Beliefs and Trends of Aesthetic Surgery in South Korean Young Adults
Rachel H. Park, BA1, Paige L. Myers, MD2, Howard N. Langstein, MD2.
1University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA, 2University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA.
BACKGROUND: In South Korea, aesthetic surgery is extremely popular with fourth highest total volume of aesthetic procedures performed in the world, according to 2014 ISAPS survey report. "Lookism," or "prejudice or discrimination based on physical appearance," has been an extremely popular topic in South Korea. External appearance has increasing societal importance, as it is believed to even impact one's chance of success and employment. The goal of this study is to examine Korean young adults' attitudes and trends towards aesthetic plastic surgery.
METHODS: South Korean young adults between the ages of 18 and 29 years were recruited to participate through online advertisements posted on the three major job-searching Internet forums on naver.com , which is the largest search engine in South Korea, to participate in an online survey and personal interviews. A total of 103 individuals voluntarily participated in the online survey generated by REDcap (Nashville, Tennessee), which included 76 females and 27 males. A total of 19 individuals, 11 females and 8 males, were interviewed, during which discussions regarding the study topic were carried out. All statistical analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel and a statistical software, R.
RESULTS: Females had a higher rate of past aesthetic surgery experience compared to males (22% vs. 15%). Males had a higher rate of planning to undergo aesthetic surgery in the future than females (39% vs. 29%). Dissatisfaction with personal appearance was the primary motivation for aesthetic procedures for both genders. Parental influence and peer pressure were noteworthy influences for females (21%), while increasing the chance of employment was a greater influence for males (6%). Interviewees of both genders indicated that external appearance is an important factor in obtaining employment and that aesthetic surgery would have a positive impact on the hiring processes.
CONCLUSIONS: South Korean young adults' primary motivation of undergoing aesthetic surgery is largely due to personal dissatisfaction with one's external appearances, which likely stems from the widespread "lookism" and beauty trends set by the Korean media. Young Korean adults believe that individual's looks are a significant factor in succeeding in professional environment.
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