Nobody likes being uncomfortable. It is one of our basic instincts as humans to avoid being uncomfortable at all costs. Because of this, many artists are using that discomfort to get across their message by making us face what exactly it is that makes us uncomfortable. One artist who utilizes this beautifully is kate-hers RHEE. RHEE’s pieces force the viewer to witness the reality of many things that we find more comfortable to ignore.

Much of RHEE’s work involves audience participation, something that makes most people’s skin crawl. For many people, they attend an art show with a sort of voyeuristic intent. They are there to observe, but not contribute. An audience that functions in this way would not be truly anything from RHEE’s work. Much of her work is asking the audience to confront their own feelings and beliefs. Being simple observers does not allow for this. By making the audience participate in these acts, RHEE forces them to confront their own racism, such as in N-Kissing Booth. That usually makes people pretty uncomfortable. Even the most “woke” person attending an experimental performance art piece is not immune from the subtle ways racism and sexism can seep into oneself.

By making people uncomfortable, RHEE gives her audience no other option but to examine those feelings. One has to ask themselves, why exactly am I uncomfortable? Why does this bother me? Is it because this is something that I have been contributing to my whole life? Or perhaps its because this is something that I was completely unaware of prior to watching this woman be force-fed saltines? Discomfort forces people to examine their privilege, their actions, their psyches, etc. -things that are most comfortable to ignore. In this discomfort, people can find unity. People feel uncomfortable, and automatically think “we have to do something about this”, so they can stop feeling uncomfortable. This serves as a call to action. Whether it be about food culture, or the shady morality of Korean adoption, the discomfort RHEE makes them feel about the subject makes them want to do something – anything – to stop feeling this discomfort. That is how change can actually happen, and why discomfort is truly powerful.

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.