K-Plastic Surgery: The same, but different.

It is no secret that the plastic surgery industry in Korea is booming. K-pop stars have been serving as international advertising campaigns for various cosmetic procedures for several years now. While this new industry can be great for the Korean economy, I have some questions about its effects on the world at large.

I would just like to preface this by saying that I, personally, love plastic surgery. The second I get a salaried job, I will be getting my liquid nose job, cheek fillers, and lip fillers without a doubt. Plastic surgery is great, and can be very empowering. I just believe that we should be conscious of why we feel compelled to get these surgeries. Once we have that awareness, then I think these procedures can be very liberating and empowering for some.

For Korea, I think plastic surgery has been pretty great. Plastic surgery has allowed Korea to globalize a very “Korean” look that people all over the globe are now vying to achieve. It has created a new aesthetic identity for Korean people to feel proud of, which can be very empowering for its people. However, with the recent globalization of all things Korea, I believe this can have a negative effect on society at large. Many of these procedures were introduced to Korea in an effort to “de-orientalize” their appearance. Currently, the Korean population has been able to re-appropriate these procedures into something that almost forms a sort of cultural identity. The way that these procedures have developed to the current beauty standard within Korea is a far cry from what they originally were. However we can not ignore it’s past, and the effects that it currently has. Whether it’s purpose is to white-wash a person’s features or not, the fact of the matter is that that is precisely what it is doing. Only now, rather than being billed specifically as something that’ll make you look “whiter”, it claims it will give you this new, modern look. The marketing has changed, but those nuances are still there. And this is not only relevant for Korean women. Women from all over the world fly to Korea to get plastic surgery all the time, all pursuing this look, still pursuing those familiar white beauty standards, just in new packaging. For example, the first video I embedded shows a black woman discussing her rhinoplasty that she received in Korea. Based on my knowledge and experience, for many black people, their noses are one of those features that has become sort of a defining feature for their identity. There are dozens of other videos on YouTube of other black women flying to Korea for the same procedure. At the end of the procedure, they all leave with significantly more Caucasian noses- despite the fact that they got their surgery in Korea. Even though the Korean plastic surgery market likes to market itself as a reprieve from the white beauty standards of old, it has yet to stop actually contributing to those standards.

While white-ness might not be the “goal” any longer, there is a certain “racially ambiguous” aesthetic that is being pushed here, and that can be very dangerous. It erases the heritage of marginalized groups, and white-washes their features for the sake of aesthetics. And this goes both ways.

This is a video of a girl from Germany talking about her rhinoplasty experience in Korea. When I watch this video, and I look further into her channel, I feel like this is the sort of Korean version of “black-fishing” (where white influencers adopt deep tans, lip fillers, butt implants, and black hairstyles/mannerisms in an attempt to appear black/mixed). Much of this girl’s aesthetics and mannerisms are a very clear attempt to assimilate to Korean culture. While this might not be a bad thing to many people, I can’t help but feel un-easy about a white European girl trying to look Korean. And plastic surgery procedures can serve as a vessel for people like her. Many others on the internet have spoken about getting plastic surgery to make themselves look more Korean. It is once again that pursuit of racial ambiguity at work here. If they might be able to pass for a member of that culture, they can then take whatever they want from that culture without guilt.

Once again, this isn’t to say that plastic surgery is a bad thing, or that everyone who gets it is trying to look one certain way. I believe that these surgeries should be pursued with caution, and a critical mind. Examine why we want to normalize this look, and ask what are they really trying to sell us.

2 thoughts on “K-Plastic Surgery: The same, but different.

  1. I definitely agree with your argument that there isn’t an inherent evil in plastic surgery, but the way it is framed and the reasons for which someone pursues plastic surgery must be critiqued. What I found particularly interesting about this blog post is your comment on being racially ambiguous and marginalized communities “losing their heritage.” I’m not sure I fully agree with the “losing their heritage” comment mainly because we’re talking about phenotypical aspects rather than performative culture. To say that phenotype = ethnicity/race is an outdated mindset. Chiyoko King O’Rian wrote about biracial Japanese pageant women and makes the argument that because phenotype and someone ethnic/racial identity are deeply tied because of historical production, these biracial pageants had to “prove” their Japaneseness in another way that didn’t rely on looks. I’m bringing this up because I though I understand the point you’re trying to make about whitewashing/blackfishing/etc, I think we should be careful in trying to make connections between physical appearance and heritage/culture because those may not always be linked as closely as we think. I will say though, that I do think there’s an issue with people trying to “look Korean” because again, what does “Korean” look like? That comes with the assumption that a Korean cannot be biracial. It also means that people are fetishizing certain physical features without having to deal with social repercussions that come with looking a certain way.

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  2. Reading this article really made me think. I also do not mind plastic surgery, I completely agree with the fact that it is empowering to some, but there are also many downfalls to it. Cosmetic surgery is something that is constantly pressurized and pushed onto people to feel accepted. After this read, it came to my attention that people actually travel to Korea for a specific look to the cosmetic procedure they are receiving. Based off of the backlash of white women getting plastic surgery to look “more black,” by getting butt implants or lip fillers or even fake tan, I feel that these women getting plastic surgery to appear more Korean also deserves the backlash. For example, the hate that Kim Kardashian gets on a daily basis for “appropriating” braids by wearing them herself or Ariana Grande for getting fake tans and using a “blaccent” (I feel that this word is extremely derogatory but it is actually quoted in too many articles). Yes, everyone should feel empowered to do what they want and look how they want to be seen, however, I think that this new phenomenon is not given the attention it deserves. As I do research on “Asian Facing,” all I can find is one particular Instagrammer, @Scarebrat. She is a makeup artist who received a lot of hate from social media users for making herself look Asian when she was very clearly a white woman. She would take photos of herself and blur out her eyes, making it seem that she had monolids. One angry user commented on this saying, ” this girl is over here trying to give herself monolids thinking that they’re some pretty accessory that ANYONE can have or whatever while many asians are still getting discrimination for merely being born with them which is nOT OKAY!” All in all, I am definitely one for empowerment in oneself, but I highly disagree with this ongoing “trend” of different races trying to adopt features of other races.

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