Korean Wholesale Fashion

Korean beauty standards are a well-known aspect of Korean society.

According to a global study conducted by the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons in 2019, South Korea was among the top ten nations with the highest rate of cosmetic surgery. Slim form, petite face, v-shaped jaw, pale complexion, straight brows, beautiful skin, and bigger eyes are all important in Korean beauty standards. Aegyo-sal, a phrase used in Korea to refer to the little fatty deposits beneath the eyes that are supposed to give a person a more youthful appearance, is one of the beauty criteria for the eyes. East Asian blepharoplasty is a procedure that generates double eyelids (a crease in the top eyelid) to make the eyes look wider.

Korean beauty standards have been heavily affected by media figures such as actresses, TV personalities, and K-pop singers.

The physical appearance of K-pop idols has had a significant effect on Korean beauty standards. This has driven the market for B2B Wholesale sellers - it's a market that continues to grow.

According to a 2008 research, 20% of young Korean ladies had undergone cosmetic surgery. This is much higher than the global average. According to a more recent Gallup Korea study conducted in 2015, roughly one-third of South Korean women aged 19 to 29 have undergone cosmetic surgery. According to a 2009 study, Korean women are more critical of their body image and have poorer self-esteem and self-satisfaction than women in the United States.

In South Korea, there is a great deal of societal pressure to conform to the community and societal expectations that are placed on the person. This is seen in the theory of what motivates both Korean men and women to strive for a rigid beauty standard. According to a research conducted by Lin and Raval of Miami University, the pressure to have the "ideal" look may arise from sentiments of inferiority from the community if people regard themselves to be less handsome. The findings of this study back with prior data by Keong Ja Woo, who investigated how beauty standards in Korea affected people's prospects of employment based on their height, weight, and facial preference.

The pressure to maintain a level of attractiveness is even felt in the workplace. As part of the employment process, companies need applicants to provide a picture, height, and, in some cases, a family history. Beauty is frequently viewed as a method of achieving financial success in South Korea's quickly industrialized postwar economy, which has suffered a slow job growth rate following its economic boom. As a result, Korea now has a highly competent and educated workforce contending for a limited number of employment possibilities and potential for upward social mobility. Some Koreans see investments in beauty, such as cosmetic items and medical beauty procedures including plastic surgery, dermatology, and cosmetic dentistry, as a way to gain a competitive advantage in social and economic growth.

K-Beauty Products

South Korea exported more than $2.64 billion in cosmetic items in 2015, up from roughly $1.91 billion in 2014. Blemish balm (BB) creams, color correction (CC) creams, serums, essences, ampoules, seaweed face masks, and scrubs are some of the most popular items used in Korean beauty. Snail extract is a component prevalent in Korean beauty products that is not usually seen in Western goods. BB cream, which was previously solely available in China, first appeared on American stores in 2011, and by 2014, the US market for BB cream had grown to roughly $164 million.

Cosmetic surgery

Plastic surgery is not stigmatized in South Korea, and it is often a frequent graduation present. The popularity of East Asian blepharoplasty, the most prevalent cosmetic treatment in South Korea, may be traced in significant part to the impact of Western society. Western beauty values extend beyond the eyes to include the contour of the face. Because people of East Asian origin tend to have flatter facial bone structures than those of European descent, facial bone reshaping surgery is quite popular. To alter the face shape, V-line surgery (jaw and chin reduction) and cheekbone (zygoma) reduction surgery are performed. These procedures are very widespread among celebrities, who are frequently obliged to endure these alterations in their cheekbones, jaw, and chin in order to achieve an oval face.

The motivation for cosmetic surgery has been a source of contention in Korean society. According to Holliday and Elfving-Hwang, the pressure of success in job and marriage is strongly entrenched in one's capacity to govern one's physique, which is impacted by attractiveness. Because firms that assist with marriage matching and even job applications demand a photo of the individual, it is unavoidable that the Korean people feels pressured to undergo plastic surgery in order to obtain "natural beauty."

South Korea has also experienced an upsurge in medical tourism from tourists seeking facial bone contouring specialist skills. Korean surgeons have pioneered facial bone reshaping with treatments such as the osteotomy method and have written the first book on the subject. Cosmetic surgery revenues increased by 17% between 1999 and 2000, reaching over 170 billion (South Korean won), or $144 million US dollars.

Plastic Surgery History

David Ralph Millard, a Yale College and Harvard Medical School graduate, was the head plastic surgeon for the United States Marine Corps in South Korea. He aspired to follow in the footsteps of his mentor, Sir Harold Gillies, and offer reconstructive plastic surgery for wounded soldiers, children, and other civilians harmed during the Korean War. Millard was examining techniques for doing reconstructive surgery on burn victims in order to rebuild the patients' brows, and he had an unusual interest in the study of the eye, the eye socket, and the eyelid fold.

He wished to change the structure of the "oriental" eye into a more "western" appearance. Millard was unable to locate a willing patient until a Korean translator sought the procedure for eyes with a more "round look," adding that "because of the squint in his slant eyes, Americans could not discern what he was thinking and hence did not trust him," to which Millard consented. When he couldn't locate any articles translated into English, Millard was inspired to undertake his own study on conducting double-eyelid surgery.

Although double-eyelid surgery had previously been conducted in limited numbers in Japan, Hong Kong, and Korea, Millard's integration altered the motive and methodology for cosmetic surgery in Korea. Millard stated that he wanted to reduce the "Asian-ness" by creating a higher nose bridge by implanting more cartilage to the nose and widening the eyes by tearing the inner fold of the eye for a longer eye look, removing the fat in the eyelid that causes the monolid, and suturing the skin on the eyelid to create the double-eyelid fold. Many plastic procedures of this type were performed on various Koreans during this time period, and before leaving the country, he educated a number of local doctors in his techniques.