Plastic Surgery Tourism Brings Chinese to South Korea

[buccal.livejournal.com]

SEOUL, South Korea — Liu Liping and two college friends recently toured Seoul on a monthlong vacation funded in part by their parents. They saw the sights. They went shopping.

One night, the three young Chinese women visited the latest hot spot: a plastic surgery clinic.

Ms. Liu, 24, wanted to have her jaw broken and restructured to get a V-shaped face. Dr. Kim Tae-gyu at Braun Plastic Surgery suggested something less drastic. “But look! I have huge bones, I need to do it,” Ms. Liu protested. They settled on removing several millimeters of bone from her chin and cheekbones. Her friends, Wu Haiyan, 26, and Jin Meilan, 25, considered nose jobs.

Cosmetic surgery, pervasive in South Korea, is now the must-do activity for many Chinese visitors.

The lights stay on all night in the Gangnam district, where plastic surgery clinics line the streets. Signs in Chinese beckon visitors. Once they are inside, translators stand ready.

Seizing an opportunity to tap the steady and ubiquitous flow of China’s newly rich who are traveling overseas, South Korea’s government is promoting the country as a place to shop, eat, stay — and perhaps get a nip and a tuck.

And the Chinese, mainly women, are visiting in droves for body modifications, from the minor, like double eyelid surgery, to the extreme, like facial restructuring. While plastic surgery is common in China, South Korean hospitals are perceived to be safer and more hygienic, albeit pricier.

“When the Chinese come to the stores, they empty them,” said Kim Soo-jin, a representative at the medical tourism unit of the Korean tourism office. “If we can turn them into medical tourists, they are more likely to stay longer. They will eat one more meal, buy one more thing and go to another site.”

The South Korean government is setting aside as much as $4 million a year to help promote the medical tourism industry, which is dominated by plastic surgeons. It expects one million medical tourists a year by 2020, up from 211,218 last year, with Chinese travelers representing the largest segment.

Tour operators sell travel deals that include shopping, sightseeing and plastic surgery. Premier packages include a stretch limo for the ride from the hotel to the clinic. Licensed brokers take a cut of the total surgery costs, up to 35 percent.

While prices for tourists vary widely, a basic double eyelid surgery can cost more than $900. A plastic surgery trip, with hotel and other activities, can run around $15,000. In general, it is more expensive than in China.


“I’ve seen them coming in with bags of money,” said Dr. Ro Young-woo, a founding partner of a South Korean franchise chain of clinics called Oracle Clinic.

Popular culture has had an influence. Korean television shows and movies are wildly successful in China. Patients often take magazine photos to their consultations.

“We see more assertiveness in Chinese patients than Korean patients,” Dr. Kim Eung-sam, a plastic surgeon and director at the Hershe clinic in Seoul. “They want to look like certain Korean celebrities.”

During their trip, Ms. Liu, Ms. Wu and Ms. Jin planned to see the sights featured in their favorite Korean TV show, “My Love From the Star.” They bought clothes like those worn by the show’s female star, Jeon Ji-hyun. Ms. Jin asked for the same nose as another famous Korean actress, Han Ga-in.


South Korea is building on a tradition of cosmetic surgery. A recent study by the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery estimated that South Korea had the highest rate of cosmetic surgery per capita of any country in the world. Seoul TouchUp, a government-approved medical tourism agency, states in its marketing materials that “Korean women are arguably more objectified by their male counterparts than any other women in the world.”

“In terms of advertising it’s very much exaggerated,” says Dr. Cha Sang-myun, the chairman of the Korean Association of Plastic Surgeons, which is calling for tighter industry regulations. “You see it everywhere: on the subways, on the buses and even in the movie theaters.”

It has also become an attainable commodity for Chinese, particularly for young women who see plastic surgery as a way to enhance their personal or professional prospects.

“I did it now because I thought it would be harder to do later on,” said Wang Yue, a soft-spoken woman from Beijing who spoke days after a double eyelid procedure, a nose implant and facial contouring.

Ms. Wang, 24, said most of her friends had some form of plastic surgery “because we want to be more beautiful.” She rattled off the benefits, like the chances of making more money.

Besides, she added, “I think I’ll look better in different clothes.”

Some Korean doctors are voicing concern. The flood of demand has spawned a cluster of unlicensed hospitals, brokers and unqualified doctors, according to Dr. Cha of the plastic surgeon association. “If there are 10 plastic surgeons out there, there are another 100 who are not qualified,” he said.

And the procedures that many Chinese tourists seek come with the highest rate of complications. Some undergo several procedures at once. Dr. Kim at Braun described how one recent patient booked a series of surgeries — double jaw, facial contour, nose job, double eyelid, liposuction and a fat graft.

One of the most popular procedures is facial contouring, which involves altering the shape of the face by shaving and removing bone from the cheeks, jaw and chin. Double jaw surgery is a more radical and popular version that requires realigning the top and bottom jaws.

Chinese patients undergo these painful surgeries to alter their faces into a V-shape, giving them highly coveted delicate features. They are also popular among Korean men and women.

“I think they have gone totally overboard,” said Dr. Walter Peters, a professor of surgery at the University of Toronto. Radical jaw surgery in the United States and Canada, he added, “could sometimes be done for cosmetic reasons but it is usually done for developmental or post-traumatic reasons.”

Ms. Jin had already had her nose done once in China. “The more I do it, the more I become interested in it,” she said.

“Many friends around me have gone under the knife,” she added. “Since my friends have become more beautiful, I think I should become more beautiful.”

Source: New York Times

Comments

[kazu-kumaguro.livejournal.com]

I'll just be honest, I really want to cut my jaw but it seems dangerous and painful, not to mention expensive.
900USD for double eyelid surgery is expensive though, I thought it's much cheaper than that.

[petecarl.livejournal.com]

Really? I saw that price tag of $900 and thought it was cheap. US prices are about $3000-4500 for the procedure, which makes more sense to me. /American

[kicking-tenshi.livejournal.com]

I wonder if its because they're talking about how prices are inflated for tourists that they got to $900. I've heard of cheaper price tags too.

[vikihpnerd.livejournal.com]

Ugh, all of this stuff in the media is making more and more kids...or just people in general wanting to go under the knife. Nobody goes for natural nowadays...so sad. Also, with so many ppl considering going under the knife, people don't believe it when they see a natural beauty walking down the street and assume that she/he actually had work done. What has the world become?

[charlieu.livejournal.com]

This isn't anything new. Even in America, I know a lot of Chinese-Americans who went to Korea for plastic surgery. I only know because they asked for help getting appointments, etc. My friend first called and connected her Chinese friend to Korean surgeons over 10 years ago... I'm getting old.

[vikihpnerd.livejournal.com]

I actually think it is the Chinese immigrants in America who end up going to S. Kor for surgery. At least in my town. My Chinese-American friends have never even considered plastic surgery (of course I can't use my few Chinese-American friends and generalize). I have worked at a bank in Chinatown and I keep hearing Chinese around my age (20s) wanting to go and get different places done. Maybe it has to do with culture? Like Chinese grown up in China are less confident and more likely to be influenced by the media about how they look? For example, growing up, we were always taught what's inside counts and we shouldn't be influenced by peer pressure, enroll in the ineffective DARE program, yada yada yada. But I don't know how other countries teach their kids at school.

[dot-rose.livejournal.com]

I knew Korea was marketing plastic surgery but the cost for double eyelid surgery is more expensive than I thought, especially when I consider that one to be the most common surgery done.

would you get anything done, omona?

[burnbook31.livejournal.com]

I would probably get my nose fixed, personally i have nothing against it but its the butt of jokes during christmas with the relatives and it doesnt do good on me it makes me feel a lot worst? I would also probably get a liposuction, because as what my relatives say, i'm that forever fat member of the family. probably a fat relative is worst than a thief or a sociopath in a family so idek

Re: would you get anything done, omona?

[petecarl.livejournal.com]

that sucks about your family. idk your family situation, but since you already don't get on with them, it might be worth speaking up about it. and if they don't listen, just tell them to get their eyes checked and that you like your face.

Re: would you get anything done, omona?

[chibi-rei.livejournal.com]

I personally wouldn't. I only briefly thought about a breast reduction when I was in high school (my mom suggested it because I felt self-conscious) -- but really they aren't that big so I thought it was silly.

Re: would you get anything done, omona?

[gigabytexx.livejournal.com]

I'd fix anything around my eyes (eyelid etc... basically anything to make my face less sleepy/sad/bad-mood whenever I dont smile) and probably to make my lips color become pinkier...... I dont know what cause this but the color of my lips is a bit dark since I was little. It makes me unable to wear a bright lipgloss that can make ur lips looking fresh like Barbie, instead I looked like I just ate oily stuff. Also probably vit C injection & some work done for my starting-to-wrinkle forehead & under eyes.

My jaw is a bit squared, but I'm still happy with it so I think none for my jaw. I would probably do something to my tummy&the fat in my legs & ankles (because friends KEEPS make fun of me on those parts) but I figured it can be done by exercise....and it helps to make us healthy too.

Well thats quite a lot lmao

Re: would you get anything done, omona?

[obviousgirl.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry about how cruel your family is; but I know how you feel. My mother tells me regularly how she "messed" me up by going into my father's family and getting a child. She thinks god knew what he was doing when she lost her first two pregnancies with my dad. :/

If I could get anything done, I would see if Korea has a doctor that specializes in erbs palsy so that I could get my arm fixed. Then I would get my face reshaped, fat transfer from my arms and thighs to my boobs, then get them lifted and reshaped. I'd try to get my upper arms size reduced. Liposuction and see if that fat can be transferred to my butt, skin resurfacing to help even out my skin tone and get rid of the dark spots my mother keeps harping on me about. And then I would visit the dermatologist regularly while I was there and that's all I can think of at the moment.

Maybe with those changes I could finally find out what it's like to date; but I don't think it would solve my body image disorder.

Re: would you get anything done, omona?

[kazu-kumaguro.livejournal.com]

think about the money that you otherwise can spend on something else (like travel!! concert!! goods!! clothes!! good food!! makeup!!), the (painful) recovery period, and then the constant plastic surgery related questions you may have to answer for the rest of your life (because people are nosy like that), if you're okay with all that, maybe you can start considering them.

or you can try healthier eating habit and maybe wear makeup? or you can try telling them to shut up.
idk what you look like so I can't really comment or giving encouraging comments because they would be baseless.

Re: would you get anything done, omona?

[anconeous.livejournal.com]

Nose job and boob job (I'm so flat chested). IF EVER.

I'm a med student and I'm glad that I have a few friends considering to take up plastic surgery as their specialization. LOL we've been joking around that they'd give discounts to any of us classmates who anything done.

Re: would you get anything done, omona?

[girltragedy.livejournal.com]

I have a deviated septum/crooked nose so it'd be nice to get that fixed some day. I'd like to take pictures from the front without feeling self-conscious, but I'd especially love to be able to breathe properly. The only two people I know of who've had that surgery had a lot of long-term complications afterwards though. :/ Aside from the crookedness, I think I'm okay with the shape of my nose, though I wouldn't mind a pointer tip.

I used to want the double eyelid surgery until mine developed on their own, but now I want to lengthen my eyes. Imagining getting the sides of my eyes cut freaks me the hell out though, so I don't know if I could ever get that one done. And how do you even open your eyes during recovery????

Re: would you get anything done, omona?

[chibiyunie.livejournal.com]

Probably my nose, which seems to be way too big for my face and a jaw shave maybe. I feel like it is a scary procedure and you really need to have a good surgeon do it so it won't go wrong but my jaw is almost square, lol.

[sayufied.livejournal.com]

tbh i was planning on going to korea in march to get some shit done..
i wanna get whatever sooyoung did to her jaws... not sure if its botox or actual jaw shaving..
my nose is small and i like it but i just wanna change one tiny thing about it, and i noticed korean plastic surgeons have a very light hand... so looking forward to it =D

[tempestdance.livejournal.com]

this has been going on for awhile... gangnam district is pretty interesting with its flood of people from all over asia, not just china.

i personally would never get plastic surgery because i'm okay with my face and the risks are too much... like you might be fine now but who knows what's gonna happen to your shaven jaw and torn eyelids and silicon gel-filled boobs decades from now?
but i'm really the same way with lasik surgeries too - i'm of the opinion that unless your life and health is currently impacted severely by your facial features, it's really not worth going through it. of course, there are people who do need surgeries to fix their jaw so they can eat etc so in those cases, it's really a necessity.

[kazu-kumaguro.livejournal.com]

I start considering botox tbh, my mom has these hard lines on her forehead and some hard muscles(?) caused by frowning, and I'm so scared that I'm gonna have those too that I'm massaging my forehead lately especially near the eyebrow (idk what it's called), anyone have tips for them? maybe I should try facial yoga.

[torontok.livejournal.com]

The part about unlicensed clinics is probably the most concerning.

[anconeous.livejournal.com]

THIS. So many things can go wrong during surgery, even at the hands of the best surgeon. These clinics should be handled by licensed surgeons and operating legally without any sketchy business.

[britgirlsf.livejournal.com]

Scariest thing I saw in another article about plastic surgery in SK is that a lot of the clinics that don't have properly trained surgeons also don't have the emergency medical equipment that any clinic that's going to put you under sedation is supposed to have. Anaesthesia can go very wrong, if you're going to have surgery there needs to be emergency resuscitation equipment on site, because there might not be enough time to get you to someplace else that has it (and honestly, would you trust a clinic that doesn't have the equipment, with doctors who aren't qualified as cosmetic surgeons, to transfer you instead of trying to cover up their mistake?).

Stay safe, people. Any time a person gets put under there's a risk of them crashing, and if there's no resuscitation equipment and/or nobody trained to use it onsite that could get you killed. That's not a risk that's worth taking just to save a bit of money.

[lovelycandygirl.livejournal.com]

The only plastic surgery I would get is to make my boobies equal (according to me.)

[modestgoddess79.livejournal.com]

I have the same probably, it isn't obvious with clothes on though so I can live with it.

[keki7.livejournal.com]

It's fine for the people who want to get plastic surgery that it is now that much more accessible. But I do hope that those some people don't turn around and belittle those who don't want or can't afford to fly to korea to get plastic surgery.

So many people are saying that their reasons for plastic surgery are getting ahead of the competition and more job prospects. That's a little disturbing to me. Like really if I am competing for a job and have the necessary qualifications and experience, I'd be mad as hell if I'm passed over for someone less qualified or less experienced all because that person shaved their jaw. I really hope that as the plastic surgery industry expands those who opt out of it won't suffer as a result.

[myrrhcat.livejournal.com]

i wish more people would talk about the unfortunate social pressures that cause women to feel like they need PS, without shaming women who get it or creating a "natural beauty vs. 'fake' beauty" dichotomy. personally i'd never get any because i love the way i am already ("imperfections" and all tho there's nothing imperfect about them) but i also think a face created by a surgeon is a work of art, it's not a waste.

[kicking-tenshi.livejournal.com]

UofT represent!

I'm always curious if the plastic surgeons themselves or the people working at these clinics have gotten anything done before.

On a more serious note, PS isn't evil. If a person wants to change certain things for themselves (i.e. not PS a la 200 pound beauty and not for whoever else) AND has the money, then they should be able to if they so choose. That Ms. Jin though... that doesn't sound healthy.

[eebaboya.livejournal.com]

A little late for this topic but i just wanted to share my views on plastic surgery in general. I have just spent the past week and a half in Seoul. What I saw really shocked me. I knew how popular plastic surgery was there but it never really hit me until I touched down in South Korea.

I understand everyone wants to look good. Heck, there are features that I have been displeased with all my life. But seeing how many plastic looking people are out there, it makes me really sad that their perception on beauty is far cry from natural beauty. I do think many of the girls would look a whole lot better natural than having noses/chins that doesn't suit their faces. Many of whom wind up looking all the same.

Now, I'm not slamming plastic surgery. I understand the whole if you are unhappy with your face, you can do whatever you want. I do agree wholeheartedly. But what i came to realized is that many of the locals were doing it just to fit in to the society, because the Korean society frowns upon imperfection. It's really startling to see that both men and women finds this attractive, that you have to fix some part of you in order to be considered good-looking or to pursue a career.

The whole kpop industry is not helping that as well with so many celebrities coming out saying that they have works done to their faces/bodies. Even Secret had a comeback with all of them sporting new faces. The society just placed such high importance on looks and it really makes me wonder if they are forgetting about the importance of other values as well.

Plastic surgery can't be undone. It doesn't also mean that getting plastic surgery will make one good looking. I think people needs to understand that. Getting a new chin/nose/eyes/etc doesn't mean your life will getting better. It might earn you confidence but with a society with that much emphasis on beauty, what might be a popular look at the moment, might not be that a few years later.