AsiaNews Magazine Jan10-16,2014 ( Jan 1-7,2014) | Page 54

COVER STORY

January 10-16, 2014

Beauty through
the scalpel
CHOI HE-SUK
The Korea Herald
Seoul

T

he growing
popularity of
cosmetic procedures,
both surgical
and nonsurgical, has
given South Korea the
dubious title of “plastic
surgery republic.”
Fuelled by the highly
competitive nature of Korean society, aesthetic procedures have become so common that it is not unheard
of for students to receive
them as “graduation gifts”.
According to the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, nearly

650,000 cosmetic procedures were carried out in
Korea in 2011. Although
the figure puts Korea in
seventh place in terms of
the number of procedures
carried out, Korea ranks
highest in terms of the proportion of the population
that has received treatment.
Along with the rise in
numbers, society’s negative perceptions of plastic
surgery have eased significantly, particularly among
younger people.
“I think it’s a positive
thing to be able to address