Tag Archives: CNN

Plastic Surgery and BDD in Korea

South Korean is well-known of its plastic surgery industry, a research shows that the asian country has the highest per capita rate of plastic surgery operations done in the world. Most of the non-invasive surgeries focus on the skin and hair, while the invasive ones focus on face and hair. With its reputation, annually, more than 80,000 of tourists who openly express undergoing plastic surgery as a travel purpose visit Korea.

Image

What exactly makes Korea the plastic surgery mecca?

K-POP
The rise of K-POP is a powerful Korean consumer culture that equates Korean women’s beauty with professional and economic success. K-POP has created a completely new beauty aesthetic that “nods to Caucasian features but doesn’t replicate them.” A 16 year-old school girl from South Korea, huge fan of Girls Generation and WonderGirls,  claims that “pretty is a small head, big eyes, and high nose and forehead”.

Image

Culture
South Korea is a place where changing the shape of your nose or eyes is as common as ordering a burger. Clustered in the Gangnam district, before-and-after advertisements can’t be unseen in subways and billboards. As reported, it is very common for parents give their daughters cosmetic surgery as a graduation and birthday gift.

Price
The booming market has made procedures more affordable for consumers than ever. “An average — not excellent — face-lift in the United States will set you back about US$10,000,” a Korean surgeon told CNN. “But in Korea you can get the same service for US$2,000 or US$3,000.”

BDD in Korea
Research from the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons shows that body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) appears in about 33% of patients who’ve undergone plastic surgery to alter the look of their noses. In Korea, rhinoplasty is one of the most popular procedures, as the Koreans believe that a lifted nose is a sign of attractiveness. Many patients with BDD expected that plastic surgery is the way out, but ultimately, it worsen the illness with even more obsession and dissatisfaction.

Korean model Hang Mioki underwent so many procedures that doctors refused to perform further operations on her face. Frustrated and desperate, the model injected cooking oil into her face for the skin’s smoothness and tenderness. Leaving her with a disfigured face, she then decided to seek help from psychologists, who later diagnosed her as having severe BDD.

***This link shows the disturbing image of her distorted face, be prepared:
(http://www.entremujeres.com/belleza/estetica/Hang-Mioku-desfigurada-Fotos-DailyMail_MUJIMA20130516_0040_6.jpg)