One Nation, One Face: A Critical Exploration of Sociality and Cultural Oppression in the South Korean Plastic Surgery Phenomenon

Combining semi-structured interviews of plastic surgery doctors and individuals interested in plastic surgery as well as content analyses of magazine and newspaper articles on plastic surgery, this research aims to inductively examine the intersubjective production of meaning among South Korean individuals in the context of the nation’s massive plastic surgery trend. To this end, this research will flesh out the values, norms, and logics invested in plastic surgery, the actors and processes that shape and maintain these standards, and their implications for social life. Expected results point to how powerful social norms and media representations dictate standards of beauty and worth in ways that oppress individuals. Furthermore, the growing commonness and capabilities of plastic surgery embody cultural logics that transform how the self, others, and relationships are interpreted altogether in broader social life. This ultimately reorganizes the social bases, structures, and contexts of interaction around materialistic pursuits and conforming one’s identity.

Faculty Supervisor:

Josee Johnson

Student:

Partner:

Yonsei University

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Education

University:

University of Toronto

Program: