G-Dragon’s exquisite transformation was only a small example. According to an article in Wasabi Now by Crystal Tal, South Korean stars have had rhinoplasty, eyelid surgery, facial contouring, and even body contouring. Rhinoplasty is favored the most out of the categories. With the ability to change the face image entirely, most male and female idols alike can have their idealized vision of themselves. From the scraping of their jaw and chin, they can alter their facial proportions to those that are considered best for their careers.
Now, of course, there is a certain controversy over this. Plastic surgery can be both good and bad depending on one’s opinions. Sure, I totally understand the effects of admiring good-looking people; it is definitely more powerful to see a face that leaves you starstruck than one that leaves you with nothing. Also, the idols themselves can benefit from their altered looks. Society generally accepts those who are pleasing to the eye. Thus, it is natural for them to change their look to further their career. We are bound to look at those people who are unquestionably more beautiful than others.
There is also a bad side to all of this. South Korea’s use of plastic surgery can also be its weakness. To become accepted into their society, one is forced to choose whether they can do more to their natural-born face. Expectations will be held a lot higher in terms of being pretty or being handsome. Those who are not enough are left to pursue nothing just because they aren’t good-looking. You have to be aesthetically pleasing or be shunned for life.
In addition to career reliance, the actual health risks of plastic surgery are simply outrageous. According to the website Health line.com, risks such as scarring, organ damage, infections, and even death itself are part of plastic surgery. Simply changing one feature on a face can astonishingly become fatal. Plastic surgery may be a total game changer for the faces of South Korea, but one should really consider sacrificing one’s looks because of the chance of an ugly effect. According to a friend of mine, it is rumored that plastic surgery can severely damage your face as you age. Skin and proportions might become distorted, and the results might look far uglier than even your previous state before taking the surgery.
I would not trust my face with a complete stranger when the chances of health risks are far greater than they are without surgery. However, the fact that almost every entertainment agency out there in South Korea pressures their idols to confront these dangers is actually terrifying. Society, of course, can give influence and grant success once you pander to their preferences, but on the other hand, having faith in yourself and believing you are talented is also a crucial factor in being a K-pop idol. Only an individual can decide to become an idol, but unless he finds his own way to succeed, that individual will be nothing more than a puppet—not just to the entertainment agencies but also to South Korea, and to the world.
The choice of doing plastic surgery is certainly controversial. In the end, plastic surgery is only a step closer to being accepted into society, but South Korea idols have to learn, in my opinion, that one does not have to rely on looks to be successful in life.
The Personalities Are Political
Maggie writes about plastic surgery and K-pop stars—something she debates with her friends regularly. I love a passionately held pop-culture opinion, and wrote my column about why it’s important we keep treating them as serious.
Before the 2016 election, I used to Keep Up with one specific family I have never even met, the Kardashians, like it was my job. I would keep a live text chain with my friend as every episode would air on Sunday and follow each family member gleefully on social media. No development was too small to catch my notice. After November 2016, it’s all seemed a little less fun. Our weekly watch dates petered out. It was hard to bring ourselves to care when there were so many other things to care about. And reality TV had lost some of its escapist sheen, coming a little bit too close to reality.
And then: US Weekly was sold to American Media Inc., the publisher of the National Enquirer. They started putting Trump children on their covers, writing about them like fun celebs you should know. Women wore black on the Golden Globes red carpet and started a legal fund for victims of sexual harassment and assault. Oprah has been floated as a presidential candidate. Celebrity culture is as political as it ever has been—and I would argue it always has been.
Anyone who wants to say that caring about celebrities is dumb is buying into a sexist narrative. Celebrity, like any cultural interest that primarily belongs to women—cooking, interior design, romance novels—is often sidelined and belittled. Sports? Important and valuable to our discourse. But, of course, sports are widely thought of as by and for men.
And there’s something to be said for caring about something political but with littler nuclear-war-level consequence on our immediate lives. It’s cathartic to get into an argument about Kylie Jenner’s pregnancy at a party. Or about plastic surgery in K-pop with our close friends.
To talk and write and read about celebrity is to think critically about our culture: about the press and social media, about what privacy means and who we grant it to, about who holds power and why; about global standards of beauty, about popularity and mass appeal—and about politics. Who we like, what we care about, who we choose to represent that.
MARYCLARE CHINEDO
YEARS AS MENTEE: 3
GRADE: Senior
HIGH SCHOOL: Bronx Lighthouse College Prep Academy
BORN: Bronx, NY
LIVES: Bronx, NY
PUBLICATIONS AND RECOGNITIONS: Scholastic Art & Writing Awards: Gold Key, Silver Key, and Honorable Mention
MENTEE’S ANECDOTE: Morayo is like my big sister. She gives great advice; she’s funny and amazing. She pushes me to write outside of my comfort zone and write about things I normally wouldn’t write about. Whenever I need help with something that’s not writing-related, she’s always willing to help. For example, once she pretended to be a college interviewer to help prepare me for an interview. Her flexibility and patience are why I’m able to grow as a writer and as a person. She’s such a great mentor and I am very grateful to have had her.
MORAYO FALEYIMU
YEARS AS MENTOR: 6
OCCUPATION: Senior Program Manager, Peer Health Exchange
BORN: Miami, FL
LIVES: Elizabeth, NJ
MENTOR’S ANECDOTE: Wow! I can honestly say it’s been a pleasure watching Maryclare gain confidence in her voice and sense of humor. Over the past three years, I’ve watched her experiment with different genres, tackle real-world issues through satire, and think critically about how she wants to use her voice as a storyteller. I can’t wait to see her work added to the canon.
Maryclare Yesterday vs. Maryclare Today