It is a well-known fact that South Koreans view cosmetic surgery as if it were a visit to the hair salon. Tweaking facial features is not just culturally accepted in South Korea, but is fast becoming a requirement. Sources cite that more than 30% of Korean women between the ages of twenty and thirty have had a cosmetic surgery. The percentage rises for those women younger than twenty years of age as parents offer nose jobs as rewards for getting good grades in school.

Has the quest for beauty caused culture, especially the stringent Asian culture, to allow cosmetic surgery to be the norm?

It is worthwhile to note that the Asian culture had accepted cosmetic surgery far more readily when compared to the Western culture. In the United States, any celebrity who has had any plastic work done are looked upon as fake and less appealing while in North East Asia, a double eyelid surgery or rhinoplasty is a must-have procedure if you want to be successful in life. For North East Asians, better-looking people get better jobs, opportunities, partners, etc.

Somehow, I think it has something to do with the Asian emphasis on having 'face'.

However, there are many strong drivers for the want for cosmetic surgery. It cannot be argued that there are advantages to having a pleasant and attractive appearance. Consider the below:-

Both of the above had received their makeovers through Beauty Colliseum, a prime-time Japanese show where contestants get a free makeover by a panel of beauty experts. Both admits that the quality of their lives has improved with their man-made beauty.

So, how wrong is cosmetic surgery when it so widely accepted in a culture and actually makes life better for people? Asides from the degree of permanence, how different is it from changing the colour of your hair or wearing make-up? Or using hair extensions or wearing high heels?

The notion that cosmetic surgery is wrong has been impressed on us without going beyond why it is wrong. I'm not trying to justify that it is right, but more of looking at the issue from another angle. Can you blame Yumi and Saori for going under the knife?

What would you do if you live in a culture where outer beauty outweighs inner beauty?

Reading

Read Time Asia's coverage on the growth of plastic surgery in Asia. Real life stories, statistics and debatable arguments.

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