I was just shocked out of my socks when I read this report on today's The Korea Times! The gist being that young jobseekers in Korea have resorted to plastic surgery to look more appealing to the interviewers and now have also started to cut luck lines on their palms to make their palm lines stand out to induce luck. They even have resorted to injecting botox into their vocal cords to make them sound confident!
It is impossible to live in Korea and not to know about plastic surgery: How many times have I seen girls crouching in the corner of the "Chuk" or the porridge shop (typically a restaurant where you go when you are sick) with a bandages over her nose or eyes! It is impossible to miss the sheer number of ads and clinics promising immediate appointments, free consultations, easy payments, state-of-the-art equipment for the actual operations in Gangnam Gu, "the Beverly Hills" of Korea. It is not possible to miss the shocking discounts available enticing you to attempt for surgery on more than one part of your body. And of course, we cannot neglect the power of the "sobeesu" or the free/complimentary items available at your disposal after, you are done with the surgery. Korea maintains the worlds market share of plastic surgery by an astounding 24%. Almost 1 in 5 women have undergone plastic surgery in Korea and the stats are not very for men either. It is accounted that Korean women use 10-18 cosmetic products on top of their already perfected face. The results are not off. Koreans are the perfect-looking people I have ever seen! Even if they are out on the park on a lazy Sunday, they look perfect! All of them look good, all of them look like film stars!
Why all this obsession about looking good, all the time? Why this eagerness to look good for others? Why all this passion to please others? Why go through all this trouble, pain and money to please your interviewer, who might not be the one you will work for ultimately even? Where will this stop? Will you change your chin to please your supervisor, and then nick your nose for your manager? What will you teach your kids? " Don't worry, my dear, just Botox your voice to sound confident" or "Just cut your palm lines for an luckier life!"?
With a teenager about to enter the age group prone to do these stuff, I really feel sad, tensed and scared at the environment these young people are subjected to. Young minds should be raised to be at peace with themselves, confident of their bodies and abilities and be leaders themselves and not mere followers. I wouldn't want my son, whose nose, had it been shorter, the whole face of our world would have changed, coming in with a shorter cute little button nose. If he did though, he might also have to consider getting his palm lines stand out more, but I seriously doubt if it will help him in anyway!
It is impossible to live in Korea and not to know about plastic surgery: How many times have I seen girls crouching in the corner of the "Chuk" or the porridge shop (typically a restaurant where you go when you are sick) with a bandages over her nose or eyes! It is impossible to miss the sheer number of ads and clinics promising immediate appointments, free consultations, easy payments, state-of-the-art equipment for the actual operations in Gangnam Gu, "the Beverly Hills" of Korea. It is not possible to miss the shocking discounts available enticing you to attempt for surgery on more than one part of your body. And of course, we cannot neglect the power of the "sobeesu" or the free/complimentary items available at your disposal after, you are done with the surgery. Korea maintains the worlds market share of plastic surgery by an astounding 24%. Almost 1 in 5 women have undergone plastic surgery in Korea and the stats are not very for men either. It is accounted that Korean women use 10-18 cosmetic products on top of their already perfected face. The results are not off. Koreans are the perfect-looking people I have ever seen! Even if they are out on the park on a lazy Sunday, they look perfect! All of them look good, all of them look like film stars!
Why all this obsession about looking good, all the time? Why this eagerness to look good for others? Why all this passion to please others? Why go through all this trouble, pain and money to please your interviewer, who might not be the one you will work for ultimately even? Where will this stop? Will you change your chin to please your supervisor, and then nick your nose for your manager? What will you teach your kids? " Don't worry, my dear, just Botox your voice to sound confident" or "Just cut your palm lines for an luckier life!"?
With a teenager about to enter the age group prone to do these stuff, I really feel sad, tensed and scared at the environment these young people are subjected to. Young minds should be raised to be at peace with themselves, confident of their bodies and abilities and be leaders themselves and not mere followers. I wouldn't want my son, whose nose, had it been shorter, the whole face of our world would have changed, coming in with a shorter cute little button nose. If he did though, he might also have to consider getting his palm lines stand out more, but I seriously doubt if it will help him in anyway!
