Plastic Surgery All the Rage Among College Students

[legens-legentis.livejournal.com]

Recent surveys reveal surging demand for cosmetic surgery among young women. According to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, 729 clinics have been opened up and there are 1,242 plastic surgeons nationwide as of 2009. The service estimates the size of the cosmetic surgery industry at approximately W400 billion (US$1=W1,234), half of it among college students.


In a poll of female college students by the Chosun Ilbo and the Olive Channel from Aug. 5 to 23, about a quarter of 2,041 participants said they had plastic surgery. About 404 respondents or 80 percent said they would like to undergo additional procedures. Most tended to get nipped and tucked around their entry into college.

Some 120 said they had an operation immediately after high school graduation, 185 in college, 141 after college graduation, and some even in elementary school. Although 371 had surgery only once, 28 had more than three operations.

Eye surgery took first place, followed by nose jobs (97), Botox shots (22), lip and forehead augmentations (16), and liposuction (15). Forty-five had other miscellaneous surgery such as brow lifts or rhytidectomy.

While only 13 percent chose to undergo cosmetic surgery for vital reasons such as employment, 62 percent admitted that their decision was influenced by their friends and celebrities and thus had not given much thought to the matter beforehand. Eleven percent said they wanted to look "younger."

Even among the rest of the group, there was a desire for cosmetic surgery. Of the 1,551 respondents who did not have plastic surgery, 1,245 or about 80 percent said they wanted to. Eye surgery topped the wish list, followed by nose jobs, facial surgery and liposuction.

But the carefree attitude toward Botox shots or filler operations often leads to lack of qualms about illegal plastic surgery. Although the size of the illegal industry is unknown, it is estimated to be worth up to W20 billion per year. Seo Jae-don, a plastic surgeon practicing in the Apgujeong area said the adverse effects from illegal surgery start to appear after a month or two, a fact exacerbated by many students rushing to get illegal surgery the moment they see how it has altered their friends.

The students' legal status as adults allows them to make reckless decisions alone. Misleading advertising is also a problem. Plastic surgeon Hong Jung-gun of the Korean Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery pointed out that competing cosmetic surgeons and clinics often promote and glamorize untested and risky procedures to attract more customers.

Chosun Ilbo

Comments

[crowleyd545.livejournal.com]

where do they find the money? damn.

[legens-legentis.livejournal.com]

I think it's their parents. My friend said her mother offered to pay to get her eyes done. But thankfully she turned her down.

A lot of parents see it as an essential to getting a good job in Korea.

[stopthedisco.livejournal.com]

. . . some even in elementary school.

WTF is that even legal?

[finalfantasyo13.livejournal.com]

good god, please no.

[sup-homeskillet.livejournal.com]

that is crazy to me.

[finalfantasyo13.livejournal.com]

what's the world(at least in kpop, kmedia whatever you wanna call it) coming to?

[spread.livejournal.com]

No boob jobs?
Por Que~??

[stage-persona.livejournal.com]

... no les importa?
boobs are not that important in korea I guess...
sad story Y___Y

[vingtsecondes.livejournal.com]

oh momma.

[iheartdarkblue.livejournal.com]

WTF is a forehead augmentation and what does it do

[theheartless69.livejournal.com]

Probably pushes back your hairline? Not sure why they would want that D:

[liliabloom.livejournal.com]

What is that last little icon pointing to the stomach? Is that a blob of fat?

[simply-yunjae.livejournal.com]

isn't that a bellybutton? but what could you do there?

[akaich0u.livejournal.com]

Why is it such a big deal? Genuinely curious here.

[akaich0u.livejournal.com]

Before this post really blows up, I just want to say that the double eyelid surgery is SO common, it's not even worth mentioning anymore. It's like the Asian equivalent to getting botox.

Also, it's not because we Asians ~omg want to be white~. It's because large eyes have been the hallmark of Asian beauty for thousands of years, even before Asia came in contact with the West.

Just wanted to clear that up because the misconceptions surrounding it really piss me off sometimes. =\ You're not signing away your life...you're just getting another crease in your eyes. geez.

[legens-legentis.livejournal.com]

I just feel sorry for all the people who get their eyes botched while getting them done.

[princess-momo.livejournal.com]

tbh, i assumed all girls who lived in Korea had or plan to get plastic surgery :/

[xkimchi-ninja.livejournal.com]

I'm surprised boob jobs aren't in the top lol /racism

[spread.livejournal.com]

MTE!!
I was like okay...

Maybe it's just me but if I had a choice I would rather get my boobs done..

[vingtsecondes.livejournal.com]

forehead augmentation i think is like inserting some fat or skin to make your forehead look fuller lol

[iheartdarkblue.livejournal.com]

????
My mother always told me a flat forehead looks prettier.

[freakymysty.livejournal.com]

Dude, botox is only for when you're seriously old and even then it's creepy because it just paralyzes your face. Why the hell do they need botox in high school and college?

I want a nose job b/c my nose is crooked. Yet I never realized it until after high school when a surgeon suggested a nose job when I was there for jaw surgery -_-. Now I'm jealous of my older sisters perfect nose, lol.

[legens-legentis.livejournal.com]

Why the hell do they need botox in high school and college?
It's supposed to prevent you from getting wrinkles.

Haha.

[evil-zucchini.livejournal.com]

My sister has a crease in one eyelid and none in the other. Her Korean friend suggested that she could get it done but my sister thinks it's cool. :))

[princess-momo.livejournal.com]

That is pretty cool O:

/asian

[treat.livejournal.com]

Cosmetic surgery in Korea is half the cost and half as risky as it may be in other countries. And since everyone and their mom is doing it, it's quite normal. My family friends all admit to having done surgery at one point or another. So I wouldn't be so quick to judge.

Re: /asian

[labobo93.livejournal.com]

Just because it's common doesn't mean it's good.

[annneonet.livejournal.com]

I really don't like plastic surgery. Imho it makes this world more vain (looks > all or something) like we HAVE to look a certain way to be "pretty" or w/e. Like, we can't feel good about ourselves by just looking as how we're born now? :\ But that doesn't stop my mom from being all "Oh when we go to Korea you should do your eyes/nose" =.= I won't hate on someone for getting plastic surgery; I just don't like the fact that it exists.

[smilez4you.livejournal.com]

i agree

[devourlove.livejournal.com]

I thought surgery and weight loss were all the rage in places lilke Korea...This isn't really shocking. A lot of the women in the media do give off a sort of hard-to-reach image of beauty, and if you aren't that, you're ugly.

Also, what was that word that mean native Asian citizens are born with similar characteristics? H-something...Well, because of that, it only makes the image of perfect beauty only more important to achieve, right? I mean, in america, we have weight lost and long hair as "beauty", but there are some things people just can't achieve, like having blonde hair and pale skin, unlike in Korea, where basically anything is possible to make you look like a celebrity.

[spread.livejournal.com]

Homogeneous?

[parkjinyoung.livejournal.com]

This 9th grade girl I know got double-eye lid surgery in Seoul this summer, but they messed up the first time, so she had to do it twice and pay shit loads of money. She said it hurts like a bitch D:

I know 4 other girls who JUST entered college that did double-eyelid surgery too.

D: it looks really creepy at first, when it's not healed yet.

[stopthedisco.livejournal.com]

Wtf plastic surgery on 16 year olds? Is there even an age limit? :/

[shincaru.livejournal.com]

Man, growing up in Vancouver with a very heavy population of FOB Asians, I can safely say this attitude really isn't Korean-specific nor stays in only Asia. Chinese, Taiwanese and Japanese folk are all up in this shit too.

I'm a weird-lookin Korean and was born with the eyelid fold, and have been accosted more than once by coworkers and customers alike asking who did my lids because my eyes are really round. It gets scary when they REALLY INTENTLY stare at your face to see how good of a job was done. @_@

[herro-is-vip.livejournal.com]

There was this guy in China that got a full-facial reconstruction and everything to look like some famous celebrity for his girlfriend. It's all over the place D:

[herro-is-vip.livejournal.com]

It wouldn't be hypocritical if you don't have plastic surgery.

Not that I care about plastic surgery.

[star-riku.livejournal.com]

I don't like the idea of plastic surgery. At all.(Except in the case of an extreme accident.)But if you have the money for it...meh.

I always sort of wonder if it'll get to the point where people won't know what their kids will look like. Not that you will automatically know what your kids will look like , but they won't be born with the features you paid to get added to yourself. Won't it be hard to guess what they will look like?

[rickasaurus.livejournal.com]

I have to admit, I'm really against cosmetic surgeries for any purpose other than say, if your face got really really messed up after an accident or something.

And in my opinion, a procedure being common doesn't make it anymore okay. :/

However, I don't look down on people who do decide to get surgery done, because that would be a really judgmental and terrible thing to do. ):

/steps off soap box :x

[star-riku.livejournal.com]

I feel the same way =)

Then again I don't get the same pressure a lot of these people seem to get, so I can try to sympathize. I'm not heartless lol.

[yourexsilly.livejournal.com]

That is so unnecessary. You should always wait until you are finished fully growing before even considering plastic surgery. And Botox?...okay.

[iheartdarkblue.livejournal.com]

My mother makes fun of me because supposedly I have "chinky" eyes.
And I have double eyelids/crease or whatever. And she's pressuring me to get surgery when I get older. I can understand why all these people are going and getting surgery done.