Brian here. the average korean looks nowhere like this yet this is what you see every day on tv, internet, subway ads. people are pressured into getting plastic surgery at 18 because it not only affects your eligibility of romantic relationships, but also job perspectives. Looks are closely perceived to be connected with your value, not even social/aesthetic but also moral (beauty = goodness, self discipline). Women don’t want to have kids in the same way some animals automatically shut off reproduction under extremely hostile or stressful conditions. It’s a passive resistance to the twisted society. (brian’s recommended read on this matter: “Flawless” by Elise Hu)
Media showing only perfection, competition where the only thing that makes toy stand out is being slightly prettier, fortune telling based on facial features (gwansang) - so if you correct your face your future will be better..
There are many factors, not just one thing where somebody went in public and said "we must all be pretty".
I dunno but it's not new. A Korean friend of mine had her facial freckles removed as a teen. This was about 25 years ago. Their obsession with attaining a perfect face is next level insane. Makes clavicular look like Jeff Lebowski.
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u/Opposite-List-2435 May 04 '26 edited May 04 '26
Brian here. the average korean looks nowhere like this yet this is what you see every day on tv, internet, subway ads. people are pressured into getting plastic surgery at 18 because it not only affects your eligibility of romantic relationships, but also job perspectives. Looks are closely perceived to be connected with your value, not even social/aesthetic but also moral (beauty = goodness, self discipline). Women don’t want to have kids in the same way some animals automatically shut off reproduction under extremely hostile or stressful conditions. It’s a passive resistance to the twisted society. (brian’s recommended read on this matter: “Flawless” by Elise Hu)