1/5韩国女性曾整容 专家揭整容根源

Plastic surgery has long been big business in the US, but now the trend is sweeping across Asia.

Figures released by the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS), suggest that when population is taken into account, South Korea is now the world's largest market for cosmetic procedures.

In a bid to change their looks, 20 percent of women between the ages of 19 and 49 in Seoul, the country's capital city, admitted they had gone under the knife.

The most popular surgical procedures include double eyelid surgery - which reduces excess skin in the upper eyelid to make the eyes appear bigger, lipoplasty - which uses high-frequency sound waves to eliminate fat - and nose jobs.

While on the nonsurgical front, Botox and laser hair removal remain firm favourites.

Overall more than 5.8 million enhancements were performed in Asia during 2010, while just over 4.5 million procedures were carried out in the US the Economist revealed.

It is believed that the rise of South Korea's pop music industry is behind the boom, and many patients visit clinics with photos of celebrities, asking surgeons to emulate nose angle or eyes.

One of the country's largest clinics, JK Plastic Surgery Center founded by Joo Kwon, recently opened a hotel to better serve customers, who spend an average of $17,675 during a single visit.

An increasing amount of clients are non-Koreans, from China, Japan, the Middle East and even Africa, and ministers believe medical tourism will help boost the Korean economy.

However Mr Kwon warned that young people should be cautious when seeking such operations.

'I think South Korea has a very rigorous and narrow definition of beauty because we’re an ethnically homogenous society and everyone looks pretty much the same. It is also related to low self-esteem.

'I think the situation will somewhat moderate in future as society becomes more diverse. But it will take quite a bit of time until we get there,' he told the reporters.

Last year, the Education Ministry issued a booklet warning Korean high school students of 'plastic surgery syndrome', citing Michael Jackson and a local woman whose addiction to plastic surgery left her with a grotesquely swollen face.

整形美容长期以来一直在美国盛行，而如今这个潮流正席卷亚洲。

国际美容整形外科学会发布的数据显示，若考虑人口因素，韩国现在是全世界整形美容业最大的市场。

在韩国首都首尔，20%年龄介于19到49岁的女性承认她们为了改变样貌，接受过美容整形手术。

最流行的整形手术包括双眼皮手术——通过减少上眼睑多余的皮肤来使双眼看起来更大，抽脂手术——运用高频声波来减肥，以及鼻子整形手术。

而在非手术整形中，注射肉毒杆菌和激光脱毛依然是最受欢迎的。

《经济学人》的数据显示，在2010年，亚洲的整形手术总量超过了580万例，而在美国这个数字仅为450万多一点。

许多人认为韩国流行音乐产业的崛起是这个整容热潮背后的原因，许多人带着明星的照片来到整形医院，要求仿照明星的鼻型或眼睛来整容。

韩国最大的整形医院之一，由权株创立的JK整形手术中心，近期开了一家旅馆来更好地服务顾客。这些顾客每次看病人均花费17675美元。

急增的整形顾客中很多并不是韩国人，他们来自中国、日本、中东甚至非洲。韩国部长们认为医疗旅游将有助于推动韩国经济发展。

但是，权先生警告年轻人在欲进行手术时应三思。

他告诉记者说：“我认为，韩国对于美的定义很苛刻狭隘，因为我们是一个种族单一的国家，每个人看上去都差不多。整容也和自卑情绪有关。”

“我认为随着社会变得更多元化，未来这个情况会在一定程度上得到改善。不过这需要一定的时间。”

去年，韩国教育部发布了一本手册就整形手术综合症对韩国高中生发出了警告，引用了迈克尔•杰克逊以及一个韩国女性因对整形上瘾导致脸部怪异浮肿的案例。