My Mother Gave Birth to Me. The Plastic Surgeon Made Me

When Kpop began to gain popularity around the years of 2007-2008, plastic surgery also became a famous trend in South Korea. Before, plastic surgery was only used for medical reasons or to privately change their look but was kept secret from society. Now South Korea holds for being the world’s leading country in cosmetic surgery. Cosmetic surgery has long been widespread in South Korea. But until recently, it was something to keep quiet about. No longer[1]. It was not like this in the beginning, throughout Korean culture it was important to accept your body the way it is because your parents gave birth to you. When plastic surgery was low key traditional parents were against the idea of having their spouse change their appearance. As South Korea became, modernized younger generations went against Korean traditions. Rather few parents are still carrying Korean traditions hoping their spouses will not change their image. In Korean customs an identity conflict rooted in resistance to change and trying to keep the original identity of having a more “natural”look. Koreans being a more modern society there is a need for that extra “push” towards a new culture and out with the old ideals in this process which can create a clash between both groups because Koreans still want to hold their traditional values that have been passed down for centuries. Coming to a modern age plastic surgery became more normalized. 20 per cent of women between the ages of 19 and 49 in Seoul, the country’s capital city, admitted they had gone under the knife[2]. Yes, Kpop idols’ images are placed everywhere in the city of Seoul, but for the 20% of women going under the knife is it all influenced by Kpop idols? It is still debatable if Kpop idols are influencing the public to do plastic surgery.

Now, in contemporary South Korea the country is covered with plastic surgery ads in billboards, train stations, even flyers posted on lamp poles. Some researchers, such as Rando Kim, a professor at Seoul National University who teaches consumer science predicts Kpop idols have influenced the public to do plastic surgery; celebrities have helped to drive the trend, as they scramble to keep ahead of digital technology that mercilessly exposes not only their physical imperfections, but any attempts to remedy them[3]. He’s explaining how idols are displayed everywhere with media have contacted with the viewers by showing the top trend beauty appearances and exposing their secrets of having undergone plastic surgery. Dr. Rando Kim explained, wide-screen and high-definition TV put pressure on them to look good in close-ups…And with the Internet, where people like to post ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures, they can no longer hide it. So they go public, often talking proudly about it on TV[4]. This statement was given by Rando Kim a professor of consumer science how is he able to rely on one answer of stating Kpop idols being the major cause of plastic surgery. The statement of people of posting ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures on the Internet to view the new looks of Kpop idols new look done by plastic surgery are always posted on the media or web. Koreans might have used this chance when Kpop idols admit using plastic surgery to enhance on their personal looks. Seeing Kpop idol appreciating their new looks and not feeling shamed when their new face is shown to the Korean society.

There is no main evidence what might have started the plastic surgery era, but it is a trend that has been growing just for a couple of years. Until this day there still is an unanswered statement it just boomed in Korea with a big surprise. In the city of Seoul there is a district call Gangnam district and within that district that are many plastic surgery services that are available for costumers. JK Plastic Surgery Center has opened since 1989 and now it’s the largest plastic surgery clinics performing high quality services to their costumers. An average costumer might pay around $17,675* on a single visit. In their website JK has stated “JK will strive to become a global leader, representing the very best of Korean plastic surgery.” Also, other cosmetic surgery clinics such as, KMH (Korea Medical Hub), JW Plastic surgery, and BK Plastic Surgery all claim they perform the top “natural” look. These industries have grown a huge amount of money on plastic surgery that market is booming. Plastic surgery is not covered by insurance, so it makes it a bit difficult to gather data of how many Korean patients get plastic surgery. In the plastic surgery market the famous top three plastic surgery procedures in Korea are double eyelid surgery, lip suction surgery, and reconfiguration of the jawbone. Overall more than 5.8 million enhancements were performed in Asia during 2010, while just over 4.5 million procedures were carried out in the U.S the Economist revealed[5]. Plastic procedures that are common are labeled to be cheap like the double eyelid surgery cost to $1,000-1,200 dollars, and reconfiguration of the jawbone is set at a price at $10,000-15,000 dollars. The non- common plastic surgeries are very expensive.