Korean Pop Highlights Are Their Own Flaws
As a recent Korean Pop fan, the column idea that popped into my head was writing about my new obsession. I also wanted to discuss how exactly K-pop came to be, as well as the bad side that is overshadowed by the trend’s popularity.
Korean Pop. Pop that is exclusive to South Korea. An expanding trend that I never had thought would come to America. When I had just discovered the movement, I was struck with the fact that most of my favorite idols had plastic surgery done. I remember how I analyzed the trending K-pop videos on YouTube and realizing how unnaturally perfect some of the stars were. For example, G-Dragon is one of the most talented singers and rappers that I’ve ever known, and it was revealed from his childhood photos that he had plastic surgery done on his nose. In old pictures, G-Dragon had a round face and a nose with wide nostrils. But in his famous music videos, he has a smaller nose that makes his face look more slender. Of course, many entertainment agencies such as SM Entertainment recognize his talent, but how he is viewed is based on looks. A K-pop star’s popularity depends on how pretty or handsome they are.
G-Dragon’s exquisite transformation was only a small example. According to an article in Wasabi Now by Crystal Tal, South Korean stars have had rhinoplasty, eyelid surgery, facial contouring, and even body contouring. Rhinoplasty is favored the most out of the categories. With the ability to change the face image entirely, most male and female idols alike can have their idealized vision of themselves. From the scraping of their jaw and chin, they can alter their facial proportions to those that are considered best for their careers.
Now, of course, there is a certain controversy over this. Plastic surgery can be both good and bad depending on one’s opinions. Sure, I totally understand the effects of admiring good-looking people; it is definitely more powerful to see a face that leaves you starstruck than one that leaves you with nothing. Also, the idols themselves can benefit from their altered looks. Society generally accepts those who are pleasing to the eye. Thus, it is natural for them to change their look to further their career. We are bound to look at those people who are unquestionably more beautiful than others.
There is also a bad side to all of this. South Korea’s use of plastic surgery can also be its weakness. To become accepted into their society, one is forced to choose whether they can do more to their natural-born face. Expectations will be held a lot higher in terms of being pretty or being handsome. Those who are not enough are left to pursue nothing just because they aren’t good-looking. You have to be aesthetically pleasing or be shunned for life.
In addition to career reliance, the actual health risks of plastic surgery are simply outrageous. According to the website Health line.com, risks such as scarring, organ damage, infections, and even death itself are part of plastic surgery. Simply changing one feature on a face can astonishingly become fatal. Plastic surgery may be a total game changer for the faces of South Korea, but one should really consider sacrificing one’s looks because of the chance of an ugly effect. According to a friend of mine, it is rumored that plastic surgery can severely damage your face as you age. Skin and proportions might become distorted, and the results might look far uglier than even your previous state before taking the surgery.
I would not trust my face with a complete stranger when the chances of health risks are far greater than they are without surgery. However, the fact that almost every entertainment agency out there in South Korea pressures their idols to confront these dangers is actually terrifying. Society, of course, can give influence and grant success once you pander to their preferences, but on the other hand, having faith in yourself and believing you are talented is also a crucial factor in being a K-pop idol. Only an individual can decide to become an idol, but unless he finds his own way to succeed, that individual will be nothing more than a puppet—not just to the entertainment agencies but also to South Korea, and to the world.
The choice of doing plastic surgery is certainly controversial. In the end, plastic surgery is only a step closer to being accepted into society, but South Korea idols have to learn, in my opinion, that one does not have to rely on looks to be successful in life.