Face Value

K-Pop idols are basically synonymous with good looks. Female K-Pop stars generally have fair skin, big eyes, small noses, egg-shaped heads and weigh less than 50 kgs or 110 lbs. Caty’s vocal coach says that if Caty wants to be a megastar, she needs to lose weight. This is no secret in K-Pop. This narrow idea of beauty shocks Haeryun. She looks at a 90s financial crash that led in part to South Korea becoming the “plastic surgery capital of the world” where it is no longer taboo to have botox, a rhinoplasty or double eyelid surgery. And Haeryun talks to the head of the academy about these toxic beauty standards. 

Consultant: Suk-Young Kim