Plastic surgery market has seen a humongous boom these days.
Most of its popularity can be undoubtedly contributed to Korea. South Korea is
regarded as the plastic surgery capital of the world and rightly so. Plastic
surgery in Korea has become so common that it has been regarded as an
investment.
Staggering Statistics
Here are some astonishing statistics regarding cosmetic and
plastic surgery in Korea:
·
According to global figures released by
International Society of Aesthetic Plastic surgeons, people in South Korea have
had the most cosmetic procedures per head in the world.
·
One in every 77 people in South Korea has gone
under the knife to improve their beauty.
·
In another survey, 20% of women aged 19-49 in
Seoul have admitted to have done plastic surgery procedures to make their eyes
appear big and more western.
·
A survey conducted in 2009 reported that one in
5 South Korean Women undergo plastic surgery.
Why this obsession?
Nowadays, Korean girls want more American, doll-like
features such as light skin, tiny nose, wide eyes with double lids, small face
and V-shaped chin. This huge impact has been made by the growing music industry
in Korea. Bands like Girls Generation, KARA and the girls in the famous Gangnam
video have influenced the Korean girls hugely. Not only girls, boy bands of
K-Pop has also made the Korean boys to go under the knife and get a masculine,
smooth body with boyish features.
Another reason is the common idea among Koreans that
believes girls who are pretty have more chances of finding a good husband and a
better job. Ads stating that handsome men tend to become more successful have
completely changed the mindset of the people.
High school girls are more interested in plastic surgery as
they believe that the earlier you go under the knife the better your features
will be. Also, parents encourage their children as they don’t want their child to
be ugly in the “pretty” lot.
Why turn to Korea for
plastic surgery?
Nearly 7.5 million people have travelled to Korea for
plastic surgery. The reason for it is – the competitive cost and quality of
surgeries.
The competitive industry has brought low cost for plastic surgery in Korea. Where a face lift in a normal plastic surgery clinic in US
can cost $10,000, the same can be done for $2,000 - $3,000 in Korea.
The surgeons are known to be highly trained and the clinics
have access to the latest technology. The quality of the surgery is so good
that hospitals offer Plastic Surgery Certificate for overseas patients to help
them go through passport control as the transformation is huge. The certificate
contains the patient’s passport number, name of the hospital in which they were
treated and the number of days they stayed in Korea.
Clinics in Korea
Korea is considered as the Plastic Surgery Mecca for getting
your transformation done and Seoul is considered the center for all the
clinics. A region in Seoul is called “Beauty Belt” as more than 500 plastic
surgeries clinics are clustered around the subway stations in districts such as
Gangnam.
