Korean beauty standards

Korean beauty standards are a distinct feature of Korean culture. In 2015, South Korea became the only Eastern Asian country (among many European and American countries like Brazil, US, Italy, Colombia, and others) that entered into the top 10 "countries with the highest rate of cosmetic surgeries" in the world based on the global survey by ISAPS (the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons).[1] Examples of Korean beauty criteria include slim figures, a small face, V-shaped jaw, double eyelids that exemplify innocence, aegyo-sal (making the under eye bags puffy), small lips, straight eyebrows, large eyes and flawless skin.[2]

Korean beauty standards have varied influences, and K-pop is one of the biggest impacts. K-pop has become globalized and exposed around the world; aside from the music, the physical appearance idols portray have impacted the beauty standards in Korea.[3]

Cultural pressure

Korean students are not allowed to wear make-up and jewellery in school until graduation. Students, especially girls, have low self-esteem about their appearance and are eager to be more beautiful than others. Some decide to have cosmetic surgery to change their facial features.[4] The most recent ‘official’ statistic put the percentage of Koreans undergoing cosmetic surgery in 2008 at around 20% among young girls. This is significant as it shows how popular cosmetic surgery is in South Korea.[5] Many companies require a photo, height, and even family backgrounds of the applicants as part of the hiring process.[6]

While Korean women are more critical of their body image, many are not satisfied with how they present themselves. There is low-self esteem and less satisfaction in comparison to women from the United States based on the survey. [7]

Beauty is often seen as a means for socioeconomic success in the rapidly modernized and post-war economy of South Korea, which has seen a sluggish growth rate for jobs after its economic boom period. This has left Korea with a highly skilled and educated workforce to compete for a short supply of job opportunities and chances for upward social mobility. Koreans view investments in beauty such as cosmetic products, services and medical beauty treatments such as plastic surgery, dermatology, and cosmetic dentistry as a means of cultural capital to achieve an edge over peers for social and economic advancement. [8]

Beauty products

Women in South Korea spend more money on cosmetics than women in any other Asian country. In 2015, South Korea exported more than 2.64 billion dollars of cosmetic goods. It is much higher than in 2014 where they exported around 1.91 billion dollars.[9] Some of the most popular products used in Korean are BB (blemish balm) creams, CC (color correction) creams, serums, essences, ampoules, sea weed face masks, and scrubs.[10] Korean beauty products contain ingredients not commonly found in Western products such as snail extract. In 2011 BB cream hit the shelves in America which prior was only exclusively used in Korea had a massive effect. In 2014, the US market for BB cream was around 164 million dollars just by itself.

A massive difference between American and Korean beauty is how they achieve beauty. Americans mostly have a three-step beauty regime which includes cleanse, tone, moisturize. Koreans on the other hand have a ten step beauty regime which includes makeup remover and oil cleanser, water-based cleanser, exfoliation, toner, essences, serums, booster and ampoules, sheet masks, eye cream, moisturizer, and lastly sun protection.[11]

Asian cosmetics are gaining an increasing amount of success in the beauty industry. The Euromonitor International predict that by the year of 2019, around 80% of global skincare revenue will come from Asia. At the moment there is more Asian beauty products in the West specifically from East Asia, especially South Korea and Japan.

Tattoos in Korea

Tattoos in Korea are frowned upon. There is a tattoo movement but it is relatively small. The tattoo movement remains underground since it is a small movement. Most of the people you see with tattoos are artists, musicians, gangsters, and foreigners.[12] Tattoos are not allowed on Korean television. If someone with tattoos is on television they are asked to cover up the tattoos with clothes such as a long sleeve shirt. They will even blur out the tattoos if they can visually see them.

For someone in Korea to legally (official certified) give tattoos in Korea they must be a doctor. A doctor is the only legal person to give tattoos to the general public.

Most tattoo parlors are not advertised to the general public in such form like a neon sign saying tattoos. Most of the time you have to get in contact with someone who knows where to find a tattoo artist. Most tattoo parlors are in apartment buildings. The apartment buildings would most often have sterilization machine and clean leather seats. The few places that advertise themselves to the public have a similar setup but are more open in the eye of the public. These sites often get raided by the police, get expensive fines, and are even forced to close down. You can also find travelling tattoo artists who are more likely go to the clients’ house or have the client come to their house.

Plastic surgery in Korea

Plastic surgery in Korea is not only socially accepted but estimates have shown that one in three South Korean women between the age of 19 and 49 have had at least one surgery. Double eyelid surgery (also known as blepharoplasty) is the most common procedure, with which an eyelid crease is created to make the eye look bigger. This type of surgery or rhinoplasty is typically given as a high school graduation gift. [13]

Due to the differences in the facial bone structure of Asians, who have a wider, flatter facial bone structure than their western counterparts, facial bone contouring surgeries is extremely popular. [14] V-line surgery (jaw and chin reduction) and cheekbone (zygoma) reduction surgeries are used to change the facial contour. Most celebrities are required to undergo these surgeries to trim the cheekbones, jaw and chin to create an oval shaped face which is considered to be the Korean standard of facial beauty.

With the rise in social acceptance of plastic surgery, shows like “LET ME IN” where complete surgery makeovers are given to unfortunate participants like Huh Ye Eun who have suffered due to deformities, are transformed and given a new lease of life. Shows like those have spread the popularity of Korean plastic surgery worldwide. [15]

South Korea has also seen an increasing influx of people wanting to have facial bone contouring surgeries due to the advanced techniques and clinical expertise of the Korean surgeons. Various advances in facial bone contouring surgeries like the T-osteotomy technique [16][17] and the first published book on facial bone contouring surgeries further illustrates the advanced surgery methods used by Korean surgeons.[18]

References

  1. ↑ "ISAPS International Survey on Aesthetic/Cosmetic Procedures Performed in 2015 | isaps.org" (PDF). isaps org.
  2. ↑ "Plastic Surgery in South Korea | Seoul TouchUp". Seoul TouchUp | Korean Plastic Surgery Clinics + Trips. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
  3. ↑ "Unrealistic Beauty Standards: Korea's Cosmetic Obsession". seoulbeats.com. Retrieved 2015-03-26.
  4. ↑ "For many South Koreans, beauty standards represent a cultural struggle". thevarsity ca. Retrieved 2017-03-05. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  5. ↑ Holliday, Ruth; Elfving-Hwang, Joanna (2012-06-01). "Gender, Globalization and Aesthetic Surgery in South Korea". Body & Society. 18 (2): 58–81. doi:10.1177/1357034X12440828. ISSN 1357-034X.
  6. ↑ "Stress dominates every aspect of life in South Korea". www.irishtimes.com. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  7. ↑ Jung, J. "Cross-Cultural Comparisons of Appearance Self-Schema, Body Image, Self-Esteem, and Dieting Behavior Between Korean and U.S. Women". Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal. 34: 350–365. doi:10.1177/1077727X06286419.
  8. ↑ "Why is plastic surgery so popular in South Korea?". My Seoul Secret - Korean Plastic Surgery Trip Advisor. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
  9. ↑ Arthur, Golda (2016-01-28). "The key ingredients of South Korea's skincare success". BBC News. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
  10. ↑ "Asian Beauty Standards and Products Make Way for Innovation and Influence Markets in the West". go.galegroup.com.db07.linccweb.org. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
  11. ↑ "Korean Skin Care Routine". Korean.
  12. ↑ "TL;DR - Tattoos in Korea - Eat Your Kimchi". Eat Your Kimchi. 2012-06-27. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
  13. ↑ Marx, Patricia (March 23, 2015). "About Face : Why is South Korea the world's plastic-surgery capital?". https://www.newyorker.com. External link in |website= (help)
  14. ↑ Park, Sanghoon (2017-06-14), "Why Facial Bone Contouring Surgery?: Backgrounds", Facial Bone Contouring Surgery, Springer Singapore, pp. 3–6, doi:10.1007/978-981-10-2726-0_1, ISBN 9789811027253, retrieved 2018-08-01
  15. ↑ Soelistyo, Liliek (September 20, 2016). ""Let Me In"". Korea.net.
  16. ↑ Lee, Tae Sung; Kim, Hye Young; Kim, Tak Ho; Lee, Ji Hyuck; Park, Sanghoon (March 2014). "Contouring of the Lower Face by a Novel Method of Narrowing and Lengthening Genioplasty". Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. 133 (3): 274e–282e. doi:10.1097/01.prs.0000438054.21634.4a. ISSN 0032-1052.
  17. ↑ Lee, Tae Sung; Kim, Hye Young; Kim, Takho; Lee, Ji Hyuck; Park, Sanghoon (October 2014). "Importance of the Chin in Achieving a Feminine Lower Face". The Journal of Craniofacial Surgery: 1. doi:10.1097/scs.0000000000001096. ISSN 1049-2275.
  18. ↑ Facial bone contouring surgery : a practical guide. Park, Sanghoon,. Singapore: Springer. 2017. ISBN 9789811027260. OCLC 1004601615.

[1] Assembly Required; in Seoul's 'Makeover Town,' Surgeons Struggle to Keep up with Demand for Faces as Seen on TV

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