{"id":75002,"date":"2019-11-10T20:13:20","date_gmt":"2019-11-10T20:13:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essays.homeworkacetutors.com\/plastic-surgery-and-contemporary-beauty-standards-in-south-korea\/"},"modified":"2019-11-10T20:13:20","modified_gmt":"2019-11-10T20:13:20","slug":"plastic-surgery-and-contemporary-beauty-standards-in-south-korea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/plastic-surgery-and-contemporary-beauty-standards-in-south-korea\/","title":{"rendered":"Plastic Surgery and Contemporary Beauty Standards in South Korea"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

BRIEF INTRODUCTION<\/h2>\n

South Korea: a bustling, highly developed
\ncountry known for its technological advanced innovations, eccentric pop
\nartists, and its highly-motivated people that have shifted the atmosphere and
\neconomy of their homeland from one of poverty and agriculture to the economic
\npowerhouse it is today. It seems to stand, however, that a combination of all
\nthree factors have led to something else\u2013the rise of the plastic surgery
\nindustry. <\/p>\n

New technologies in facial reconstruction has
\ngiven medical professionals the ability to alter one\u2019s physical characteristics
\nin cheaper, more efficient ways. The rise of social media has led to a
\nconsumerist culture in which fans worship the hundreds of celebrities who have
\nsuccessfully infiltrated the entertainment industry, in part because of their
\nidealistic physical appearances. And competition to rise above one\u2019s peers to
\ncompete for the same jobs and standing in society means that a perfect resume
\nis no longer enough. <\/p>\n

Since
\nwhen did the standard of beauty in Korea become so high, and how has the rise
\nof the plastic surgery industry led to even higher beauty standards in this
\npositive feedback loop?<\/em><\/p>\n

DESCRIPTION OF TOPIC<\/h2>\n

Physical appearance is a crucial aspect of social life<\/a> in South Korean society. But what are some of the most prevalent and most desirable beauty standards? While some may be shared by many Westernized cultures, such as a slim body, outsiders might find certain traits unusually specific. These include pale skin, a V-line face shape, round eyes, the presence of double-eyelids (or epicanthic folds), a high nose bridge, small lips, a small face, and aegyo sal<\/em>, which are bags of fat under the eyes that supposedly add to a more youthful appearance. A combination of these attributes may mean that one is labeled with the unique neologism of momjjang <\/em>(perfect body) or ulzzang <\/em>(perfect face), lest be considered to be a part of the miyong hawui kyegup<\/em> (\u201ca cosmetic underclass\u201d) and ruin your chances of success in the future (Gelezeau 2015).<\/p>\n

While such characteristics might
\nbe assumed originally to be those attributed to female, Korean men are
\nsubjected to similar or the same standards of beauty; thus, this increase in
\naesthetic surgery rates is also applied to Korean men (Holiday, Elfving-Hwang
\n2012). There is even a popular term for these so-called \u201cbeautiful\u201d men: \u201ckkot-minam,<\/em>\u201d which literally translates
\nto \u201cbeautiful flower boys\u201d. While in other Westernized cultures such \u201cbeauty\u201d
\nand even the notion of cosmetic surgery might be attributed to femininity and,
\nin turn, \u201ccarry connotations of gay sexuality\u201d (Holiday, Elfving-Hwang 2012),
\nthis is not the case in South Korea\u2014as a result, \u201cKorean men in their twenties
\nand thirties are more predisposed to cosmetic surgery than Western men\u201d
\n(Holiday, Elfving-Hwang 2012). <\/p>\n

There is a procedure for nearly all the \u201ccomponents of beauty\u201d mentioned previously, and plastic surgery continues to become more normalized in South Korean society. The most popular surgeries are, respectively, (1) blepharoplasty (double eyelids), (2) rhinoplasties (nose), and (3) jaw reshaping (Holiday, Elfving-Hwang 2012, 60). As \u201cpublic attitudes towards aesthetic surgery in Korea become increasingly positive\u201d (Holiday, Elfving-Hwang 2012, 60), children as young as middle school and high school are undergoing procedures to physically alter their appearances. The statistics are telling: the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery reports that \u201cSouth Korea has the highest rates of plastic surgery<\/a> procedures per capita\u201d (Park 2018), and the New Yorker \u201cestimates that between one-fifth and one-third of women in Seoul have gone under the knife\u201d (Marx 2015). <\/p>\n

DESCRIPTION OF SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/h2>\n

The structuralist perspective of society is \u201cthe view that there are social structures that shape how individuals think and act\u201d (Lecture #1, 8\/7\/18). It is considered a \u201ctop-down view\u201d in which society exists outside the mind of the individual, who is a passive entity dictated by the social structure in which he\/she lives in. Social control enforces both written (such as laws and contracts) and unwritten rules (also known as social norms, such as etiquette), maintaining order and the current social structure. In South Korea, where an individual\u2019s image is an overwhelmingly important aspect of the public and private spheres, one of the most pervasive and impactful methods of social control are those such as \u201cpersuasion, ridicule, gossip, opprobrium, and ostracism\u201d (Berger 1963, pg. 73) though it can be argued that economic pressures are closely linked to physical appearance, considering the consideration of one\u2019s appearance when applying for prospective jobs. <\/p>\n

Social norms in South Korea revolving around
\nappearance also add to a beauty-obsessed society. Whereas in America the phrase
\n\u201cIf you can\u2019t say anything nice, don\u2019t
\nsay anything nice at all<\/em>\u201d continues to be an important theme of polite
\nmannerisms, Koreans often comment on each other\u2019s facial and physical
\n\u201cdeficiencies\u201d. One journalist writes, \u201cRemarks from relatives, such as \u2018You
\nwould be a lot prettier if you just had your jaw tapered,\u2019 are considered no
\nmore insulting than \u2018You\u2019d get a lot more for your apartment if you redid the
\nkitchen\u2019\u201d (Marx 2015). Professor Valerie Gelezeau of EHASS in Paris observes
\nthat this action is \u201cnot considered impolite; on the contrary, it is a duty
\nthat must be performed to help the friend in question to do something to
\nimprove his\/her physical appearance\u201d (Gelezeau 2015). <\/p>\n

APPLICATION
\nOF PERSPECTIVE TO TOPIC<\/h2>\n

South Korea is known for its highly rigorous educational standards, with students in high school studying for an average of 13 hours per day in hopes of scoring well on the CSAT, a nationally standardized exam administered once-a-year that could land you admission into one of the prestigious SKY (Seoul University, Korea University, Yonsei University) universities. Competition between students in school is especially intensive due to an education system along with cultural norms that promotes a ranking system, and students consequently growing up comparing themselves to their peers. <\/p>\n

How
\ndoes this culture of competition within the education system relate to South
\nKorea\u2019s obsession for beauty? <\/em><\/p>\n

This rigorous and cut-throat system has led to a
\nsociety that boasts a 98% high school graduation rate and \u201cthe highest
\npercentage of 25-34-year-olds with tertiary education at 70%\u201d (OECD 2018). With
\nso many motivated college graduates seeking for a limited number of college
\ndegree-level jobs, how can individuals gain a competitive edge over their
\npeers? The answer seems to be in physical appearance. In Korea, applicants to
\njobs are required to attach photos of themselves to their resumes\u2014which is then
\nscrutinized and used to assess each candidate. Holiday and Elfving-Hwang cites
\nrecruitment agency JobKorea, who \u201cfound that 80 percent of recruitment
\nexecutives considered the physical appearance of a candidate \u2018important\u2019, and a
\n2006 study found that there was a perception among high school students that
\nappearance would often be considered of greater importance than abilities and
\nskills in hiring decisions\u201d (Holiday, Elfving-Hwang, 2012). <\/p>\n

The plastic surgery obsession ties in with
\ntraditional Confucianist values that are still very relevant in many Asian
\nsocieties. Psychology Professor Eunkook Suh of Yonsei University writes that \u201ca
\nlot of people hold an incremental theory versus an entity theory about a
\nperson\u2019s potential\u201d (Marx 2015). According to these values, anything can be
\nimproved if you work hard enough. In the same vein, because physical beauty is
\nsomething that can be attained, not having certain characteristics of the ideal
\nbeauty such as perfect skin and a slim body become associated with laziness\u2014a
\ntrait that diverges from the hard-working society that transformed itself from
\npoverty to riches within the last half-century, and therefore, not looked
\nfavorably upon by those looking to hire employees. It seems, therefore, that
\nbeauty is just one more thing for individuals to invest in in order to thrive
\nin the competitive culture that is integrated into so many facets of Korean
\nsociety. <\/p>\n

Furthermore, with the rise of
\nthe Korean entertainment industry and the widespread use of social media, beauty
\nis constantly emphasized. Where most Western artists and entertainers are
\ncelebrated for their musical talents or ability to perfectly capture a
\ncharacter on the screen, beauty is an absolute standard that needs to be
\nattained in order to be successful. Author Keith Howard observes in his 2006
\ncommentary on the subject, \u201cin the Korean pop music scene, music itself was of
\nminute importance compared with the style and image of the singers\u201d (p.106).
\nFor the flashy mainstream KPOP idols that have only recently started to gain
\nattention in Western media, it is difficult to succeed in the with only musical
\ntalent\u2014many are pressured to undergo plastic surgery before debut in order to
\nfit what is deemed attractive, lest suffer at the hands of unforgiving Korean
\nnetizens (aka \u201cinternet citizens\u201d). <\/p>\n

The booming plastic surgery
\nindustry has led to the establishing of thousands of clinics throughout the
\ncountry, all claiming that they hold the power to transform one\u2019s physical
\nappearance into that of their favorite celebrity. The competition between the
\nplastic surgery clinics themselves to gain more customers for this growing
\nindustry propels the development of advanced techniques at affordable prices
\nthat has attracted people all over the world; in this way, capitalism plays a
\nlarge role. <\/p>\n

BRIEF
\nCONCLUSION<\/h2>\n

South Korea\u2019s obsession for perfection has led to an obsession with physical appearance\u2014and with that plastic surgery has become the main means of attaining what was previously unattainable. As writer put it, \u201cplastic surgery is integrated into daily life\u201d\u2014a fact that becomes apparent as one walks down the subway lines with advertisements for clinics lining the walls, or observes parents \u201cgifting their children some form of surgery after they finish their national college entrance or watches shows like \u201cLet Me In\u201d that \u201ccapitalize[s] on the pain and angst of everyday patients to showcase the wonders of plastic surgery\u201d (Ho 2018). <\/p>\n

References<\/h2>\n