Winter, Time For High School Students In South Korea For Plastic Surgery

JAKARTA - Now that the annual college entrance examination, College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) is over, hundreds of thousands of students, who will be graduating from high school in a few months, have a long list of post-exam plans, such as traveling or getting their driver's license.

Also on their to-do list, for some, is having cosmetic surgery. Unlike in the past, many parents have become supportive of their children's plans to undergo surgical operations to change their appearance.

Many posts can be found online where parents ask questions about beauty clinics. But some experts say for teens who are not yet fully mature, such decisions should be made with extreme caution.

"I want double eyelid surgery for my son who is completing the CSAT. We are planning to go to Apgujeong-dong in Gangnam District, but I want to get as much information as possible before visiting. Can you give me some tips, like how much does it cost? and a reputable clinic?" wrote one mother, quoted from the Korea Times January 27.

"My niece took the CSAT, and I'm glad she got good grades. She wanted to have a nose job before going to college, because she thought her crooked nose was a loss, and I told her mother that I would pay for the surgery as a gift for her going to college. high. Can you recommend a good clinic in Incheon?" wrote another user.

Plastic surgeon Hur Wu-jin said on the YouTube channel, "Gangnam Eonni," which provides information about plastic surgery, many people consider the high school year to be a good time to improve their appearance.

"High school, third and fourth years of college, and right before getting a job are peak times for plastic surgery," he said.

"This is because these are times when a person moves from one social group to another. That's when they can avoid the attention (which comes due to surgery)," he continued.

Because they have more than a few months until the freshman orientation program, high school seniors have time to "look natural" after surgery, the surgeon added. Thus, it is the peak season not only for cosmetic surgery, but also for dermatology or ophthalmology clinics where they can get laser vision correction surgery.

The clinic also offers promotions, providing discounts for CSAT participants who bring their exam IDs. Often, their parents are also offered discounts on the grounds that they too have worked hard to support their children.

According to a 2020 survey by Gallup Korea, 89 percent of Koreans believe that one's appearance is very important in life, while only 11 percent said no. Young women tend to think that their appearance is very important, while men in their 50s or older are the least likely to think so.

Asked whether plastic surgery with the aim of getting a job or getting married was acceptable, 67 percent of respondents said it was positive, while 28 percent said it was undesirable. In the survey, 25 percent of women in their 20s said they had had plastic surgery, lower than 31 percent in the 2015 survey.