Posted on 05/14/2006 7:31:24 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
For love and money, Koreans turn to facial tucks By Su Hyun Lee The New York Times
SUNDAY, MAY 14, 2006
SEOUL Fat is something that most people would want to remove from their cheeks. Kim Eun Young, however, had her cheekbones plumped up by a cosmetic surgeon in the hope that her husband's business would blossom.
"People say that the fortunes of a husband and a wife go hand in hand," said Kim, 36, a housewife. "But I've never had plump cheeks and two fortune-tellers told me that this meant that money would slip away."
In South Korea, where cosmetic surgery and fortune-telling are national obsessions, it was perhaps inevitable that the two would eventually combine.
Men and women of all ages are increasingly undergoing plastic surgery so that a new nose with a straight bridge and distinct nodules, a slightly wide and protruding forehead, or sufficient cheekbones will bring wealth and the drive to take charge of their lives.
"One in 10 of my patients asks me to operate on them based on what they believe would bring good fortune in the future," said Lee Won Suk, a plastic surgeon.
Bigger eyes and cherry lips - with the size of the upper and lower lips balanced - are particularly popular with women going under the knife because they suggest happiness and love to come.
And for those wanting to ward off bad luck, the removal of dark spots - especially those under eyes, which are called "teardrops" and predict loneliness - is a must.
Physiognomy, or the art of face reading, has been practiced for centuries in Korea - as well as in other Asian countries - as a way of divining a person's future.
(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...
I hope I look that fabulous at 67. Happy Birthday to your wonderful wife!
Well, you may have to buy a tailor-made voodoo curse on them from some other fortune-teller.:)
It is interesting. I know some local European New Zealander girls that I feel a bit "Japanese" in looks. But they don't have any parents or grandparents that are Asians.
Also I remember someone who had albinism when at secondary school in Hong Kong before I came to NZ. His looks were very "Western" to my mind back then but of course he was as Chinese as everyone else in HK. In general, it is easy to distinguish HK Chinese from others and Japanese are easy to identify, but I have problems distinguishing between some Koreans and northern Chinese, or between Shanghaiese Chinese and Taiwanese.
There are some overlap between N. Chinese and Koreans. As for Taiwanese and Shanghai Chinese, I have no idea how to tell the apart.:)
korean women never 'gravitated toward the japanese look'. the trend is for japanese women to look more european but koreans never wanted to look japanese. korean celebrities don't try to change their ethnicity, if anything, most get surgery to enhance what they already have. celebrities like; lee yeon ae, han ga in, moon keun young, kim tae hee, lee yeon hee, kim ok bin and there's plenty others who haven't had surgery. truthfully, i think japan and china are just as 'obsessed' with plastic surgery. usually, the japanese with the 'Japanese look" have all had surgery to get that look so don't think that they're the prettiest asians.
http://k.daum.net/qna/kin/home/qdetail_view.html?boardid=HB&qid=0DAEO&q=%C7%D1%C0%CF%BA%BB%B9%CC%C0%CE
these pictures are of japanese celebrities. they speak for themselves
korean women never 'gravitated toward the japanese look'. the trend is for japanese women to look more european but koreans never wanted to look japanese. korean celebrities don't try to change their ethnicity, if anything, most get surgery to enhance what they already have. celebrities like; lee yeon ae, han ga in, moon keun young, kim tae hee, lee yeon hee, kim ok bin and there's plenty others who haven't had surgery. truthfully, i think japan and china are just as 'obsessed' with plastic surgery. usually, the japanese with the 'Japanese look" have all had surgery to get that look so don't think that they're the prettiest asians.
http://k.daum.net/qna/kin/home/qdetail_view.html?boardid=HB&qid=0DAEO&q=%C7%D1%C0%CF%BA%BB%B9%CC%C0%CE
these pictures are of japanese celebrities. they speak for themselves
the two pictures you posted are both korean, in case you didn't know. the top is kim tae hee and the bottom is choi ji woo. kim tae hee is all natural but choi ji woo had her nose defined. if you see her old pictures, she looks like she does now, there hasn't been a drastic change.
i don't understand why there's so many people bashing koreans. and i don't understand why oprah and tyra banks had a segment about plastic surgery obsession in korea when obviously, they both had works done to their noses and when a hit series like Dr. 90210 is so popular in america. what ticks me off more is that oprah winfrey had lisa ling, a CHINESE woman, come onto the show to talk on behalf of KOREANS on why surgery is popular is SOUTH KOREA.
Don't worry about Chinese. They are sour losers on this matter. Cosmetic surgery fad is a serious problem, but Chinese would love to think that all pretty Korean women did it.
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