What Country Is Becoming The Plastic Surgery Capital of the World?

Even though the United States and Brazil still see their surgeons perform the highest number of procedures in the world, there is one country that is not too far behind. South Korea is growing so much in the number of surgeries performed that it already holds the title for the most plastic surgery procedures performed per capita. In fact, the Gangnam District has around 500 plastic surgery practices in its area.

Statistics show that almost one-fifth of women in South Korea between the ages of 20 and 50 had work done at some point in their life. There are also statistics that show that males in South Korea have more plastic surgery procedures than men in other countries. The city of Seoul features a variety of plastic surgery options and the most popular ones include nose jobs, liposuction, facelifts and blepharoplasty in order to give people native to Korea the double eyelid crease normally seen in other countries.

The fact that there are so many skilled doctors and surgical practices in Seoul make it a popular plastic surgery tourism destination. The patients are both Asian and non-Asian so finding a doctor who is fluent in English is normally not a problem and there is not much of a language barrier.

Why does plastic surgery thrive in South Korea? Quite frankly, it has become part of their culture. Plus, South Korea has often been described as an ethnically homogenous society. It is very competitive with students spending much more time in school than their North American peers. They spend a good portion of their young lives preparing to take their university entrance exams and they quickly realize that people who are considered “handsome” or “good looking” have an advantage in trying to land a job. Because of the competition in trying to land a job, many students undergo plastic surgery to improve their appearance.

There are a few things patients need to keep in mind if they decide to go to Seoul for plastic surgery. The plastic surgery industry there is considered to be more like an assembly line with patients speaking to consultants before their procedure instead of a doctor. In fact, most patients never meet their surgeon. They are prepped for surgery and given anesthesia before the procedure. After the surgery is over, patients wake up in a “Beauty Recovery Room” without meeting the doctor through the entire process.

There are certainly advantages and disadvantages to this assembly style manner of plastic surgery. Patients need to decide if they want a personal approach or if they don’t care whether or not they meet the surgeon as long as they get their desired results. Proper research needs to be performed by all patients regardless of where they decide to have surgery. Being properly informed about risks and complications and benefits of a surgery makes a patient better prepared for the results before finally undergoing their procedure of choice.

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