on Korean TV, felt the need to have surgery done on her jaw and nose, “‘I guess everyone wants to look like K-pop models,’
It’s no secret how much South Korea has invested in the plastic surgery industry. In fact, you might have heard or read about South Korea’s rise as one of the top countries involved with plastic surgery. In 2014, South Korea contributed approximately 24% to the world’s plastic surgery market, with just under 300,000 medical tourists. Younger and younger demographics have been more prone to go under the knife at least once, as double eyelid surgery (eye surgery in which a crease is added to the eyelid) has now become a typical high school graduation gift.
The obsession with beauty is universal and transcends all regions and cultures (Kalantar-Hormozi et al. 359). The attention to the attainment of physical attractiveness has increased tremendously over the past few decades. As such, more and more people are opting to alter their physical features through cosmetic surgery. However, there are varying attitudes and opinions over whether one should undergo such a drastic procedure. Factors such as self-esteem, peer-pressure, socio-economic status and the influence of the media towards perceived body-image play a major role in one’s decision to undergo cosmetic surgery.
Other failures related to cosmetic plastic surgery are often linked to the use of Botox. For instance, e all know or have seen this one person who has received an excess of Botox injections and ended up having unnaturally, protruding cheeks. Although using Botox is nonsurgical, it is still classified as cosmetic plastic surgery because it restrains our muscles from carrying out any movement. Many people believe that since this process does not involve cutting through a patient’s skin, it does entail as much danger as surgical operations. Researchers claim the opposite. Less commonly known as botulism neurotoxin, Botox is a toxin produced by a bacterium. Contact with this bacterium can actually cause the person to contract a fatal disease called botulism. Poupard expressed his concern in his work, “The same chemical that caused a dreaded disease is now used to paralyze completely healthy and functioning facial muscles and is the most common minimally invasive cosmetic procedure performed today.” Are we voluntarily putting our lives in peril simply for the sake of smoothing out unpleasant wrinkles? Has our society become too consumed by image and appearance that we have come to this point where we would do anything to become a tad prettier? Even more frightening is the fact that this medical field is largely unregulated, especially in the United States. Friedman clarifies, “…Any licensed physician can perform plastic surgery, and – in some states – even dentists are allowed to
We live in a society where people worship beauty. As far as recorded history people have gone to extremes to seek beauty. From foot binding in China to wearing strangulating corsets in Victorian era. People from different race and culture have experimented in every way possible way to look beautiful prior to this popular age of plastic surgery. It’s very common to hear people complain about their appearance, whether it’s their crocked nose, thin lips or flat chest. Remarkably, plastic surgery has been the solution for people who complain. Most people tend to think of plastic surgery as only cosmetic surgery and not as reconstructive surgeries. Plastic surgeries seems to be an invention of modern technology; however its roots lie in the ancient history of India. An Indian surgeon contributed towards the establishment of plastic surgery, it was intended to correct physical deformities acquired during birth, accident, disease or war. These surgeries did not gain the popularity it has today until the First World War. It was during the late 60’s, when doctors started realizing the endless possibilities of plastic surgeries. With the help of this surgery a trained surgeon can replace an amputate body part, remove skin cancer, get rid of unattractive scars and visible birthmarks or rescaling a nose or enhance body parts. Today more and more people from different age groups opt for plastic surgeries to obtain dramatic physical changes. These surgeries were envisioned to restore
As we get older we all experience changes in our body, some that we love and others that we could do without. People are born in all shapes and sizes, but why is it that some choose to change that with cosmetic and plastic surgery? What would motivate someone to go through hours of pain just for a new body? With the appearance of more “perfect” looking celebrities in the media, the self-esteem of many women spiral down, especially in Asia. Beauty standards in South Korea are now being define by many K-Pop idols. “In Seoul, 1 of every 5 women ages 19 to 49 has had some type of plastic surgery, according to a 2009 survey by Trend Monitor” (Chow, NPR). With the media exposing the image of “perfection” in K-Pop celebrities’