Many young in South Korea are turning to plastic surgery to emulate the looks of their favorite kPop stars, reports New American Media.
Plastic surgeons say their patients have gotten younger in recent years, with some specifically requesting features they see in their favorite KPop artists.
One plastic surgeon estimates 20 percent of his patients are under age 20. Some teenagers whose parents won’t pay for their surgeries are coming up with the money themselves.
“The [pop] culture industry is so salient amongst these groups,” Sharon Lee, associate professor of Social & Cultural Analysis at New York University said. “I don’t think the plastic surgery industry in particular is targeting this age group, but I think it all comes together. Because of the culture industry, the younger demographics are engaging in [plastic surgery] more and more.”
Is this really anything new? Asians have been getting eyelid surgeries for a long time now. It' was popular twenty years ago!
You are correct. Perhaps whats new is the age at which people are asking for these surgeries. I don’t think I would want my teen having plastic surgery. What does that say about their self esteem?
It really depends on the context of plastic surgery. People with hare-lip get plastic surgeries at a young age and we don't preach self esteem to them! True, the patients are getting younger, but that just means plastic surgery is changing and getting more accessible. Self esteem is a sense of self worth, and I think a lot of the young people today do it because they probably aspire to be in show business. My own cousin had her eyes done at 18 as a birthday present from her own mother, and it was not because she had low self-esteem.
RE: Surge in popularity of KPop leads to surge in plastic surgery among young: I don't want to sound like an old fart but surgery situation in South Korea is way too extreme! Usually, we can avoid plastic surgery by bringing up on stage our own sexuality, our uniqueness and maybe if some of the Korean girls would believe in themselves more as women they would become new k-pop stars! Well, I agree that some of the surgeries can't be avoided especially if they are about health and comfort that you can't compromise. And you shouldn't.