Excessive plastic surgeries by Korean women: U.S. daily

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), a daily newspaper in the United States, reported Wednesday that some young Korean women are taking excessive health risks by having plastic surgery, including operations to remove calf muscle and to regenerate their hymens.

In a Seoul-datelined page one article, the newspaper said Korean women were pursuing a Western-style beauty ideal by increasing the height of their noses, reshaping their chins or adding a fold to their eyelids.

Recently, young women, in particular, have made thick calves a major target of plastic surgery, the goal being to emulate the slender-legged appearance of supermodels, it reported.

Noting that the operation to remove calf muscle has sparked a controversy here, the newspaper said that even doctors recognize that Korea is the world`s only country to routinely perform what are considered ``extreme`` operations.

Reporting that an operation to regenerate the hymen was gaining popularity among soon-to-be brides who hope to conceal their premarital sexual experience, the newspaper said that such operations have helped many plastic surgeons secure stable incomes. It also pointed out that Korean men still hope to marry a chaste woman even if they`ve had premarital sex with other women.

The desire among young women to have ``racehorse legs`` is partly a result of Korean tradition and partly due to advances in medical science, it said. The newspaper also reported that Korean women were able to pay for the operations thanks to the fact that income levels have improved faster here than in other Asian countries.

Han Ki-Heung eligius@donga.com