Cosmetic surgery in South Korea

Last updated

A building in Busan, housing several cosmetic surgery clinics. seomyeon Xi Mian Seomyeon, Busan (5452865868).jpg
A building in Busan, housing several cosmetic surgery clinics.

Cosmetic surgery is voluntary or elective surgery performed for beauty enhancement. [1] In South Korean society, the motivations for undergoing these procedures are a subject of debate. Holliday and Elfving-Hwang suggest that the pressure to succeed in work and marriage is deeply rooted in an individual's ability to manage their physical appearance, which is influenced by societal beauty standards. [2] Because marriage matchmaking services and job applications often require a headshot, many Koreans feel pressure to undergo plastic surgery to achieve a look often referred to as "natural beauty". [3] As of 2021, South Korea had the highest number of plastic surgery cases per capita in the world according to data from the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS). [4]

Contents

South Korea has also emerged as a major destination for medical tourism. From 2018 to 2021, plastic surgery clinics hosted about 190,000 foreign patients, the largest numbers arriving from Thailand and China. [5]

History

The modern Korean interest in physical appearance dates back to the 7th century, finding its roots in physiognomy (gwansang), the belief that one's facial features reveal their personality and destiny. The concept of connecting identity and appearance became stronger during the Japanese colonial period in Korea, as Japanese rulers promoted the idea that certain facial features displayed greater intelligence and nobility. Subsequently, plastic surgery techniques were introduced by American doctors during the Korean War, which contributed to the acceptance of the Western notion that changing one's face could change one's destiny. [6]

Following the 1997 Asian financial crisis, South Korea's labor market was deregulated, [7] leading citizens to seek every possible edge over competitors for a job position, including cosmetic surgery. [6] This trend persists today with many companies requiring a photo, height, and sometimes family background information as a part of the hiring process. [8]

Statistics

Over the past few decades, plastic surgery has become more accepted in South Korea. For instance, while only 38% of respondents in 1994 felt that it was acceptable for a woman to undergo plastic surgery for marriage, that figure rose to 66% by 2015. [9] During the same period, the proportion of women reporting they had undergone surgery rose from 5% to 31%. Women consistently report higher rates of procedures and express more support for them than men.

According to a 2020 Statista survey of 1,500 people, plastic surgery is especially prevalent among young adults. Nearly 25% of women aged 19–29 have undergone procedures, compared to just 2% of men. Among those aged 30–39, these figures rise to 31% for women and 4% for men. [10] However, a case study by Allure noted a shifting trend, reporting that men have recently accounted for as much as 30% of certain plastic surgery cases. [11] This expectation to undergo cosmetic procedures is not restricted to urban areas and has spread to rural towns, in part due to the popularity of K-pop idols such as Wonder Girls and Girls' Generation. [12]

Frequently called the "plastic surgery capital of the world", [13] [14] South Korea treats cosmetic surgery as a commonplace occurrence, to the extent that it has become a frequent graduation gift. [15] The country is a global market leader, capturing a 25% share of the international industry. [16] One in five Korean women have undergone plastic surgery, compared to one in twenty in the United States. [17] The industry also continues to attract international interest. In 2018, 464,452 medical tourists visited South Korea for cosmetic surgery, a 16.7% increase from 2017. [18]

Market

In the Korean surgery market, there are two providers: Hospitals and Specialty Clinics and Spas and Cosmetic Surgery Centers.[ clarification needed ] In 2021, the market was valued to 1.95 billion US dollars.

Forms of cosmetic surgery

Blepharoplasty

A before and after comparison of a double eyelid surgery. Une Sud-Coreenne, avant (en haut) et apres (en bas) une blepharoplastie d'Asie de l'Est.png
A before and after comparison of a double eyelid surgery.

This form of cosmetic surgery is also known as the "double eyelid surgery". It is a surgery that reshapes the skin around the eye, resulting in a crease on the upper eyelid. The procedure is popular not just in South Korea but also other Asian countries like Taiwan and India.

The double eyelid surgery can be done in several ways, with the main difference being the form of incision. The full incision is often done to patients with excess fat and skin in the upper eyelid, a partial incision is done when there is only excess fat in the eyelid, while there is no incision used when there is no excess fat and skin. The surgery is not considered painful and it can take up to 4 weeks to fully recover. [19]

Facial contouring

Asian facial skeletal contouring surgeries, also known as V-Line surgeries, are often done to reduce the dimension or angularity of the cheekbones or the jaw in order to create a V shape. They are commonly found among young Korean pop stars and can give the face an elf- or childlike appeal. [12] K-pop groups like created a trend for the V-shaped face among young girls, as it is seen as an attractive feature.[ citation needed ]

A surgery can involve several related procedures: zygomatic reduction, V-Line surgery, mandibular contouring, and sagittal osteotomy of mandible. Zygomatic reduction involves fracturing the zygomatic arch, reshaping and re-orienting the bone so that it protrudes less to the side. During a V-Line surgery, incisions are made through the mouth. The chin is then fractured and reduced, and the jaw bone is shaved. Mandibular contouring is similar but does not involve the chin. Sagittal osteotomy reduces the width of the jaw bone. [20]

The pain following surgery ranges from mild to extreme. The jaws may be wired together for weeks, and it can take six months for the swelling to completely disappear, although it is most significant during the first 72 hours. [12] [20] A maxillofacial surgeon and former professor at Columbia University said the V-Line surgery is complex and carries risks of permanent numbness and death. [12] [21]

Rhinoplasty

Jessi is a Korean artist that has been very open about the cosmetic surgery she has received. Jessi 2017.png
Jessi is a Korean artist that has been very open about the cosmetic surgery she has received.

A popular member[ who? ] from Apink Hyoyeon has undergone rhinoplasty and other procedures during her time as an idol. [22]

The surgery can be performed open and closed. The open procedure is the most popular as it gives the surgeon more visual context. It requires an incision in the columella, which often heals without any issues and leaves a minor scar that should be difficult to spot. Once the procedure is done, it takes a few weeks to heal completely. [23] In a closed surgery, all the incisions are made inside of the nose. [24]

In South Korea, rhinoplasty is the second least common surgery among ethnic Koreans. [25] The procedure is sometimes be performed in a health context as well, as restructuring the nose can also make it easier to breathe. [26]

Face whitening

The active ingredients in face whitening is glutathione. The procedure lasts 20 minutes. Some negative effects from the procedure are as following: low blood pressure, rash all over the body, and problems with the digestive system such as nausea or vomiting. [27]

Medical tourism

Medical tourism is the act of attracting foreigners to undergo surgeries. With the rise of popularity of K-drama and K-pop around the world, numerous people opted South Korea to undergo cosmetic surgeries. "South Korea's plastic surgery business is gaining popularity because of the country's quick, affordable, efficient, safe, and high-quality healthcare system." In 2019, a total of 211,218 tourists visited South Korea for plastic surgery. [28]

Controversy

Ghost surgeries

A ghost surgery is a surgery in which the person who performs the operation, the "ghost doctor," is not the surgeon that was hired for and is credited with the operation. The ghost doctor substitutes the hired surgeon while the patient is unconscious from anesthesia. [29] [30]

Ghost surgeries are "rampant" in the South Korean cosmetic surgery industry. [29] [30] [31] Ghost doctors are often unlicensed and unqualified to perform the operations they are hired for, with some plastic surgeries being performed by dentists, nurses, or salespeople; one former ghost doctor reported that most substitutes were dentists. [29] The Korean Society of Plastic Surgeons estimated that there were about 100,000 victims of ghost surgery in South Korea between 2008 and 2014. About five patients died during ghost surgeries between 2014 and 2022. [30]

Ghost surgery is illegal in South Korea, but as there is often no evidence a surgery was performed by a ghost doctor, it is rarely punished in court. [30] Public backlash to ghost surgery has led to the mandating of security cameras in operating rooms in South Korea. [32] [33]

Beauty standards

Korea is criticised for having unrealistic beauty standards, often expecting women to be very thin to the point where their weight can become unhealthy. The "escape the corset" movement goes directly against the country's beauty standards which actively promote time consuming skin care regimens and surgery. The movement is intended to create body positivity and reduce the strict standards that women have to live up to in the country. [34]

A study conducted by Young A. Kim, Duckhee Chae, and Hyunlye Kim titled "Factors Affecting Acceptance of Cosmetic Surgery Among Undergraduate Students" affirms that beauty standards conveyed by television, the internet, actors, and K-pop stars negatively affect mental health by decreasing self-esteem and increasing anxiety. The socio-cultural messages transmitted by peers reflect how these high beauty standards have become the norm. [35]

Let Me In was a controversial South Korean television show focused on complete make-overs, including plastic surgery. [36] Participants had to convince a panel that their appearance made their lives difficult. The show even went so far as having parents apologise for their child's appearance and their own inability to provide plastic surgery. After their procedures, participants were presented to a live audience. The show was shut down in 2015 following significant controversy and criticism that it promoted plastic surgery as overly attractive to its viewers. [37]

A 2021 study found a correlation between negative body image or evaluation and acceptance of plastic surgery among South Korean college students. [38]

Employment surgery

Employment surgery is a common occurrence in South Korea. Due to a competitive job market, appearance is considered an important factor when hiring, which pressures candidates into undergoing surgery to gain an edge over their competitors. [39] Statistically, applicants perceived as more attractive are more likely to be hired than those who do not conform to beauty standards. This can negatively impact the mental health of qualified job seekers who feel they do not satisfy these aesthetic expectations. [39] According to a 2006 survey, 92.2% of South Korean women expect to face appearance-based discrimination during job interviews. [40]

In 2021, a bill was proposed that would take action against this culture, banning companies from asking for photos on résumés.[ citation needed ] A survey in 2006 showed that 80% of public companies require personal information like photos. [40]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "cosmetic surgery". The Free Dictionary. Archived from the original on 19 June 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  2. ↑ Holliday, R., & Elfving-Hwang, J. (2012). Gender, Globalization and Aesthetic Surgery in South Korea. Body and Society, 18, 58– 81.
  3. ↑ Lin, K. L., & Raval, V. V. (2020). Understanding Body Image and Appearance Management Behaviors among Adult Women in South Korea within a Sociocultural Context: A Review. International Perspectives in Psychology: Research, Practice, Consultation, 9(2), 96–122.
  4. ↑ "ISAPS International Survey on Aesthetic/Cosmetic Procedures Performed in 2021" (PDF). International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 July 2025.
  5. ↑ "Last year, most foreigners visiting Korean plastic surgery clinics were Thai". medifonews. 12 October 2022.
  6. 1 2 Davis, Chelsea. "Stanford scholar traces the roots of South Korea's cosmetic surgery surge". Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  7. ↑ Park, Se-Il (1 September 1999). "The Labor Market Policy and Social Safety Net in Korea: After the 1997 Crisis". Brookings. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  8. ↑ Maguire, Ciaran. "Stress dominates every aspect of life in South Korea". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  9. ↑ 한국갤럽조사연구소 [A Study on Perceptions of Appearance and Plastic Surgery]. Gallup. Archived from the original on 26 May 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  10. ↑ "South Korea: plastic surgery experience by age and gender 2020". Statista. Archived from the original on 28 March 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  11. ↑ "Why More Men in South Korea Are Getting Plastic Surgery Than Ever Before By Devon Abelman". 24 December 2019. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Stone, Zara (24 May 2013). "The K-Pop Plastic Surgery Obsession". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 27 October 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  13. ↑ "Forever young, beautiful and scandal-free: The rise of South Korea's virtual influencers". CNN. 31 July 2022. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  14. ↑ Jacobs, Harrison (28 June 2018). "People have the wrong idea about the 3 most popular procedures in South Korea, the plastic surgery capital of the world". Business Insider . Archived from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  15. ↑ Marx, Patricia (16 March 2015). "The World Capital of Plastic Surgery". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 17 March 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  16. ↑ "Plastic Surgery". VisitKorea.or.kr . Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  17. ↑ "A cut above". The Economist. ISSN   0013-0613. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  18. ↑ "Foreign patients receiving plastic surgery hit record high in 2018". KBR (in Korean). 16 October 2019. Archived from the original on 6 June 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  19. ↑ "Asian Double Eyelid". Stanford Medicine. Archived from the original on 8 June 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  20. 1 2 "Asian Facial Skeletal Contouring". Stanford Medicine. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  21. ↑ "Oral Surgeon New York City | David Koslovsky, DDS, FACS, FACD". www.new-york-oral-surgery.com. Archived from the original on 4 October 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  22. ↑ Doctors, Vanity Aesthetics (24 August 2023). "Most Famous K-Pop Plastic Surgeries". Vanity. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  23. ↑ "Rhinoplasty Procedure Steps". American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Archived from the original on 22 May 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  24. ↑ "Rhinoplasty". Stanford Medical. Archived from the original on 1 April 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  25. ↑ "Most plastic surgery types". joongang. 15 January 2018. Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023. Translation from Korean: "It was found that the most frequent plastic surgery site for Koreans is 'eyes→wrinkles→nose→chest'." ... "Patients in Western countries such as the United States and Europe and Middle Eastern countries also increased significantly compared to the previous year. According to Banobagi Medical Group, 'rhinoplasty' was the most common, followed by 'eye surgery', 'fat transplant', 'filler botox', and 'contouring'. Western and Middle Eastern patients are said to be too smart and often go to hospitals to trim their large noses."
  26. ↑ "9 K-Pop Idols Who Confessed To Having A Nose Job". Koreaboo. 27 July 2020. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  27. ↑ Beauty, Jivaka (19 November 2019). "Skin whitening injections in Korea – What are their effects?". Jivaka Beauty. Archived from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  28. ↑ Stevenson, Alexandra (24 December 2014). "Plastic Surgery Tourism Brings Chinese to South Korea". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  29. 1 2 3 Seo, Yoonjung; Hollingsworth, Julia (11 April 2021). "In South Korea, patients pay for a star plastic surgeon – and get operated by a ghost doctor". CNN. Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  30. 1 2 3 4 Yoon, John (13 May 2022). "South Korea Turns to Surveillance as 'Ghost Surgeries' Shake Faith in Hospitals". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  31. ↑ Hong, Seung Eun; Hong, Min Ki; Park, Bo Young; Woo, Kyong Jae; Kang, So Ra (2018). "Is the "ghost surgery" the subject of legal punishment in Korea?". Annals of Surgical Treatment and Research. 94 (4): 167–173. doi:10.4174/astr.2018.94.4.167. ISSN   2288-6575. PMC   5880973 . PMID   29629350.
  32. ↑ Muzaffar, Maroosha (1 September 2021). "How South Korea lost faith in its surgeons". Independent. Archived from the original on 4 March 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  33. ↑ Cha, Sangmi (31 August 2021). "South Korean lawmakers mandate cameras in operating rooms after surgery deaths". Reuters. Archived from the original on 4 March 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  34. ↑ Haas, Benjamin (26 October 2018). "'Escape the corset': South Korean women rebel against strict beauty standards". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  35. ↑ Kim, Young A.; Chae, Duckhee; Kim, Hyunlye (2017). "Factors Affecting Acceptance of Cosmetic Surgery Among Undergraduate Students". The Journal of the Korea Contents Association. 17 (1): 455–464. doi: 10.5392/JKCA.2017.17.01.455 . ISSN   1598-4877. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  36. ↑ "Zuid-Korea: het epicentrum van plastische chirurgie" [South Korea: The epicenter of plastic surgery]. npo3.nl. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  37. ↑ Chung, Hyun-chae (18 September 2015). "'Let Me In' to be shut down". The Korea Times . Archived from the original on 21 November 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  38. ↑ Lin, Kathy L.; Raval, Vaishali V.; Lee, Ji-Yeon (2021). "Body Image and Acceptance of Plastic Surgery Among College Students in South Korea" . International Perspectives in Psychology. 10 (2): 104–115. doi:10.1027/2157-3891/a000011. ISSN   2157-3883.
  39. 1 2 Stiles, Matt (13 June 2017). "In South Korea's hypercompetitive job market, it helps to be attractive". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 9 November 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  40. 1 2 Lee, Tae-hoon (8 June 2010). "Bill seeks to ban photo on resume". The Korea Times . Archived from the original on 20 October 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.