In this blog post, we’ll explore what plastic surgery means in a society where physical appearance is seen as a competitive advantage, and how we can view the pursuit of beauty and societal perceptions of plastic surgery.
There’s a saying: “If the price is the same, choose the better option.” This means that if two options cost the same, you should choose the better one—a principle that applies well to almost every aspect of life. When grocery shopping, we compare items with similar prices before making a choice; when selecting appliances or cell phones, we spend a considerable amount of time weighing price, performance, and design before deciding. Regrettably, in South Korea today, this logic is applied similarly not only to products but also to people’s appearances. While ethics classes teach us that appearance and ability should be treated as separate issues, reality seems to tell a different story. In a 2011 survey conducted by JobKorea among 112 HR managers at domestic companies, 90.2% responded that a job applicant’s appearance influenced hiring decisions. Of course, since this survey is quite old, it’s difficult to view it as a direct reflection of today’s hiring culture; however, it does illustrate the social climate at the time, in which appearance was perceived as a crucial factor in the job market. There was a prevailing belief that appearance equated to competitiveness and that, to succeed in the job market, one must not neglect one’s appearance.
Of course, people do not groom their appearance solely for the sake of competition. Spending over an hour wandering through a department store to buy pretty clothes can be a source of joy, and looking in the mirror to admire a stylish new hairstyle can bring a sense of self-satisfaction. However, in South Korean society, grooming one’s appearance seems to have become more of an obligation than a source of such self-satisfaction. To the extent that the term “job-hunting plastic surgery” has emerged, the number of people undergoing plastic surgery to secure employment has increased.
Although I began this discussion of appearance with the issue of employment, this problem is not limited to job seekers alone. In the past, claims that South Korea had the highest rate of plastic surgery per capita in the world—based on data from the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS)—were widely reported. However, we should not apply those historical data and figures directly to the current situation. According to the 2024 survey—the most recent data released by ISAPS—approximately 38 million cosmetic surgeries and non-surgical procedures were performed by board-certified plastic surgeons worldwide, with country-specific data presented primarily for nations where sufficient survey responses were obtained. While the latest survey shows that South Korea is among the countries with a large number of board-certified plastic surgeons, it does not present the same type of up-to-date data that would allow us to simply compare the number of plastic surgery procedures per 1,000 people—as was done in the past—and conclude that South Korea ranks first in the world. However, South Korea’s plastic surgery market and the high level of interest in cosmetic medicine remain widely recognized internationally, and due to strong demand and advancements in hospitals and surgical techniques, many international patients travel to South Korea to undergo plastic surgery. It has become so common to find people who have undergone plastic surgery—to the point that the term “Plastic Surgery Republic” has emerged—and as this culture has developed, there are also many who criticize it. Discussions regarding the need to restrict or regulate plastic surgery advertisements have also continued steadily. Is plastic surgery really a bad thing?
The pursuit of beauty is neither a phenomenon unique to South Korea nor a recent development. Since the times of ancient Egypt and Rome, humans have created and used cosmetics and adorned themselves with various accessories. Since then, through diverse makeup techniques and tools developed in both the East and West, people have applied various forms of makeup to align with ever-changing standards of beauty. These methods have evolved from simply applying powder to the face to the development of various techniques, such as false eyelashes and mascara.
Advances in science and technology have also had a profound impact on the ways people pursue beauty. As chemical technology advanced, methods were developed to produce pigments with reduced or no heavy metal content, making cosmetics safer to use and enabling a wider range of colors for more diverse makeup looks. As productivity increased through the Industrial Revolution, cosmetics spread from being the exclusive domain of a select few aristocrats to becoming products accessible to the general public, allowing more people to pursue beauty. Beyond this, tools were developed to enable more precise makeup application, and skincare products designed to prepare the skin before makeup were introduced; the scope of cosmetics has broadened significantly, now encompassing anti-aging and comprehensive skincare. Advances in medicine, in harmony with developments in science and technology, introduced a new method for pursuing beauty: plastic surgery. Originally developed to treat new types of injuries that emerged alongside the progress of civilization, plastic surgery later took on the additional purpose of aesthetics. Unlike in the past, when people would conceal or cover up features they disliked as much as possible, it is now possible to undergo surgery to transform one’s appearance to better match one’s ideal image and pursue a more attractive look.
The South Korean people’s desire for beauty is immense. Turn on the TV to watch a drama, and you’ll see the protagonist—who is supposed to be poor—wearing clothes from a different sponsor every episode. When the drama ends, a famous actress appears to endorse cosmetics. Home shopping channels sell cosmetics, jewelry, and clothing all day long, promoting items as “about to sell out,” and online stores also sell the very clothes featured in the dramas. Wherever you look, the path to beauty is wide open. However, few would criticize this phenomenon as an extreme form of appearance-obsession. Applying makeup and buying nice clothes to enhance one’s appearance is widely accepted as perfectly normal. No one would view this pursuit of beauty as unnatural or worthy of criticism. Yet, plastic surgery, in particular, faces a great deal of negative scrutiny. Some even argue that it creates “artificial beauty,” that everyone looks the same, or that it should be banned due to severe side effects.
A single photo once sparked heated debate on an overseas online community. Controversy arose over photos of the 20 finalists in the 2013 Daegu Miss Korea pageant, with the main criticism being that they all looked identical. Such criticism has been around in South Korea for quite some time as well. Critics argue that the faces of actresses appearing on TV are so similar that they’ve even sparked jokes suggesting they’re sisters from the same plastic surgery clinic—a sign of a highly homogenized image. It’s claimed that plastic surgery is the cause of this standardized beauty. However, this is merely a trend; plastic surgery itself is not the root cause of the problem. From clothing, shoes, and personal style to even starting a business, South Korea is extremely sensitive to trends. Trendy fashions are so prevalent that funny photos of people wearing identical outfits on a single street have even been circulating. When a restaurant gains popularity due to unique food or business practices, imitation establishments spring up nationwide almost immediately. Cosmetic surgery is no different from this phenomenon. It is not cosmetic surgery that has led to a loss of individuality and a homogenized standard of beauty; rather, people have turned to cosmetic surgery to conform to pre-established standards of beauty. Cosmetic surgery has merely become a tool—it is not the root cause. Just as people choose trendy clothes, they choose trendy nose shapes.
When the story of the “Fan Lady” was broadcast on TV, there was a lot of discussion for a while about the addictive nature of plastic surgery. The idea is that once someone becomes more attractive after a single procedure, they cannot forget that sense of satisfaction and end up undergoing surgery repeatedly; side effects that weren’t apparent after just one or two procedures gradually accumulate, eventually reaching a point of no return. While you can return clothes and shoes you bought by mistake, and the recovery process from alcohol dependence can begin the moment you stop drinking, plastic surgery is much harder to reverse once performed. If side effects occur after multiple procedures, you may never be able to return to your original state. This is why many people criticize the risks of plastic surgery. Of course, while the issues stem from cosmetic surgery, the blame cannot be placed solely on the surgery itself. Ultimately, it is the patient who chooses to undergo the surgery, and if they chose to proceed despite knowing that the risk of side effects could be high, this may be the result of an excessive obsession with beauty. However, since cosmetic surgery is a medical procedure, its risks cannot be taken lightly simply because it is a personal choice; sufficient information and careful judgment are necessary.
Even without cosmetic surgery, criticism of the culture of appearance-obsession would not have disappeared. Criticism of excessive consumption and dependence on luxury goods would still have arisen, and the social atmosphere that places a high value on beauty would have been condemned. Cosmetic surgery is merely one of many new technologies designed to enhance beauty. The era of viewing those who undergo cosmetic surgery with suspicion is already coming to an end. Public perception of cosmetic surgery must also change. While some criticize people who have undergone extensive plastic surgery as “plastic surgery monsters,” given the constant stream of articles speculating on how much famous celebrities have altered their faces, it is difficult to say that the entire South Korean entertainment industry is free from interest in plastic surgery. Even in our daily lives, we encounter cosmetic procedures and surgeries that are relatively accessible, such as double eyelid surgery or Botox injections. We have moved beyond the past, when we criticized streets lined with plastic surgery clinics, and are now in the process of recognizing plastic surgery as a valid option and normalizing it. In the past, terms like “college entrance exam plastic surgery” and “summer vacation plastic surgery” emerged; today, the target audience and consumer base for plastic surgery and cosmetic procedures have expanded to include the older generation and even men. In a society where physical appearance is viewed as a competitive advantage, plastic surgery has become a valid option for individuals to consider carefully, rather than something to be unconditionally rejected. However, it is also important not to get swept up in anxiety about one’s appearance or social pressures while pursuing beauty. Ultimately, how we view plastic surgery is not just a matter of the procedure itself, but also a question of what values we ascribe to beauty.
