Onscreen and offscreen plastic surgery in South Korea

I. Hallyu and the rise of plastic surgery

The Hallyu phenomenon, or the ‘Korean Wave’, has effectively swept across Asia, bringing South Korea’s entertainment products (such as television, film and music) to the shores of Japan, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand, just to name a few.

Plastic makes perfect. (2013, January 30). The Economist. Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2013/01/daily-chart-22

Cosmetic surgery soon became a popular by-product of the Korean wave, with various on screen and off screen representations and celebrity endorsements. South Korea also has the highest rate of cosmetic surgery done in the world, hitting a total of 649,938 in 2011, correlating to 13.3 procedures done for every 1000 residents.

Lee, H. (2013, October 10). Perfecting the face-lift, gangnam style. Bloomberg News. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-10-10/plastic-surgery-lifts-south-korean-tourism

Apart from fueling South Korean’s desires to go under the knife, medical tourism has greatly increased in the recent years as the massive Korean wave continues to sweep across Asia. According to the country’s health authorities, figures for medical tourism have increased to 15,428 in 2012, a fivefold increase since 2009. Estimates from the Korea Tourism Organization also reported 487 billion won revenue made by South Korea’s medical tourism industry in 2012, three times the amount than in 2009. (Lee, 2013)

II. Attitudes towards plastic surgery

Traditionally under the influence of Confucianism, Korea has long held the values of filial piety. Thus transforming one’s body is often seen as an unfilial act as our bodies are scared and given to us by our parents. With increasing globalization however, more are starting to accept the idea of plastic surgery. While many TV personalities continue to deny rumors about plastic surgery, more are becoming increasingly open about their surgeries. Despite that, celebrities who have not had cosmetic surgery is highly regarded and often praised as being a ‘natural beauty’. When traditional values meet new values and culture, Koreans become ambivalent towards cosmetic surgery.

In general however, attitudes towards plastic surgery in Korea have become increasingly positive. A straw poll in 2009 suggested that nearly 90% of Korean women would be willing to go under the knife to improve their looks. In fact, 58.2% of the respondents already had plastic surgery. These figures were a five-fold increase when compared to figures in a 2005 Gallup Korea poll. ("90% of korean," 2009)

The myriad of advertisements on billboards at subway stations also seem to suggest the increasing acceptance of plastic surgery. The billboards and pillars located at Apgujeong station- the affluent neighborhood at the heart of Gangnam, has many advertisements promoting well-known clinics that calls that neighbourhood home. The numerous advertisements on public spheres seem to suggest that plastic surgery is common and acceptable in today’s society, and encourages Koreans to follow the trend.

Plastic surgery ads in subway station:

According to Chae, (Chae, 2011), “beauty becomes a new standard of a woman’s value”. Investments to improve one’s looks through hair, makeup, clothes and plastic surgery has become an indicator of status and a desire for marriage to a partner of similar status- known by the Chinese saying as a couple being “门当户对”. Many Korean women say that the main reason for plastic surgery is to improve their job and marriage prospects, claiming that appearance is a key factor to success.

Further, the gift of plastic surgery from parents to children as graduation gifts also makes having plastic surgery a ‘rite of passage’ towards adulthood. While plastic surgery does reflect a person’s dissatisfaction with their physical appearance, the ‘symbolism of cosmetic surgery as a rite-of-passage gift clearly exceeds the goals of aesthetic correction per se.’ (Davies and Han, 2011) Undergoing plastic surgery thus becomes an act of entering adulthood, improving one’s status and encouraging family bonding. Taking advantage of this trend, clinics offer discounted surgery packages or free Botox injections to entice mothers to go under the knife together with their daughters. ("Students in korea," 2010)

Interestingly, some mothers go for plastic surgery not just to look better but to hide the truth of their daughter’s surgeries. (Hise, 2014) In order to pass their daughters off as ‘natural beauties’, these mothers are also undergoing surgery so as to conceal the truth from their future son-in-laws.From this, you can still see the prevalence of the underlying stigmatization and Korea's obsession about natural beauty, resulting in an ambivalent and conflicting attitude towards plastic surgery when traditional values means new culture.

III. Onscreen surgery

A. 200 Pounds Beauty

In the popular South Korean comedy, 200 Pounds Beauty, Kim Ah-joong plays Hanna, an overweight woman undergoes extensive plastic surgery from head to toe in order to transform herself to become a singer.

In a comedic way of presenting the society’s lookism, Hanna is constantly discriminated in the first half of the film where she shown being unable to get lifted off the bed by 3 grown man and falls through the stage floor due to her weight. When dressed in the same dress as Ammy, she received looks of disgust due to her size. This is further agonized when Ammy humiliates her in front of Sang-jun, the company’s director, whom Hanna has had a crush on.

In a bid to transform herself she undergoes surgery from head to toe. She adopts a new identity- Jenny and goes on to become a hit due to her powerful voice and newfound beauty. After realizing Sang-Jung’s dislike for plastic surgery however, she conceals her true identity from him and everyone around her. She then starts to form a romantic relationship with him.



Unfortunately, Sang-jun, discovers the truth and becomes cold and distant towards her, unable to forgive her for lying to him. She soon buckles under the pressure of concealing her secret and confesses to him. Through her public apology, she admits that her beauty is artificial and was punished for her choice to become beautiful. To her relieve, the crowd was moved by her honesty and accepts her.

In Kim Yong-hwa’s 200 Pounds Beauty, women who undergo plastic surgery are humorously portrayed in both Hanna and Jenna. While Hanna demonstrated the turmoil, humiliation and embarrassment suffered by many before surgery, Jenna showed the inner turmoil of coming to terms with one’s surgery, yet rejects the notion of being a ‘plastic beauty’ through her public atonement ritual. The concept of 'natural beauties' is shown once again in this movie where natural beauties are clearly more recognized.

The success of the film lies in its portrayal of Hanna’s despite the preconceived connotations about women who does surgery yet skillfully rejecting the notion of plastic beauties.

B. Let me in! (or Let 美人) 2011



Let me in is a Korean reality program that offers plastic surgeries to people who suffer from low self-esteem due to their appearances. The program claims to help people overcome their “aesthetic barriers” through surgery, and improve their quality of life through styling and makeup counseling as well as psychological therapy. The title uses the Chinese characters美人 which sounds like ‘me’ and ‘in’.

Contestants present their case and plead for a chance for surgery to a panel of judges who will then select the most suitable candidate (often based on who has the most pitiful case) for the makeover. In exchange for the free surgery, contestants have to waive all image rights for plastic surgery advertisements. This provides clinics and doctors a chance to promote themselves since plastic surgery TV commercials are banned, resulting in a ‘win-win’ situation for both parties.

The show often starts off with a slice of the participant’s life showing the turmoil, bullying, embarrassment and emotional pain received due to their looks.

After the reveal and the breakdown of the various costs, the participant is shown going back to her daily life and receiving various compliments from her friends with many of them failing to recognize her at the first glance. Some of her friends even commented on wanting to have surgery.

In a survey of online comments about the show (from youtube/Facebook) show a close battle between two opinions with 48% supporting the participant’s choice to undergo plastic surgery and 52% against it.

In this case it can be seen that more are positive towards such programs as compared to other media. Now in it’s 3rd season, the reality program’s success possibly lies in its ability to negotiate the cultural contradictions of altering’s one’s body by presenting the opportunities ahead and the acceptance of these ‘plastic beauties’ into the society in the last half of the show.

(https://www.facebook.com/pages/We-love-Let-Me-InKorean-Reality-TV-Show/286301908175693)

According to Charlotte and Patrick M. Markey, ‘individuals who have a positive impression of reality television shows featuring cosmetic surgery transformations are more likely to want to alter their bodies and faces using cosmetic surgery.’ (A correlational and experimental examination of reality television viewing and interest in cosmetic surgery) With the increase of cosmetic surgery reality programs such as America’s Extreme Makeover, Bridalplasty and Korea’s Let Me In (Let 美人),desires for plastic surgery are likely to increase.

IV. Offscreen surgery- Celebrity’s confessions on plastic surgery

Media has long been said to make strong influences on individual’s perceptions of beauty.

A celebrity’s plastic surgery influences people’s desires for surgery since it puts celebrity’s levels of beauty to a more seemingly attainable range- one can ‘buy’ such good looks as long as they’ve had plastic surgery or visit the same surgeons to have their surgeries done. Thus the confession of a celebrity’s plastic surgery procedure makes them more relatable in a way by making them appear more ordinary and vulnerable than we think.

As trainees in Korea, many are forced to do plastic surgery in order to make their debut and achieve further success in their careers. In 2012, 14 year old Shimali De Silva’s self-esteem was ripped to shreds when the young K-pop Star Hunt contestant was forced to go under the knife in order to achieve better success. While she refused, several other contestants opted for temporary cosmetic procedures such as nose fillers instead. (Lam and Kang, 2013)

While it is no surprise that many have to undergo painful procedures to be ready for their debut, a celebrity’s beauty origin is strangely, “more interesting than stories about their sex lives. If they do not seem to be natural beauties, people “hungrily chase their beauty to its origins.” (Chae, 2011). As one of the most connected countries in the world with 97% national broadband penetration (Davies and Han, 2011), internet has become the place for users to dig into a celebrity’s past archives in order to dig out old photos to speculate whether an artiste had done surgery before. Thus, some celebrities choose instead, to be honest about their surgery, even appearing in ads for clinics.

A. Shin Eun Kyung

One prime example is popular actress Shin Eun Kyung, who felt that she had to undergo the life threatening ‘V-face’ jaw surgery in order to shape her angled jaw and keep up with the baby face trend.

Her main reason for plastic surgery? To have greater access to more feminine acting roles.

Prior to the surgery, she was often passed up for roles despite her acting experience due to her strong image. With surgery, she felt that she would have more opportunities in the future. I can only imagine how frustrated she must have felt, having to resort to the painful surgery in order to get a better chance at younger, more feminine roles. Since then, she has gone on to become the model of White Dental Clinic, where she received the surgery and is set to star in a new film titled- ‘The reason that woman is different’.

Looking at various fan responses, Shin Eun Kyung’s surgery procedure was the most comprehensive on her Korean fan-site, which featured a large amount of information as well as photographs. Many of her Korean fans supported her decision and remarked that her surgery has made her younger and prettier. (http://blog.naver.com/PostView.nhn?blogId=weber21c&logNo=100136116294)

(https://www.facebook.com/KoreaDotCom/posts/151202574964652)

Comments on social media by international users and fans however were not so positive; with of them some saying that she didn't need the surgery although some mention that they could understand her decision due to the nature of the industry.

B. Brown Eyed Girls

Another prime example is the popular K-pop group, Brown Eyed Girls.

Unlike some other K-pop groups who had surgeries before their debut, the Brown Eyed Girls (BEG) had surgeries only after they made their debut. Thus, their transformation was visibly noticeable. Instead of hiding the truth from everyone however, they decided to come clean about their surgeries, and even did a parody about plastic surgery to the tune of Lady Gaga’s Poker face.

In the parody, the BEG questions how truthful people really are when asked about plastic surgery. The video provides interesting insights into the relationship Korea has with plastic surgery, by suggesting that many Korean girls has already gone for surgery but are still hiding the truths from their boyfriends. Plastic surgery ads were also shown in various public spheres such as the subways stations and streets at Gangnam and Apgujeong- areas where many plastic surgery clinics are located. Surrounded by plastic surgery ads, they dance as if mocking the irony of the situation. Throughout the video, they curse at their haters, and strut around with confidence- a result from the successful surgery. They also make the point that everyone ends up looking similar as an unfortunate result of plastic surgery. As more people visit doctors to alter their appearances according to society’s standards of beauty, it is not surprising that all of them will eventually look eerily similar to each other. Despite all that, opportunities seem to be there after surgery is done- with newfound confidence, BEG can continue to dominate charts.



Looking at the comments left several social media platforms (forums-allkpop, seoulbeats, jpopasia and youtube) about BEG’s plastic surgery, I created simple survey based on 60 responses and here are the results:

In general, most applauded BEG’s honesty in admitting to having surgery done. 53% of the comments were not supportive of them having surgery done. Personally, the users would not consider plastic surgery on themselves.

Like with most Koreans who did plastic surgery, Shin Eun Kyung and the Brown Eyed Girls claim that doing plastic surgery help give them better opportunities in the future. Despite that, it is interesting to note that comments by online users shows that increases in plastic surgeries done by celebrities does not necessarily equate to its social acceptance.

IV. Conclusion

As plastic surgery figures continue to rise, celebrities are starting to become more open about their surgeries, a major shift compared to a decade ago. Onscreen, it is interesting to see how the trend of enhancing one’s looks, through invasive procedures such as plastic surgery actually provides them with more opportunities. The lead characters become more socially acceptable and opportunities in work and love come steadily after their transformation. Offscreen, and in both Shin Eun Kyung and the Brown Eyed Girl’s case, plastic surgery was done as a mean to provide them with better opportunities in their careers.

Despite that, it can be seen that social acceptance of plastic surgery does not go hand-in hand with them. While plastic surgery on programs such as Let Me In has influenced some, many seem to protest when their favorite stars undergo surgery- or are exposed.

Although the increase in plastic surgery offscreen may not be directly linked to the increase in plastic surgery amongs Koreans, it can said that with surgery of these characters, new concepts of beauty continue to change and be re-evaluated, thus creating the need for Koreans in the society to meet that standard by resorting to plastic surgery.

Yet the ambivalent attitude of Koreans towards plastic surgery will still remain as the concept of 'natural beauty trumps all' remain.



References:

'Let me in' Reality show fan page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/We-love-Let-Me-InKorean-Reality-TV-Show/286301908175693

Plastic makes perfect. (2013, January 30). The Economist. Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2013/01/daily-chart-22

Lee, H. (2013, October 10). Perfecting the face-lift, gangnam style. Bloomberg News. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-10-10/plastic-surgery-lifts-south-korean-tourism

90% of korean women would have plastic surgery, poll shows. (2009, October 26). The Chosunilbo. Retrieved from http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/10/26/2009102600798.html

Students in korea rewarded with plastic surgery for getting good grades. (2010, November 22). Fox News. Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/health/2010/11/22/good-job-exam-kids-reward-plastic-surgery/

Hise, B. V. (2014, January 15). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.koreabang.com/2014/stories/mothers-get-plastic-surgery-to-look-more-like-their-daughters.html

Lam, L., & Kang, J. (2013, October 06). Hong kong k-pop contestant, 14, left in tears after organisers offer plastic surgery. South China Morning Post. Retrieved from http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1325416/k-pop-contests-plastic-surgery-offer-leaves-hong-kong-teenager-tears?page=all

Chae, J. (2011) "“Yes! I Had Cosmetic Surgery”: Celebrities' Comsmetic Surgery Confessions in the Media and Their Impact on Korean Female College Students' Perceptions.,"Proceedings of the New York State Communication Association: Vol. 2010, Article 4.
Available at: http://docs.rwu.edu/nyscaproceedings/vol2010/iss1/4

Davies, G. and Han, G. (2011) “Korean cosmetic surgery and digital publicity: Beauty by korena design,” Media International Australia

Honesty is the best policy for B.E.G and plastic surgery. (2012, December 12). Retrieved from http://seoulbeats.com/2012/12/honesty-is-the-best-policy-for-b-e-g-and-plastic-surgery/

The brown eyed girls and plastic surgery. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.allkpop.com/forums_post/allkpop/K-POP/the-brown-eyed-girls-and-plastic-surgery/page/1/of

Shin eun kyung reveals post surgery test photos. (2011, August 26). Retrieved from http://mwave.interest.me/enewsworld/en/article/144/shin-eun-kyung-reveals-post-surgery-test-photos

Life After Plastic. (2013, March 4). Retrieved from http://seoulbeats.com/2013/03/life-after-plastic/

Cho, J. (2012, June 21). 'Baby-face' trend puts added pressure on korean women. Korea Joongang Daily. Retrieved from http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2954763