I am making a video documentary for my semester project on issues
about women in South Korea with plastic surgery. The media in Korea is becoming
bigger and the issue with plastic surgery will grow even more. The problem with
the entertainment business there is that they not only look for talent, but
also searches for the perfect look. Many Korean women want to look exactly like
the celebrities and so they do plastic surgery such as the double- eyelid,
nose, chin, and other surgeries. The problem with this is that everyone is
starting to look the same. I chose to pick this specific topic for my project
because I love K-POP and I enjoy what the media provides with their high
quality music videos and themes, but I believe that the issue with plastic
surgery should change. Here is the number one k-pop girl group, Girls
Generation's music video, "I Got A Boy" :
I am making this project not just for myself, but also for the
people (not just Koreans) that believe that they are ugly or unworthy. People
that think that plastic surgery is the answer is wrong. Everyone is beautiful
the way they are. My professional aspiration is that I want to become a
counselor or a psychiatrist. I think doing this
project connects with me trying to figure out why people have a negative
perspective of themselves. I want to make a change to the media especially in
South Korea because they need to stop the plastic surgery madness and take
people in for their talents, not the way they look. Here is one of the articles that I am
resourcing for my research.
Resources:
I really like this idea because I also believe women are being influenced by society to become this "perfect" image of what a woman should be. Popular culture definitely influences young girls to act more like a "superstar." It is sad to say that this is what upcoming generations rely on for guidance on how to become a woman.
ReplyDeleteI think this is really cool especially considering that I really like SNSD! I've always noticed that K-POP stars always try to look really "White" (i.e. contacts to make the eyes look bigger, lightening the hair color, etc.), so maybe it'll be to your benefit to not only talk about South Korea's obsession with beauty, but the kind of beauty it's obsessed with! Discuss the effects of Western imperialism and all that good stuff...
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your opinion on the matter and I feel that this song epitomizes the issue in Korea regarding plastic surgery and physically altering ones' body for the sake of impressing someone or the rest of society. The following video briefly discusses the issue:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xc8125T_Ug
Plastic surgery can be seen as a problem for many reasons and often whiteness or westernization of facial features plays a part. There is so much analysis already of this topic. Please dig and search extensively for these sources. Be sure to have a clear message in your project. I would suggest to look immediately (if you have not already) at the book Yell-Oh Girls by Vickie Nam http://www.amazon.com/YELL-Oh-Emerging-Explore-Identity-American/dp/0060959444
ReplyDeleteLove the idea and the awesome progress you've made with it so far. I looked around and sort of found a k-pop music video that skips the plastic surgery part but still makes valid points of becoming independent from men from the perspective of South Korean women. Just another resource you could possibly pull from if you wish to touch upon that topic in regards to South Korea. Here's the link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkSOOiMDGiY
ReplyDeleteGood luck! :)
I've recently read an article about how "smile" surgeries have become increasingly popular in South Korea. This new type of surgery is problematic for other reasons other than westernization. It addresses the male gaze and caters to it. Here's an article that could help:
ReplyDeletehttp://disinfo.com/2013/09/plastic-surgery-to-create-a-permanent-smile-debuts-in-south-korea/