
One of the negative images that South Korea has worldwide is that the nation has such a high beauty standard, resulting in numerous Korean women having to undergo plastic surgery at least once in their lifetime.
A scene from the film ‘200 Pounds Beauty’ where the main character is about to see her “new face” after undergoing full-body plastic surgery.
Here are some statistics.
The statistics show that about 1 out of 5 people undergo plastic surgery in Korea.
It’s quite common for people to consider and undergo plastic surgery, but we have to understand that not everyone is “obsessed” with plastic surgery, like what some media portray South Korea to be like.
Plastic surgery is as common as a graduation gift for high school students. It’s not unusual for parents to give their children plastic surgery during vacation or after graduation as a gift.
It’s also common for college students to work part-time jobs to save up money for plastic surgery so that they can look more “competitive” when looking for jobs.
There are so many societal, cultural factors that explain the high number of plastic surgeries in Korea. However, one of the most obvious reasons is HIGH BEAUTY STANDARDS.
We can’t deny that Korean society tends to have a certain beauty standard without having variety or diversity.
This is a hard question to answer, but many people believe that the closer they get to Korean beauty standards, the easier their lives will become.
Here are some more statistics.
According to the survey by Gallup Korea, (out of 1,500 people)
It’s not only Koreans who get their surgeries done in plastic surgery clinics. A lot of people from different countries fly to Korea to undergo plastic surgeries as well.
In 2019, before the pandemic, 90,494 foreign patients visited Korea for plastic and cosmetic surgery (Statistica). A few of the most visited countries include China, Thailand, Vietnam, and the United States.
Also, the size of the Korean cosmetic surgery market makes up 25% of the global market.
Today’s Question:
What’s your opinion on getting plastic surgeries? How does your country in general perceive ‘plastic surgery’?