✩ Korean Beauty Standards✩

DISCLAIMER: This blog is part of my extended project qualification that mostly fixates around 'Korean beauty standards', including topics such as cosmetic surgery. Most of these posts will be public opinions sourced from articles and just general musings on the subject, so please take some of this information with a pinch of salt. Opinions on these sort of things are subjective. The people of Korea can't all be tarred with the same brush, so this just shows a small percentage of the country, generalizing is a thing I would like to avoid. Thank you for taking an interest!

[drugballad-deactivated20240821]

Burning (2018) Dir. Lee Chang-dong

[spacecadet]

Korean plastic surgeons are magicians. 

[kpsurgery-blog]

:0 I was actually going to post this like a month ago, but I thought you guys wouldn’t care. But apparently this got popular.

Basically it’s a “back head” implant meant for people who feel like the shape of their heads are too flat.

It roudens the shape of the skull for a fuller look. It may look odd but everyone has their insecurities, or things they want to improve.

The surgery is gender neutral so it’s done both sexes.

[skhealth]

As technology improves, Plastic surgery is getting cheaper, safer, excellent, and more popular around the world wide. Now where Korean plastic surgery is it catching on faster than past and day by day more women charmed in plastic surgery. It has become so common in the Korea that most of the...

[kpsurgery-blog]

FaceLine Plastic Surgery

Korean Plastic Surgery

Video

[cosmetickorea]

The cost of beauty

101 East delves into Korea's plastic surgery craze and uncovers the real price of pursuing physical perfection. Subscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubs...

[cosmetickorea]

Links about Surgery and Beauty

Holliday, Ruth., & Elfving-Hwang, Joanna. (2012). Gender, Globalization and Aesthetic Surgery in South Korea. Body & Society 18(2): 58-81

Jung, Jahee. & Forbes, Gordon. (2008). Measures Based on Sociocultural Theroy and Feminist Theory as Predictors of Multidimensional Measures of Body Dissatisfaction Among Korean and U.S. College Women. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 27(1): 70-103

Lee, Sharon Heijin.(2012). The Geopolitics of Beauty: Race, Transnationalism, and Neoliberalism in South Korean Beauty Culture. Doctorate Thesis.

Mok, Teresa (1998). Asian Americans and Standards of Attractiveness: What’s in the Eye of the Beholder?. Cultural Diversity and Mental Health. 4(1): 1-18

Riggs, Lauren E., (2012) The Globalization of Cosmetic Surgery: Examining BRIC and Beyond. Master Thesis.Paper 33.

Swami, Viren. et al. (2010) The Attractive Female Body Weight and Female Body Dissatisfaction in 26 Countries Across 10 World Regions: Results of the International Body Project. Pers Social Psychology Bulletin. 36(3): 309-325

[cosmetickorea]

Taboo Subject

Although surgery in Korea is in no way a secret, (with there being large advertisements scattering the subway walls, subtle advertisements in the form of drinks commercials, that kind of thing) it’s still sort of seen as a taboo subject, especially when the topic is brought up among idols (notable people of status, be that from singing, acting, stage shows or any other form of medium in which they are exposed to the public). Most will outright deny they have had surgery when pressured for an answer, as natural beauty appears to be praised more than cosmetic beauty. But even so, as there appears to be a certain ‘look’ you need to aim for in Korea, if you don’t have it naturally, you will be looked down upon, so really, you’re fighting a losing battle. (As there is a lot more to it than this, you can read more about this in the Korean Beauty Standards section).  

Moreover, if it is painfully obvious that the idol has had surgery, they are then forced to admit to it, which then becomes bait for the netizens and is then used against them as a method of attack.

[cosmetickorea]

The Problems with Plastic Surgery

The problem was NOT his FACE. The problem was his MIND. He was addicted to plastic surgery.

[cosmetickorea]

interesting comment I found

Some thirty five years ago South Korea was still a dirt poor country trying to fight its way up the value chain, with its people's priorities set on putting food on the table rather than saving money for a double eyelid operation for their daughter, or getting a higher-spec'ed computer so that their son can get better at Starcraft.

The changes of three decades are astounding.

But accompanying changing spending habits and increased wealth is a rapid transformation of social values. Like other East Asian societies it has become hopelessly materialistic, money-driven, face-based, and high-context. People say things and mean something totally different. Navigating this cultural maze is bound to be challenging for outsiders. Moreover, these societies are insular, bent on a philosophy of racial purity and superiority, and generally ignorant of the outside world.

There is a legitimate question to be asked about the ethics of plastic surgery, insofar as it begins to alter the definition of reality. Is what I'm seeing in front of me really you, or is it just an idealized image of you? If altering one's appearance to get ahead in life is considered acceptable, it legitimizes a host of other questionable practices about altering one's life to suit a new reality. In Japan there is already a budding industry for people to hire a fake entourage of in-laws to weddings to make the impression on that the family is harmonious.

Where do you draw the line?

Jeremy Wong Fischer

http://www.economist.com/comment/1380345#comment-1380345

[cosmetickorea]

The Issues With Plastic Surgery

Due to the high amount of advertising, people are beginning to think that plastic surgery is becoming a commodity, that it’s something everyone gets. They don’t think about how it’s a serious surgery that can alter your entire being, but just something you can just get willy-nilly that isn’t that big of a deal. With this mindset, people are becoming more careless and not considering the risks of everything involved. Because of this, more unqualified people are taking major advantage. When wanting to get plastic surgery, it’s important to do thorough research and to not dive into the most cheapest option, as even though it might be value for money at the time, it can lead to costing thousands in the aftermath. Also, with such cheap and easy access to surgery in Korea, it’s so easy to become obsessed with it. It can become like an addiction.

Another issue some people have with it is that if two people who have had plastic surgery were to get married and have children, the children would be born with the issues both people had in the first place. But this is an issue that is more relevant to the parents than the people around them.

[cosmetickorea]

Non surgical procedures

Double Eyelid Tape

Double eyelid tape is a cheaper, non permanent alternative to double eyelid surgery. It's mostly common among high school students (in particular, girls) and people who are hesitant to have the surgery. 

Double eyelid tape is used to create the illusion of the double eyelid, a feature that is popular in a lot of different countries, in this case, Southeast Asia. Although a lot of people do have double eyelids naturally, there are people who have monolids that want to achieve the same effect. 

Another alternative is eyelid glue, which some may argue is more effective than the tape as it's less noticeable when it's dry, but can cause complications when you want to apply stuff over the top, i.e. makeup. 

People are still trying to find more effective ways of creating the double eyelid illusion, including the eyelid trainer listed in the last photo. I believe they are trying to say that if you keep using this device, your eyelids will 'train' themselves into staying that shape. It's quite an interesting invention and I would be intrigued to know if it has worked for anyone in the long term. 

Monolid - Monolid refers to the fold of the lid over the eye. If there is no 'fold', you have a monolid. But if there is a fold, you may have a double eyelids.  The archaic term for the monolid is the Epicanthic fold. (Also the mongoloid fold, but this has negative connotations nowadays and is very un-PC) It occurs most commonly in East Asians, Southeast Asians, Central Asians, Indigenous Americans, the San people,Berbers, Inuit and "occasionally in Europeans (e.g., Scandinavians and Poles). (citation here) 

  http://clubimg.auction.co.kr/clubimg/cafe/wizwig/2009/09/27/2009092720065083734184998.jpg

http://www.prettyandcute.com/images/products/43268.jpghttp://image.dhgate.com/albu_359333026_00/1.0x0.jpg

[cosmetickorea]

Different categories for my website/brochure.

I have decided that I want my final design to be presented in both online and offline form. For this, I will submit reviewed and altered edits of all the posts that I have put on this account and arrange them into sub categeories. For my brochue, I will include a contents page and then put everything under their respectful sub-headings.

Here is an example of some of the categories I will be using:

- History of Plastic Surgery

- Statistics

- Influences

-Types of Surgery

- Reasons (?) [Unsure of this one]

- Vocabulary

[cosmetickorea]

How has Korean media shaped the views on plastic surgery? [Warning: Possible spoilers below.]

As an avid movie fan, I enjoy watching a range of different movies, especially Korean ones. I discovered a few movies that actually fit with my topic of plastic surgery and thought I would analyse them, trying to think of how the Korean public may have reacted to it and how this may influence their mindset regarding the topic of plastic surgery. 

The first movie I found is highly popular on youtube. Being on such a popular platform means it could be reaching out to more than just Korean people, but also people from all over the world. The name of the films is 미녀는 과로우 [ Minyeoneun gwaro-oo] or the english titles: 200 Pounds Beauty.

The film is about an overweight women called Hanna who has a beautiful singing voice, but is a backing singer for a celebrity who lip syncs her own lyrics. She is too afraid of her looks to go out and be her own person, and overhears other people talking about how she can't be a singer because of her weight. This encourages her to get in touch with a plastic surgeon and to undergo head-to-toe surgery.

She makes a speech about how 'she does not want to undergo surgery merely to be beautiful, but for the sake of love and as a boost in confidence.' This speech could probably connect a lot of Korean people who may have the same outlook on surgery. Although you would think that the moral of the story is: "You can change what you look like on the outside, but it's what is on the inside that counts". this doesn't necessarily seem to be the case as Hanna appears to be content with her final look and goes on to be successful, subtly suggesting that by having surgery, you will be successful.

Following the whole 'weight' issue (which can also be linked to surgery as a lot of people do undergo weight-related surgery such as calf reduction/stomach fat reduction, etc.), there are a few movies that do infer that weight and measurements are important in today's society. In the korean film, "Baby and Me", right at the beginning there is a part where two men are analysing women whilst a 'body scanner' shows how 'thin' their waist is. All the thin women are depicted as looking happy and confident whilst the larger women is shown to be a bit sloppier looking, even showing her weight on the screen (82kg). One of the characters acts slightly negatively towards her, which can suggest that there is a negative attitude towards women of larger size.*

Also, movies such as 시간 (Shi-gan i.e. Time), where the lead girl has extreme surgery because she is scared that her partner will get bored of her.

(Will edit more about this movie when I have watched it, as I haven't watched it yet.)

http://st.kp.yandex.net/images/film_iphone/iphone360_373093.jpg

http://asianwiki.com/images/b/b9/200poundsbeauty.jpg

*Disclaimer: this is not necessarily the case but it's just an assumption based on reactions and tone of the film.

[cosmetickorea]

My Final Product: The website

I decided a while ago that the outcome of this blog will be a website that looks more professional and allows you to navigate to different sections to find out the different subject areas of the topic. More recently, I was contemplating whether to put two different language versions of the website: a Korean one and an English one.

I thought of this because if the information about Korea was written in Korean, this would allow Koreans to see from a different point of view and might be interesting to read.

Obviously, this could become a problem because of cultural aspects, some of the information posted and the extra comments I may make could be seen as offensive or insulting to their country (which I would never intend to do.) and would have a negative outlook.

After I have finished creating the English version, I will consider the pros and cons of this option before I start to make it.

[jiuzhu]

4/∞ inspirational quotes

[jellythingy]

쌍거풀의힘 the power of double eyelids (not me)