South Korea’s plastic surgery trends
Whether you call it cosmetic surgery or plastic surgery, the aim is the same – to alter appearance significantly. You might think that this is relatively rare, or that only the rich and famous go under the surgeon’s knife, however you only have to head over to South Korea to see that plastic surgery has gone mainstream, with a study showing that in Seoul, the capital, one in five women have had plastic surgery.
Lionesse believes that it’s quite a jaw-dropping figure.
It’s not just women who are getting in on the action either, as there are plenty of male-only clinics popping up, all hoping to get rid of what they consider imperfections, and find their ideal partner. Beauty is considered important in South Korea, and it’s not unusual to find young girls undergoing procedures, in order to rid themselves of what they consider to be a too-wide jaw, or too-small eyes. Some parents even encourage their daughters to undergo surgery.
Whilst in the Western world it’s often seen as a raised eyebrow look when someone has a procedure done, or a secret, in South Korea, it’s a status symbol, as common as going to buy a new outfit or a new pair of shoes. You will find advertisements everywhere, all offering procedures for less of a price tag than you will find in the USA or UK.
The common trends are obviously facial, and a double lids procedure is probably the most requested form of plastic surgery at the current time. There are certain procedures which are so common they are considered to be the first port of call for a visit to a plastic surgery clinic – namely a smaller nose, bigger eyes, the aforementioned double lids, and a ‘v’ shape to the chin. Another relatively popular and newer procedure is double jaw surgery. Sounds a little invasive, and it certainly is; this is where the upper and lower jaws are cut and shaped to be thinner, giving that ‘v’ shape we were talking about earlier.
Cosmetic surgeries which are more common in more western areas, such as breast enlargements, aren’t as popular in South Korea, although still offered. In South Korea it appears to be all about the face. Due to this rising popularity of cosmetic procedures, women in this area often see themselves as a failure, or ugly, if they don’t conform to the standards seen on the TV or on the many billboards around the towns and cities, especially Seoul, where you will not struggle to find a doctor to perform your procedure.
It’s astonishing to realise the scale of this plastic surgery revolution, and South Korea has now become what can be only be described as a serious hot spot for cosmetic surgery. Those individuals who are able to travel to the country to take advantage of the lower price tag for cosmetic surgery are now doing so more and more often, meaning plastic surgery holidays are becoming a very real trend of the here and now.
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