What Koreans Think of K-pop and Plastic Surgery | ASIAN BOSS

A recent music video by a female K-pop group called "Six Bomb" caused a lot of controversy in the Western media:

So we hit the streets of Seoul, South Korea, and asked ordinary Koreans what they thought about this incident. See what they had to say about plastic surgery in Korea and the Korean beauty standard.

The opinions expressed in this video are those of individual interviewees alone and do not reflect the views of ASIAN BOSS or the general South Korean population.

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[AsianBoss]

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[garv]

I am not even korean, but after getting into kpop / kdrama, i have actualy started paying more attention to how i look, the condition of my skin, the clothes i wear, etc.
Initially, i did not realise it( first 2 years.) one day while i was doing the oil cleanse, i started thinking if i would be doing this if i never got into korean culture?
obviously, i try not to get affected by the beauty standard of any kind, (no one should) but some things do get stuck in your head. The media is indeed a very powerful brain washing tool.

[TheRealityofFake]

It's interesting when they keep saying getting plastic surgery is a personal choice and shouldn't be judged. But isn't the reason for getting plastic surgery because they were being judged on their looks?

[greatlemons]

I love how the interviewer asks critical questions to gain informative answers without being rude or offensive.

[tammyg]

You hit the nail on the head when you mentioned an "arbitrary beauty standard". I think plastic surgery is a personal choice but the question is who is deciding what is considered beautiful? For instance why do many Koreans think they have to get double eyelid surgery? Who decided that was more beautiful? If an inherent trait of any race has to be erased in order for someone to be considered to be attractive - then that is truly sad.

[xLovex]

I think it's quite sad that most of them are aware of the social pressures to conform but can do nothing but to accept it. Imagine being rejected for a job that you're qualified for just because your looks aren't up to par, what a loss of potential that would be. This whole culture of lookism in Asia needs a replacement by something spiritual instead of promoting superficiality that turn their faces beautiful but their souls grotesque.

[sarahpark]

*sigh* korea is so obsessed with physical appearance it's honestly pitiful, and i say this as a korean

[veryimportantinclevincle]

Even though I love kpop and kdramas, this kind of beauty standard is one of the main reasons why I have never wanted to live in Korea

[kayjmac]

That last lady's comment was a double edge sword. She says people don't have a right to judge others for getting plastic surgery, but it's that same judgement that are sending people to the surgeons. How about ignoring all judgement? Good video.

[Figureight]

I think that if you feel plastic surgery is what you want to do, that is great. No one should criticise you for making that choice, but I think it is completely fair for someone to question or criticise what it is in society that may have brought someone to either questioning their looks on a personal level, or questioning if their looks are enough to get them far in an industry where looks shouldn't be important. I'm glad I live in a society that doesn't have that pressure put on me.

I feel plastic surgery should only ever be a personal choice. When it comes to doing it to improve job prospects, it shows companies are putting beauty above actual talent and skill in the workplace. It completely goes against those that actually wouldn't want to have plastic surgery. That choice they make could be the difference between living on minimum wage, and living a comfortable life. That's not right in my opinion.

I think that if some countries like Korea didn't have the competitive and rigorous education system that it does have, where everyone ends up having similar skills and qualifications, then this might not even be a thing. They've passed the point of requiring those with the correct skill, and now want to create a utopia of homogeneous beauty based on only one type of ideal.

[hellostranger]

exactly ultimately everyone would end up looking SAME

[gumworms]

It still baffles me how they like small faces so much. I find some of their celebs with small faces look weird since their faces aren't proportionate with their body like a really tall person w/ long limbs and a very small face. ><

[soojikim]

Beauty Standards can be really annoying sometimes. For me as a biracial Korean I sometimes have struggled with feeling the need to look a certain way because I want to be accepted. There's expectations for all us 혼혈 (Mixed Koreans) to all be "attractive looking" or the "perfect blend of eastern and western." And at the same time there's Western beauty standards that are the exact opposite of Korean. If I dilligently follow Korean beauty trends more people accuse me of denying my other culture or saying I'm losing my "americanness." If I keep up with Western standards I'm the foreign girl that speaks Korean. It's tough when people try to define you or when the media defines what makes someone beautiful. It's something everyone has dealt with at some point in their life. At the end of the day I think it's most important to do what makes you happy. Don't let the media make you feel like you need to look a certain way or else no one will ever find you attractive. There's so much more to beauty than physical appearance. Learn to love yourself and then others can love you. 💕

[moveslikeninja]

Honestly, is it weird that I think males with monolids look quite attractive? Like even some of the guys in this vid... I guess it depends on the eye shape and stuff. But I've seen korean male idols / actors still look really good with monolids that clearly never bothered getting surgery.
(eg., Jeon Wonwoo from Seventeen and actor: Ryu Junyeol.... And their eyes are actually my favourite feature of theirs)

[confused]

Korean : foreigners exaggerate the issue of koreans having plastic surgery.

Also korean : we get double eyelids surgery after high school to look good in college.

Me

[himurahaibara]

this video make me speechless because it got me imagining how hard the pressure to live in south korea. gladly i'm indonesian, there are so many races, religions, languages in indonesia, we are different but we are okay about that, because diversity is awesome. 

[.aditisharma]

Thank God I really doesn't belong to that kind of society where your appearances matter more than any other thing ...:)

[zooey]

Everything people said in the video is true. But also(In my opinion), korean society has really high standard and is really competitive. Because everyone work hard, study hard...etc. So individual's ability is similar and high. As a company they have to hire people. So inevitably they also see people's look. So people inevitably get surgery. It's just my thought.

[CornishPixie]

I wish Koreans wouldn't change their appearance. Especially the eyes. I think monolids are beautiful and I wish I could just shake them and tell them to wake up and see how beautiful they all are! I totally understand enhancing what you already have, I think most of us can agree, but definitely not changing what you have unless it's genuinely making you depressed as a result.

[ghismhd]

1:49 "If they are good looking and hard working, people don't care about their talent." This is so sad and heart breaking.