What is beauty? As famously quoted, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. It's subjective and satisfies everyone's unique aesthetic -- or does it? What if the beholder of beauty was much larger than a singular thought, but one that encompassed a whole society? That is what creates a standard of beauty for all to strive to achieve. This is the case in South Korea.
South Korea is one of the biggest capitals of plastic surgery in the world, especially in dealing with facial procedures. There is no problem in one deciding to undergo plastic surgery. It is a major personal decision that will affect you for the rest of your life, a decision that anyone has the right to make with their own body. There is, however, a problem with the social pressure in Korea that practically forces young girls and boys to modify their body for another's needs. In Korea, it is believed that a person's face tells more words than words itself. I guess you could say that physiognomy is a standard value. Due to this, job applicants with a better face are more probable to get the job than applicants better suited for the job but a face considered less than attractive. That role you wanted in the play? Sorry, we had to give it to Stella here, who has that perfect slim jawline you lack.
In this country, the beauty standard set up sort of propels itself forward like a self-fulfilling prophecy. People want to catch up to others in terms of beauty, and by conforming, directly add themselves on to the growing pressure for others to do the same. The cycle just repeats and more kids grow up feeling self-conscious that they weren't born with a double eyelid. Young boys and girls are strongly encouraged and even forced to make modifications to their face to catch up with others who have already done so and look good enough to get the jobs they want.
A Korean church friend of mine had a father who would actively encourage her to have plastic surgery for her nose that he considered bulbous and unattractive. She felt confident enough to decline the offers, but the message that her nose was a problem made her uncomfortable in her own skin. Growing adolescents shouldn't grow up with a period on their self-esteem. Growing up feeling less than others can cause body dysmorphia and other mental disorders with a warped perception of your own body. Choosing to undergo plastic surgery with these mental disorders can have devastating consequences because a consistent warped image of oneself often leads to multiple procedures since there is always something "wrong."
There is always something to "improve." Not to mention, this would also place heavy financial burdens on top of many other effects. The amount of people trying to attain the same ideal face leads to a loss of individuality and uniqueness in the country, which is a heavy price to pay. This, in a sense, leads to a mental disorder of a country, to where a warped view of beauty is inserted into the lives of Susie with the mono-lid or Brian with the square jaw. This is the built in mentality that their traits are a problem that need to be solved by going under the knife rather than the acceptance and positive reinforcement of their individuality.
