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omonatheydid* South Korea is second to Hungary in per capita procedures
* Pop star Goo Hara, a model for cosmetic surgery
* Aiming for "small faces" and big, round eyes
Put together the world's most wired country, a fascination with the lives of the young, rich and famous and a penchant for plastic surgery, and what do you have? A problem, some South Koreans say.
This affluent Asian country of 50 million people has the second largest number of plastic surgery operations in the world relative to the size of its population after Hungary, according to industry data, and the Internet is fanning the flame.
With Korean pop sensations such as Goo Hara from hit girl group KARA admitting they have gone under the knife, there's no shame in ordinary mortals following suit, despite old Confucian teachings that altering the body disrespects one's parents.
Thousands of websites with hundreds of thousands of followers have sprung up recently, allowing devotees of cosmetic surgery to share tips on how to obtain the perfect body, discuss the most effective surgeries and post photos with queries about what they should have changed.
"I am now able to attract a boyfriend after undergoing a facial liposuction surgery," said an unnamed woman picked recently as "Plastic Surgery Queen of the Week" on the Yeowooya website(http://cafe.naver.com/feko), which has 550,000 followers and is the country's most popular such site.
"Can you see, my face is now narrower than before."
Her post attracted 500 comments from others seeking to emulate her -- and to find her surgeon.
"Please send me clinic information. I too want to have fat sucked out of my face," wrote one woman.
POPULAR PLASTIC SURGERY
According to The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (ISAPS), 770,913 plastic surgery procedures were carried out in 2010, putting South Korea seventh on a global list in terms of the total number of operations performed.
The most popular procedure is believed to be double eyelid surgery to make eyes look bigger and rounder, but an operation to produce a "small face," including liposuction and reconfiguring the jawbone, is the current fad.
Many high school girls choose to get surgery after sitting for their college entrance exams, and plastic surgery clinics launch aggressive advertising campaigns to attract more people, including "mother and daughter" surgery packages. Others offer two procedures for the price of one.
Still, concern has grown since 2008 when photos of a woman with a face ruined by a series of plastic surgeries appeared online, shocking the nation.
The state-run Korea Consumer Agency said the number of reported cases of side effects had surged to 4,043 in 2011, up from 1,698 in 2008.
"Many plastic surgeons only highlight the positive side of cosmetic surgery ... there have even been cases reported where doctors have had patients sign a consent form whilst on the operating table," said Kwon Seon-hwa, deputy manager at the consumer agency.
A rare poster campaign, "Against Plastic Surgery," was held in Seoul's ritzy Gangnam suburb, which has been dubbed the city's "beauty belt" due to the large number of clinics there.
But change will likely come at a slow pace.
Deeply rooted cultural factors such as placing a high value on appearance because people judge others quickly -- in line with a Korean propensity for haste -- may play a role, said Shin Young-chul, a psychiatrist at Kangbuk Samsung Hospital in Seoul.
"A growing income level and an accepting social atmosphere (for cosmetic surgery) allows more people to go under the knife," he said. "But this recent craze is definitely excessive." (Reporting By Eunjee Park; editing by Elaine Lies and Bob Tourtellotte)
Source: trust
* Pop star Goo Hara, a model for cosmetic surgery
* Aiming for "small faces" and big, round eyes
Put together the world's most wired country, a fascination with the lives of the young, rich and famous and a penchant for plastic surgery, and what do you have? A problem, some South Koreans say.
This affluent Asian country of 50 million people has the second largest number of plastic surgery operations in the world relative to the size of its population after Hungary, according to industry data, and the Internet is fanning the flame.
With Korean pop sensations such as Goo Hara from hit girl group KARA admitting they have gone under the knife, there's no shame in ordinary mortals following suit, despite old Confucian teachings that altering the body disrespects one's parents.
Thousands of websites with hundreds of thousands of followers have sprung up recently, allowing devotees of cosmetic surgery to share tips on how to obtain the perfect body, discuss the most effective surgeries and post photos with queries about what they should have changed.
"I am now able to attract a boyfriend after undergoing a facial liposuction surgery," said an unnamed woman picked recently as "Plastic Surgery Queen of the Week" on the Yeowooya website(http://cafe.naver.com/feko), which has 550,000 followers and is the country's most popular such site.
"Can you see, my face is now narrower than before."
Her post attracted 500 comments from others seeking to emulate her -- and to find her surgeon.
"Please send me clinic information. I too want to have fat sucked out of my face," wrote one woman.
POPULAR PLASTIC SURGERY
According to The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (ISAPS), 770,913 plastic surgery procedures were carried out in 2010, putting South Korea seventh on a global list in terms of the total number of operations performed.
The most popular procedure is believed to be double eyelid surgery to make eyes look bigger and rounder, but an operation to produce a "small face," including liposuction and reconfiguring the jawbone, is the current fad.
Many high school girls choose to get surgery after sitting for their college entrance exams, and plastic surgery clinics launch aggressive advertising campaigns to attract more people, including "mother and daughter" surgery packages. Others offer two procedures for the price of one.
Still, concern has grown since 2008 when photos of a woman with a face ruined by a series of plastic surgeries appeared online, shocking the nation.
The state-run Korea Consumer Agency said the number of reported cases of side effects had surged to 4,043 in 2011, up from 1,698 in 2008.
"Many plastic surgeons only highlight the positive side of cosmetic surgery ... there have even been cases reported where doctors have had patients sign a consent form whilst on the operating table," said Kwon Seon-hwa, deputy manager at the consumer agency.
A rare poster campaign, "Against Plastic Surgery," was held in Seoul's ritzy Gangnam suburb, which has been dubbed the city's "beauty belt" due to the large number of clinics there.
But change will likely come at a slow pace.
Deeply rooted cultural factors such as placing a high value on appearance because people judge others quickly -- in line with a Korean propensity for haste -- may play a role, said Shin Young-chul, a psychiatrist at Kangbuk Samsung Hospital in Seoul.
"A growing income level and an accepting social atmosphere (for cosmetic surgery) allows more people to go under the knife," he said. "But this recent craze is definitely excessive." (Reporting By Eunjee Park; editing by Elaine Lies and Bob Tourtellotte)
Source: trust
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Date: 2012-02-21 01:12 am (UTC)Your original point rested on the crux that a person should learn to accept the way they are instead of get cosmetic surgery. But in order for that argument to hold any water, then use of makeup would have to be included under it since the person is still trying to hide or minimize a perceived flaw rather than accept it.
There are people who believe surgery isn't worth the cost or effort, which is a perfectly valid opinion, but which has less to do with the whole appearance modification argument and more to do with where you draw the line. Which, as far as I am concerned, is another debate altogether.
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Date: 2012-02-21 01:46 am (UTC)i dont want to explain my point again & again because you obviously dont get it and im not in the mood for a discussion.
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Date: 2012-02-21 01:59 am (UTC)For future reference