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Cosmetic Surgery in South Korea

Han Ji-Hye is a 21-year-old college student whose jaw had been the object of teasing and humiliation throughout her life. She decided to change that by applying for a cosmetic surgery model contest hosted by one clinic in Sinsa District. She became one of the five finalists out of 300 applicants, and will receive the two-jaw surgery for the contest two-and-half months later. "When I ride in the subway or buses, I feel like people only look at my jaw," she said.

In the fall of 2010, a South Korean cosmetic surgery clinic hosted a Cosmetic Surgery Model Contest. More than 300 women applied for the contest which gives free surgeries to become the clinic's models, and five women were selected as finalists. These young women, aged 19 to 28, agreed to undergo free cosmetic surgeries, and competed in the final contest which was held almost three months later.

There are about 4,000 cosmetic surgery clinics in the country, and a South Korean newspaper reported that 46% of adult women in Seoul seemed to have received some type of cosmetic surgery based on their survey in 2009. The economic scale of the industry has not been recorded exactly, however, it is estimated to be more a multi-milion-dollar business.

 

 

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Uploaded on March 5, 2020
Taken on September 17, 2010