By: Mustika Nur Amalia
(Cultural Studies)
This paper is written in order to fulfill the final project of ‘Cultural Studies’. My topic in this subject would like to analyze the phenomena of cosmetic surgery become pop culture in Korea and its represented through the movie ‘200 Pound Beauty’. I interested in choosing this topic because recently the issue of Korean Hallyu (Korean wave) explosion becoming trends issue that would be interesting to discuss. The effect of Korean wave causes the internet media expose the facts about Korea. For instance, one of the web en.ce.cn mentioned that according to a thesis by Um Hyun-shin at South Korea's Kyung Hee University's clothing and textiles department, 77.5 percent of a total of 810 female respondents over the age of 18 said during a survey conducted last September 2007 they wanted cosmetic surgery, while 62 percent of women in their late 20s have already undergone cosmetic surgery and for men reach 40%, the survey shows. Based on the survey result we know that how massive number of Korean women who have been undergone cosmetic surgery proves that cosmetic surgery have been become pop culture among Korean. Before we going further, let us know the definition of pop culture first. Storey (2010) define pop culture is simply culture that is widely favoured or well like by many people. Pop culture spread through media such as music, cinema, performing art, crafting, etc. Mcdonald argues that modern technology also created new media such as the movies and television which are specially well adapted to mass manufacture and distribution (Rosenberg & white, 59). Therefore, my research question that would be answered in this study is ‘how cosmetic surgery is condoned through ‘200 Pounds Beauty?’ My first point of view is cosmetic surgery condoned through ‘200 Pounds Beauty’ because cosmetic surgery have become popular culture and common phenomena in Korea as the product of cultural practice. Through ‘200 Pounds Beauty’, the movie want to give the information about cosmetic surgery as one of the examples of cultural phenomenon in entertainment industry. There are two reasons why I argue that cosmetic surgery as the product of cultural practice.
First, body politics in Korea demands Korean women should be beautiful like ‘Caucasian’ therefore they have to do cosmetic surgery to fulfill the demands. The idea of beauty concept is like ‘Caucasian’ as the result of globalizing notions of beauty by western perspective. As Julia Yoo has mentioned before that beauty in Korean perspective means having big eyes, a pale complexion, a sharp and pointed nose, a taller height, and a small chin and mouth, as ‘white’ as ‘Caucasian’. The popularity of Caucasian and Eurasian models reflects the postcolonial structure of commoditization and consumerism and is still influenced by a colonial past (Goon and Craven 2003 in Li 2008). Moreover, the prevalence of Caucasian models in many Asian advertisements for beauty products raises the possibility that beauty ideals are or are becoming global (Li, Min, Belk, Kimura, Bahl, 2008:444). They stated that in Asia, skin lightening as well as cosmetic surgeries that provide a more Western appearance (e.g., Kaw 1993; Miller 2003) have been taken by some as evidence of the global appeal of Western and Caucasian standards of beauty (Goon and Craven 2003; Isa and Kramer 2003). The concept of beauty perspective is one of the practices that women becoming sex object as the result cultural domination. Bartky explains that this cultural domination as a situation in which, ``all the items in the general life of our people -our language, our institutions, our art and literature, our popular culture - are sexist; that all, to a greater or lesser degree, manifest male supremacy'' (Jeffreys, 2005: 7). Orlan in her work explored gender stereotypes in historical representations of the female body, her present project examines the social pressures which are exercised upon women through their bodies- in particular, the cultural beauty norms (Davis, 458). The practice of cosmetic surgery cannot be separated that as women who become sex object must be fulfill cultural demands. Jeffreys states that:
Beauty practices are the main instrument by which the ``difference'' between the sexes is created and maintained. They create the stereotyped role for women of being sex and beauty objects, having to spend inordinate amounts of time and money on makeup, hairstyles, depilation, creams and potions, fashion, botox and cosmetic surgery (Jefreyss, 2005: 29-30).
Cosmetic surgery is one of the weapons for women to empower themselves toward cultural domination which is somehow harmful for women. In addition, the concept of beauty standard for Korean women is widespread through media, advertisement, and internet which rarely show the ideal beauty of Asian model. Most of them show the figure that have been modified their body. The worse thing is when this concept of ‘Caucasian’ beauty is rooted by parents to their children since they were teenagers. A recent survey of 250 mothers throughout Korea, conducted by Dove, a personal care brand famous for its soap, showed that one in four moms suggested their teenage child get plastic surgery. “Mass media and the Internet have a big impact on students in their formative years,” said Dr. Park Won-jin of Wonjin Plastic Surgery. “They are easily exposed to television and the concept of “lookism” [discrimination or prejudice based on personal appearance] is thrust on them through the Internet” (http://kwikiblog.blogspot.com). According to an e-Seoul survey, 41.4 percent of teens interviewed said they were “willing to have plastic surgery for beauty.” These surveys show how big the impact of beauty standard politics demands Korean women as sex object willing to undergo cosmetic surgery.
Second, discrimination in working place based on appearance encourage Korean people must be undergo cosmetic surgery. Scwartzman states in his article entitled ‘SKorean survey: Appearance-based discrimination is widespread’ found that four in ten say they have suffered discrimination in hiring on the basis of their looks, which cost them either job opportunities or caused them to receive lower salaries. The jobs website Career announced on the 29th the results of its survey of 583 jobseekers, finding that that 42.4% believe they have been the victims of discrimination based on their appearances and have lost job and salary opportunities that way. The survey shows 53.4% were “absolutely never being hired”, 35.6% were “being evaluated by my appearance more than my education, grades, or talents”, and 25.5% were “being discriminated against compared to other applicants”. As Lee states that during the 1990s, Korean companies’ look-discriminatory selection customs were one of the major reasons for the pervasive lookism in Korean society and overheated body management lifestyle. A young woman with good looks and a slim body could have more opportunities to present and practice her secret abilities, especially in the case of getting a job (Lee, 2009: 4). She continues considering this social context, these newly feminine daughters were manufactured by ambitious mothers, who encouraged them to undergo cosmetic surgery on their eyes and noses, believing that an improved appearance would change their daughters’ life chances in marriage and employment. Another case, Julia Yoo gives an example of her 29 year old male cousin, who is slim and over six feet tall, gets significantly more job offers than his best male friend, who is shorter and heavier, even though both of them graduated from the same prestigious college, Seoul National University, and had the same GPA and credentials. Discrimination in working place also depicted in the movie ‘200 pounds beauty’ through Hanna before and post-cosmetic surgery. For further discussion how harmful the practice of cosmetic surgery which is pictured in this movie, it will explain in the next paragraph.
From website www.thaimedicalnews.com explores 200 Pound Beauty, the Korean plastic surgery comedy, has sold over 6,561,800 tickets, making it the single most successful comedy in Korea. The popularity of the film is a reflection of Koreans’ obsession with physical appearance which has resulted in a thriving plastic surgery industry. Recently, the practice of cosmetic surgery causes the women suffer a lot as Jeffreys states:
In the last two decades the brutality of the beauty practices that women carry out on their bodies has become much more severe. Today's practices require the breaking of skin, spilling of blood and rearrangement or amputation of body parts. Foreign bodies, in the form of breast implants, are placed under the flesh and next to the heart, women's labia are cut to shape, fat is liposuctioned out of the thighs and buttocks and sometimes injected into other sites such as cheeks and chins (Jeffreys, 2005:11).
Now, let me making comparison how people treat Hanna before and post-cosmetic surgery. When Sang Jun knew that Jenny was actually Hanna, he felt disappointed at first. Then, Hanna explained why she must be undergone cosmetic surgery. She has given twice chances by Sang Jun to be a singer, but Hanna is worthless and Jenny is fortune. Before she undergoes cosmetic surgery, she is being discriminated in job. Even though she is talented, she just become a dubber for untalented and cannot become a singer. She is being marginalized, people mocking at her because she is fat. Sang Jun also treated her as a doll. When she becoming Jenny, she has a lot of fans, she got an opportunity to do a concert. In the end, Hanna shows his anger toward Sang Jun that she is just becoming an object; she raped poster of Jenny by screaming ‘Get rid of these. They’re repulsive and scary’. The word ‘repulsive’ here give the strong impression that how extremely disgusting that her body not belong to hers anymore. Everything is strange. She wasted all her cassette too; unintentionally she is injured, her hand bleeding. When Sang Jun tried to cure it, Hana said ‘I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt. It’s nothing compared to what I went through. I cut my bone and skin’ . These depicted that how much suffer that Hanna must bear. She has makeover her body from top to toe. Davis takes the notion of respecting women's agency to new extremes by arguing that cosmetic surgery is a means of achieving moral and just outcomes for women, ``Cosmetic surgery is about morality (Jeffreys; 2005:16). For a woman whose suffering has gone beyond a certain point, cosmetic surgery can become a matter of justice - the only fair thing to do'' (1995, p. 163 in Jeffreys; 2005:16). In Hanna cases, she shows the inferiority as women who being constructed about the idea of beauty, that’s why she chooses to do cosmetic surgery in order to looking for justice. It proves that after post-cosmetic surgery, she gets what she dreamed. She is being the real singer.
Compare to reality show ‘The Swan’ which is also brought up the idea that cosmetic surgery is needed to changes women’s life and make them to be happier in life. In many cases, the women who are chosen to be makeover are they who suffered from obesity and having a problem with their husband or boyfriend due to their appearance. In one of the episode Nely Galan ‘The Swan’, we can see that during the process of makeover, some contestants felt desperate and almost give up and wanted to quit. However Nely Galan said to them that ‘You have to burden your scars to live happily’. For those who are trained during the transformation are strictly forbidden to gain weight. If their weight increases, they will force to decrease their weight by having diet. Some, she could not burden the pain in all parts of her body, but again Nely Galan said that ‘I believe you can passed, this pain will be paid’. As a result many contestants reveal their life after ‘The Swan’ gives significant changes. Beth Lay, one of ‘The Swan’ contestant said that before she became contestant of ‘The Swan’, she has relationship problems with her husband and almost divorced. After transformation, she admitted that she became more confident, and her relationship with her husband getting closer, she plans having second children. Another contestant reveals her life after ‘The Swan’ reality show. Kelly Becker said that before ‘The Swan’ she always teased by her friends due to her strange nose. Her boyfriend almost leaved her too. But, after she came back from ‘The Swan’, two weeks later her boyfriend proposed her. From these cases, it clearly shows that by being beauty means will bring life changes. No matter how hard it for women, but it is the price that should be paid for happiness.
On the other hand, starting from the year 2008, Korean people start to campaign against cosmetic surgery practice. This is happen due to the bad side effect of cosmetic surgery cases increase rapidly from the year 2008 until 2011, reported from Consumer Research Council. Yet, this action still does not change perception about ‘lookism’ which is mushroomed toward Korean society. Or maybe, the change will happen if Korean society changes their concept of beauty is like ‘Caucasian’. Or, the media have to stop pictured perfect role model that have been modified through cosmetic surgery and introduce the new concept of ‘Asian beauty’. As Julia Yoo said that they need to stop sending the message that beauty means Nicole Kidman and Britney Spears, and instead show that true Asian characteristics are beautiful too.
In conclusion,‘200 Pounds Beauty’ is represent the common phenomena at entertainment industry which is Korean artist mostly have been done cosmetic surgery that’s why cosmetic surgery is condoned even though it is culturally wrong. In a real life, we can found that many actresses in Korea have been makeover their body through cosmetic surgery. The percentage of Korean actresses who have been undergone cosmetic surgery reach 99%, it shows from Korean Health Department data. Mostly Korean actresses are doing cosmetic surgery to have eyelids and pointed nose. According to Sandy Cobrin, only 25% of Koreans are born with the double eye-lid crease, and she describes eye-lid surgery as “stitching a permanent crease into the eye-lid.” In addition, cosmetic surgery is one of the cultural practices since women become sex object which is demanded women should be beautiful. The perception of beauty in Korea is more like ‘Caucasian’, whereas beauty origin in Korea is ‘Asian’. In order to fulfill the cultural demands about the concept of ‘Caucasian’ beauty make Korean women willing to undergo cosmetic surgery. Moreover, the idea of ‘lookism’ has been spread through Korean society. For those who want to look for justice and prevent them from being discriminate, cosmetic surgery become the only one choice.
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