이런 주장이 말이 되나? 뉴스엔에 나온 기사인데 서인영이 ‘성형수술 인정하지만 전신성형 절대 아냐’고 말했네요. 오호! 네에에. 만약에 분리하려면 원래 성형수술을 했다 안했다고 중요한 차이 있었는데 이젠 진짜 성형수술이 어디서나 누구나 다 하는 한국사회에서만 이런 주장이 가능하네요. 얼굴이 괜찮고. 몸을 하면 뭐, 비윤리적인가? 그 사람이 자신이 없는 건가? 뭐가 달라요, 진짜? 원래 성형수술에 대해 비판적으로 얘기하려면 사실 근본적으로 성형수술이 왠지 안좋다고 생각하는 의미잖아요. 뭐 하느님한테서 받은 몸을 바뀌거나 페미니스트로서 여성한테 압박을 준다고 생각하거나 심리학적으로 따지면 그런 방법으로 자신감을 생기는 것 아니라고 생각하는 거자잖아요.
‘했다 안했다’는 건 중요한 거죠. 뭐 술 마시는 것처럼. 술에 대해서 비판적으로 얘기하려면 ‘마셨다 안마셨다”는 걸 따지는 거죠. 근데 벌써 윤리적 위반 했다면서 ‘음주운전을 했는데 누구를 안죽였다”고 하는 말이 안 돼죠. ㅋㅋㅋ 성형수술이 한국에서 이만큼 일반화가 됐나요? “했다 안했다”는 걸 안 때지고 “얼굴만 몸말고”는 의미가 있나요? 휴. 이렇게 대답을 하는 거면 잘라리 진짜 자신있게: ‘그래. 했다. 어쩔래? 신경 꺼!’ 그렇게 하든지. 아니면 아에 대답하지말든지. 근데 이렇게 설명하는 건…좀…미안하지만…바보스러워요. 이런 논리가 비논리적인 거니까요.
[Source: Newsen]
Is this really for real? For real, really? From Newsen comes this story, in which ever-popular star Seo In-yeong now defends herself from accusations that she has indeed gotten plastic surgery by actually saying, “I admit I’ve had plastic surgery on my face, but never my body!” Ooooook. Riiiiiight. Has plastic surgery in Korea become so ubiquitous that now, instead of the dividing line being between whether you did or didn’t have it (if you’re going to bother to criticize in the first place), it’s now “just on the face, not the body.” Come on.
I mean, if one assumes that drinking alcohol is in itself bad (which is why anyone would criticize it, right), the dividing line would be whether or not you do, or do not, drink alcohol. But once you’ve crossed that line, that’s like saying, “Yeah, well, I’m a drunk, but at least I didn’t kill anyone driving.” So the line has shifted from “if” to “how much.” In-yeong — what’s the point of even defending yourself if you’re going to say silly things like this? Either say, “Yeah, I got it, and screw you — it’s none of your business” or just don’t talk about it. But this kind of argument just kind of makes you look…well, stupid. Because it doesn’t make any sense.
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new trend?
But yeah. Another “Oh, Korea” moment. ><
I’m sorry but this chick troubles me. Despite all her “I Got Married” gigs and “sexy” shows I still get this wave of nausa looking at her. Always thought she was the least pleasant looking (not so much ugly as in simply unpleasant) of the whole bunch in Jewelry. Her chin, instead of making her looking bold, puts her more on the side of “horse-y” and stubborn in a bad way. The kind of girl who would shove other people out of the way by force of her chin alone :S
But at least I thought she had been born with that face (not the eyes so much really). I did always wonder about her prominent nose but it did so little make her pretty I doubted she could have actually paid to have it made. After all, PS in Korea usually results in at least somewhat pretty girls…with pointy (not horse sized) chins and pointed (not enormous) noses. In fact I used to admire how SIY managed to attain popularity despite not only having minimal talent but her untraditional face as well…I actually thought…ahh…well pretty or not, at least she is not letting her face get in the way… But now I know her face is just an example of plastic gone wrong
As for her alleged “bold and spunky charm”….it all comes off as quite fake and wannabe tough to me.
I hope I don’t sound like a anti-fan ^^ I usually care less about such things…but her recent popularity in Korea just amazes me — I mean if talent is not evident it’s usually more Kim Tae Hee/Song Hye Gyo kinds of beauty that get attention…..but how this annoying example of plastic surgery failure became popular enough to be credited to starting the “mushroom hair” trend in Korea is a complete mystery to me. If you’re not going to have talent, be eye candy….or at least be entertaining….
Hmmm…and who would’ve though fungus hair was actual evidence of cranial rot >_> “I admit I’ve had plastic surgery on my face, but never my body!” indeed.
i didn’t really notice that she got a plastic surgery at first. But what makes her different from the other korean female celebrities is her attitude – now that she just says it herself in public, she’s so confident about herself regardless of whether she got a surgery on some parts and not on the other parts! She is just the same as she’s often seen as a self-assertive girl on tv shows. I don’t really want to admire any korean female stars but “Way to go 서인영!” haha
Hmmm….I don’t think admitting you had plastic surgery is anything new in Korea. Many celebrities from Baek Ji Young to Ok Ju Hyun have done it, going as far to point out exactly what they did. In fact, it’s become almost an “advantage” to do this b/c fans usually look upon being “truthful” as enough to overlook any plastic surgery. Reprecussions of being outed by netizens is much worse b/c then not only are you fake but also a liar. I hardly call her confession evidence of “self-assertion.” If anything I see it as pathetic…okay okay….so you’re made up, who cares? Don’t try to deflect the negative press which many many celebrities have faced with an indignant “But my BODY isn’t fake!” She sounds immature not confident…
She’s a real dog, I wouldn’t want to look at her pre-surgery…
the nose, must have been the nose..
but still, it’s hard to make it in the korean media industry without having to go under the knife to look ‘perfect’..
and like S said, admitting you had plastic surgery is anything new in Korea. But i think people are still more particular about the facial features? cos you can’t change them by undergoing diets or exercising..
oh and imma post this on my blog alright, FMS? ^^
Just link back, and post away!
More posts please FMS^^!! I’ve never come across a site as unique and colorful as yours. Please, blog away your fashion obsessions
Who doesn’t get any surgery done in korean showbiz industry??
Bunch of barbie dolls clones ….so sad !!!
But I like her attitude, she really doesn’t bother me much though
The Real plastic is whats her name actress who plays in “200 pounds of beauty” movie I just can’t look at her face, looks very scary
PS: I love your web / frequent visiter but never left any comment before keep up the good work !!!!!
i think its the area between the eyes and also chin implant, thats how she achieves the dimples. and they probably added some pointyness on the nose too.
Objectively speaking, I also find Seo In-yeong’s argument stupid, but with variously 60 to 80% or more of Korean women having had double-eyelid surgery (depends on the sources), then many Korean women themselves may well make a distinction between cosmetic surgery that they consider virtually mandatory – and therefore publicly acceptable – and anything “excessive” done below the neckline that isn’t. In that sense, that guarded admission of Seo In-yeong’s is really quite shrewd.
That’s not to say that rates of non-facial cosmetic surgery aren’t also excessive, but other than people like Baek Ji Young – quite exceptional (and admirable) in many ways – it is still publicly unacceptable in Korea for women to admit to things like breast enlargement surgery. Recall, for instance, the lengths to which Lee Hyori will pretend she hasn’t received that, despite the overwhelming and blatant evidence to the contrary, even recently going so far as to use another person’s x-rays of a chest exam that were shown on TV (that’s the consensus anyway).
LOL yea she should totally said “yea i got surgery done, now F*** OFF!” but i don’t think of her any less.
funny thing is, i just to think that all the korean women in movies were just naturally beautiful, big eyes, plae skin, rosy lips and cheeks. but then i just recently learned that many of them had surgery done. and i was like “whattt???”
but i guess whatever makes them happy goes.
I do think less of her, because she’s a terrible role model for the young girls who have only her and a handful of other plastic role models to look up to.
I don’t know what you admire about her or any other Korean female star, Seoulienne, but I’m curious to find out. As far as I can see, since the original 1st wave of K-pop died (where it didn’t really matter what you looked like as long as you could sing, because you were gonna wear blonde dreadlocks and wear a matching vinyl jumpsuit and dance bokko) and the 2nd wave moved in (where it did matter how you looked and sang), which disintegrated into this 3rd era of stripper-dancing booty short era, at this point there’d really nothing to admire about these kind of women. The only hard work they do is laying on their backs. If it were about their looks, I could walk down the street on a sunny Saturday afternoon in Seoul and pick out 10 girls in 10 minutes who look nicer than the girl pictured.
Completely agree with S – just WHAT is it with this woman?
She’s neither talented nor especially good-looking – a walk around Hongdae at dusk will have you meet hundreds of girls more stunning than Seo In Young. That in itself wouldn’t be so bad if she was talented and an amazing singer (in fact, I would congratulate Korea for being able to look beyond the superficialities), but she’s no more talented than your average Korean from what I gather.
Either she’s the luckiest girl in Korea, she has some very good connections, or she’s giving sexual favours to the right people.
Seo In-yeong voice and singing is so annoying.
I don’t like her style either.
Not a fan of this star, either. Though I am disappointed I didn’t run into her or her film crew while she was “studying” on campus here.
What’s interesting about the body/face excuse is that it’s presenting the body as the seriously “bad” place to get work done. Why is that? At least from my Western (you know, like Lone Ranger) upbringing, I see the face as, well the “face” that you present to the world, the seat of your personality. Kim Ki-duk explores this in the film Time (시간), so I guess it’s not entirely a Western bias.
Perhaps, it has to do with the Confucian belief that your body is a gift given by your parents and it’s being taken literally as just “body”.
Regardless, I used to take the American stance of oh-my-god-plastic-surgery-is-so-wrong and I do still feel that way to some degree. But I’ve tempered that by noticing that I hypocritically approve of other kinds of surgical body modification like piercing and tattoos.
Yes, “body modification” is a wonderful form of self-expression and “plastic surgery” a horrendous form of self-doubt, but I think these are largely just interpretations based on cultural values In other words, we criticize different forms of body modification based on what we associate the motivations of each form is. That’s kind of f-ed up. Getting a tattoo can just as easily come from a place of insecurity as a nose job. And what’s so bad about soberly deciding you’d really just like some botox in them lips? Hell, it’s my body after all, isn’t it?
So that’s why I’m trying to be open-minded about plastic surgery. Still, I wouldn’t want to date a girl who had a boob job. Those things feel weird.
Speaking of sexual favors, from what I’ve heard, most famous Korean girls got their start as a hooker or room salon girl, which is actually the same as being a hooker. I’ve heard dirt on
DELETED,DELETED, andDELETED. It’s sad and probably true. When it comes to Seo In Yeoung, what’s scary is how so many people are getting her hairstyle. “The Mushroom” It’s so ajumma!!!!!!!!OK — word of warning, everyone. Saying that you “heard” that specific people have exchanged sexual favors for benefits gets into the realm of libel, so please refrain from spreading hearsay rumors here. Criticism is fine, but assertions of fact that can damaging to someone’s reputation such as “I heard that X slept with Y” or “My friend told me that A had sex for her part” without proof is grounds for being accused of malicious libel, and this site would end up being legally liable.
Thanks.
Sorry for starting the whole thing. For the record, it was mostly a bad joke on my part, and I don’t actually believe in the sexual favors thing.
While I was in Korea, I once met a very rich friend’s uncle who worked as a manager and star recruiter (not going to publish any names, but he was definitely legit and quite famous), and he told me that in the Korean entertainment world, in order to get famous, it was less about what you could do and more about who you knew and that most people could be stars since plastic surgery could fix a lot. Looking at Korea vs. America, it seems like a lot of now famous entertainers have been in the public eye, or at least been receiving training since they were children, whereas in Korea, a lot of stars seem to pretty much come out of nowhere (with exceptions, of course) because they just happened to be related to or be friends with the right people. And well, there have been lots of complaints since the dawn of time about the skills and talent of young American starlets, but I’d still say the majority is miles ahead of their Korean counterparts. Seems like Korea should start to re-think their approach to picking who gets to be the next idol.
Sungwon,
I hear what you’re saying about our upbringing having big impacts on our attitudes to body modification (of any form). I’m a bit of purist with that myself, generally not liking tattoos and intensely hating all body piercings, but when my wife (then girlfriend) decided to get her ears pierced I realized that it was strange that I could handle (just) one or two piercings in her ears, but so intensely disliked piercings anywhere else on anyone’s body. Objectively speaking, they’re just the same really, yes?
Yina — no problem! It’s all good for discussion, as long as we’re not bringing up names with alleged (and embarrassing!) claims. Not that you did — just wanted to put the message out there, since we don’t wanna get sued or nothing. We ain’t even making money yet on this here magazine, so we couldn’t even afford the lawyer! ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Ah, come on, how many of us *haven’t* given a sexual favor now and then? How do you think I got a column on FMS anyhow?? ^_~
James – Objectively speaking they are the same, yes. But I realized this morning that my perspective above was just that, objective and reductionist. While it’s true quantitatively that body modification is body modification regardless, qualitatively the kind of body modification matters. Plastic surgery and “body art” have completely different cultural contexts. Getting your nose pierced has a completely different aesthetic and cultural *meaning* than getting your ear pierced. Of course, it’s totally arbitrary, but it’s still a real difference.
Maybe if we put the two perspectives together, we can come up with better questions, like given that plastic surgery and “body art” are objectively both body modification what are the subjective cultural and personal contexts that give rise to our aversions and preferences?
shoot…it’s so commonly done all over the world now…and plus almost every star out there has got something done. so i don’t see what the big deal is and why people are still so hush hush.
i mean they’ve got the money and they want to do it so they do it. it’s a risk people take in order boost up their own confidence. if that’s what helps then let it be.
but tsk tsk tsk to seo in young. plastic surgery is plastic surgery…really doesn’t matter where you got it done…you got it done.
One thing I noticed among East Asian entertainment issue is the frequency of plastic surgery topic. I just wonder why it’s brought up more with regards to Korean celebs than other celebs say of Japanese or Chinese origin. It’s not like those industries have any less of it. Because people are more open about it? Korean netizens dislike people who do? Or Korean celebs for some reason make more dramatic face changes mid-career (like that guy Hwanhee, he’s a singer I believe).
she is cute but for me…..she looks like a boy…..maybe because of her hair….ehehe…
That’s an issue that always bothered me a little. Statically speaking, Korea is not even one of the top three countries that exercise plastic surgery (NationMaster). Though there is always the argument that Korea “doesn’t report” or it’s “hard to get accurate stats” I feel that holds true for other Asian countries as well.
In any case, I chalk up this fascination with ps of K-celebs to the fact that they are really making it big in Asia fairly recently (w/in the last 10 years) while China and Japan have been on the scene for awhile. To other countries Korea is “suddenly” is whipping out some of the most beautiful and trendsetting celebs of Asia – naturally, this makes people wonder about where all these pretty people are coming from “all of sudden.” Also there is the simple fact that people want to look like beautiful people and want to know HOW they came to look that way (via makeup, ps etc).
Sadly, I also think there is a mixture of racism playing out b/c from what I have seen, ps surgery accusations always seem to inevitably crop up under forum topics like “Who is the best looking celeb?” or “Which country has the best look actors/actresses?.” Simply b/c K-dramas are getting lots of exposure right now, lots of people name a k-celeb if only b/c they are in some drama they are watching at the moment. Then they will be immediately be hit with the retort that this is not true b/c their face is not “natural.” Since celebs are known for their beauty most often enough and pretty to the point that you can’t necessarily say they are ugly w/o sounding “jealous”, the only viable thing to attack HOW they got beautiful.
This happens in Hollywood too, though in a different manner; usually the choice accusation for popular stars is that she is a slut/whore.
I think it all comes down to that k-celebs are doing very well right now and where there are lovers, there are always haters. Consequently, once the Korea craze has died down and become more ubiquitous, the constant ps allegations will go down too.