Reading through a piece from The Atlantic about Korea’s recent obsession with cosmetic surgeries motivates me to question where the idea of “beauty” even comes from. Throughout the article, the author cites examples of standards of beauty throughout the decades, starting from the curvy, matronly woman to the currently thin and cosmetically enhanced people that stand at the frontlines of the entertainment industry. The young women and older women interviewed for this article all come from different geographical and economic strata, but they all want the same thing: “beauty.”
The article points to the multitude of women who want cosmetic surgery to enhance their facial features. But this obsession must come from somewhere. One of the most striking parts of the article cited the origins of cosmetic surgery being performed on Asians. Apparently, when an American doctor became stationed in Korea during the 1950s, he starting performing “double eyelid surgeries” on Korean women to create “a more Western look” that “would “help Asians assimilate better into an emerging international economy.” He thought that the European eyelid would “produce a passive expression which seems to epitomize the stoical and unemotional manner of the Oriental.” With this idea in mind, the doctor’s procedure forever changed the landscape of perceived beauty and the thoughts of imperfection Asian women internalize.
Is this cosmetic surgery obsession more than a trend or a cultural phenomenon? Since this article is quite nuanced with its presentation on the conceptions, history, and future implications of beauty on Koreans, consider giving this a read and share with us your own notions of beauty.
Read the article to find out, here: http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/05/the-k-pop-plastic-surgery-obsession/276215/
Post Submitted By: Courtney
The Waterhole 
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