Seoul is the unofficial plastic surgery capital of the world, with The New Yorker reporting
that as many as one in three South Korean women have gone under the knife.
The city even has an "Improvement Quarter" where there are reportedly as many as 500
clinics within a square mile.
The nation's obsession with surgery is largely due to its music scene, where cosmetic enhancements
have become the norm.
Here's what some K-Pop celebs looked like before the plastic surgery.
Hyomin from T-ARA
K-pop groups are formed via a large-scale auditioning process similar to shows like
American Idol.
However, K-pop auditions typically take place behind closed doors.
Walk-ins are held every weekend in both South Korea and the United States, according to
Seoul Beats, with some of the industry's top companies opening offices in New York to scope
out potential talent Stateside.
This is the process that Hyomin went through to become the lead rapper and lead vocalist
for T-ARA, which made its debut in 2009.
Hyomin has been open about her plastic surgery experience, revealing on XO Quiz,
"Our job requires us to give joy and entertain a lot of people, it's impossible to do that
if you're not pretty."
Narsha from Brown Eyed Girls
Formed in 2006 under the name Crescendo, the Brown Eyed Girls have been very open about
their use of plastic surgery.
Narsha, the group's lead vocalist, admitted to Korean talk show Radio Star that surgery
made her a, quote, "much prettier and happier" person.
And host Kim Gu Ra agreed, saying,
"The Brown Eyed Girls [weren't] so attractive at the time of their debut.
I didn't think they would last very long."
It was that kind of attitude that made the girls turn to surgery.
Narsha said,
"Because we are celebrities…
We often get hurt because of our appearance, and as a result, we tend to pay more attention
to the way we look."
Six Bomb
In March 2017, four-member girl group Six Bomb made the boldest statement on plastic
surgery in the history of K-pop, releasing a pair of songs called "Becoming Prettier
(Before)" and "Becoming Prettier (After)."
Six Bomb's record company, Pacemaker Entertainment, spent an estimated $93,000 on the stunt.
The girls got, quote, "almost every kind of surgery that could be done on a face" as well
as bust enlargements, according to their manager.
Lead singer Dain told AFP,
"People will notice it anyway, so we wanted to be open about this reality where many women
want to look pretty."
The reaction has been a largely negative one, with many fans suggesting that the money would
have been better spent on Six Bomb's production quality rather than its members' appearances.
Shindong from Super Junior
Debuting in 2005 with the song "Twins (Knock Out)," Super Junior quickly established itself
on the K-pop scene and went on to gain a substantial following abroad, scoring four top ten hits
on the Japan Hot 100 chart.
While most members of the group are rumored to have undergone a cosmetic procedure of
some kind, Shindong revealed to MIJ that he was pressured to do so by his management,
saying,
"One day, the president of our agency suggested I should have double eyelid surgery because
I have an unpleasant look in my eyes, so I decided to follow his suggestion."
Uee from After School
After School made its debut in 2009 on MBC's Music Core, a weekly music show that features
live performances from the newest K-pop talent.
Rolling Stone called them the Korean version of the Pussycat Dolls, and the group became
the first winner of the Billboard Japan award for K-Pop new artist of the year.
Uee (who is now a graduate member of After School) admitted to dabbling in surgery during
an appearance on Sang Sang Plus.
She said,
"My eyes are naturally uneven so I wanted to even them out.
That's why I had a minor surgery on my eyes, that's it."
These claims were later brought into question when Uee sued a plastic surgeon for using
images of her thighs and stomach without her permission on a blog.
According to Uee, the doctor was never granted permission to use those images, and the court
agreed, hitting him with a fine of about $2,800.
Hwang Chi Yeul
Solo artist Hwang Chi Yeul has been around since 2007, when he dropped his debut album
Five Senses, but he didn't gain mainstream recognition until years later when he began
working in TV.
According to South Korea's Hanteo Chart, he was the top selling solo artist for the first
half of 2017.
Hwang has been happy to dish the dirt on his plastic surgery, openly discussing his nose
job to Soompi, saying,
"I actually had a nose that curved down.
I didn't really have thoughts of plastic surgery, but before debut my management company said
that we should do it, so I agreed."
Hara from KARA
Created in 2007, KARA was a girl group that was supposed to promote natural looks over
plastic surgery, but lead rapper and official face of the group, Hara, later revealed that
this wasn't truly the case.
During an appearance on South Korean talk show Strong Heart, Hara admitted that she
had undergone minor procedures, but denied having her entire face done, saying,
"I already had folded eyelids but to make them more noticeable in pictures, I got them
slightly fixed.
I didn't get plastic surgery on my nose, I just got a shot.
Also, I've had braces for my teeth."
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