Reason 1: Massive popularity of K-pop among the youth.
K-pop is enormously popular among the youth, K-pop artists are idolized and earn big money.
Many young want to be like their idols and take drastic steps, including plastic surgery, to get noticed by entertainment companies.
Reason 2: Plastic surgery is heavily promoted in society and, in some cases, seen as a status symbol.
Unlike in most countries, plastic surgery is not a taboo in S.Korea; gifting plastic surgery packages as graduation gifts to young girls is very common.
A 2015 study confirmed that 31% of all women between 19 to 29 years of age in South Korea have had plastic surgery.
When they hear someone got a procedure done, many get the same or a better procedure to show-off they had the money to do so and/or that they also got a good result.
Reason 3: Beauty is openly discussed and highly regarded.
It is common for people to say, “You would look better with a narrower nose, a double eye-lid, etc.”, in family gatherings, thereby, motivating girls to undergo surgical procedures.
Having a ‘perfect face’ is considered a legitimate aspiration.
And beauty has a huge impact on marriage prospects and career; for most job applications, the candidate’s photo on the resume is compulsorily required.
A survey of 760 companies revealed that ‘photo on the resume’ was a requirement for 93% companies and 50% admitted rejecting applicants because of their appearance.
Reason 4: S.Korea has too many experts who give excellent results.
S.Korea contributes to 0.6% of the world’s population but 5.3% (2017) to the world’s plastic surgeons.
These surgeons are known for their top-notch skillsBecause of these experts and the economic pricing, South Korea has become the go-to spot for many countries for plastic surgeries and is called the plastic surgery capital of the world. and flawless outcomes; this makes the procedure risk-free and, therefore, widely acceptable.
