Korea's Crazy Cosmetic Surgeries and Products: A Billion Dollar Industry

[Music] I'm grace neutral a tattoo artist and activist my tattoos on the fact that I'm wearing a Burberry coat in a spa I'm interested in ideas of alternative beauty and pushing our boundaries of positive body image to me the human body is a beautiful thing in all its forms what Gracie could have look like if she didn't [ __ ] up [Music] I've traveled to South Korea where amazingly tattooing is illegal I'm going to explore their six billion dollar domestic beauty industry and kpop to influence on Korean beauty ideals so we're here in Myeongdong in Seoul which is basically like the epicenter of beauty this is where everyone comes to get their beauty products as you can see is even is crazy the streets are so cool every other shopper seems to be a mean cup shop Korea has one of the world's fastest growing and technically advanced beauty industries South Korean women spend more than twice as much of their income on makeup and beauty products than American women while men spend more on beauty products than anyone else in the world skincare and beauty products advertising is everywhere with k-pop stars and key soaps pushing the latest cosmetic trends there's an unparalleled emphasis in Korean society on looking good and having perfect skin young South Koreans and increasingly China's beauty tourists flocked to this area lured by skincare and makeup products dubbed k-beauty you come here just for fashion or do you come here to buy makeup the skin for that everything every day do you spend doing makeup two hours a day [Music] Koreans have one of the most extensive skin care regimes in the world piling on between 10 and 18 products a day it's pretty mental right now I've never seen crowds like this just come for beauty Korean products promised a perfect skin is fast becoming the most exported and desired around the world just from chatting to people it's not just South Koreans that come here for beauty they just met a couple of Chinese girls they said to me that is one of the best places to come and the best products are here so I'm coming here to meet up with a girl called Ileana basically she is a girl that kind of epitomizes everything to do with mainstream beauty in South Korea today anti-phishing give me a bit of an insight on her life and the things that she does in the routines that she has been in beauty oh nice to meet you how are you good thank you and look at your eyes your eyes they're very beautiful too yeah so where did you have done it I had it done at home where I live in London in London is it common in your country no it's not common anywhere really I think maybe less than a hundred people have it in the world Oh kids are not very many so Ileana where are you taking me now we're going to run your charm moon shot yes okay what's a moon shot in there I mean Charlie is makeup store uh-huh and we are gonna have makeup over oh cool we're gonna make yeah the influence of kpop and young people in South Korea cannot be overestimated and major k-pop label YG Entertainment and taking advantage of that they developed their own line of cosmetics to sell in their store in central Seoul moonshot beauty products were a natural item for Korean stars to promote on kdramas surgery is often part of the plot Oh Jana yes yeah yeah so like a typical kpop yes yeah nice with your parents how did they feel when you started wearing makeup you want to get the hard work up there Shmuel given there's a cotton yarn casting actor or hot oh mama they call the chief under there it's hard to describe if you go out on your own vehicle holliman's are apart members of a walk my body because I get boghei how about on Jana Wow are you aware this much like heavy dark eye makeup because I think my eyes are pretty intense anyway but no it looks really good the kpop style ik is it's not bad [Music] whoo Jana offered to take me to Seoul's 24-hour 7-story mega spa to show me that beauty isn't just about makeup but a big part of Korean lifestyle for young people like her [Music] Susy if I wanted something I'm freaking nervous right now one of the ladies who guided us in here to the changing rooms asked me if I could change in a private room because a fear of everyone being offended who might have to she asked me to keep my coat on yeah are you getting a bit of lien reception freaked out by my tattoos on the fact that I'm wearing a Burberry coat in a spa [Music] this is nice I found out that more than 60% of young women in their 20s have had cosmetic surgery here I wanted to find out how for me personally a lot of the procedures over here because they are [Music] everywhere what differences did you feel well the biggest in your appearance changing I have no fat on my face so I returned with these girls and guys who are young do you think it's the pressures of society telling them that they should look a certain way how their tongue kisses are wrong they were too comfortable if so I'll talk about tonsils law Victoria no no it's okay she's really open with me about everything she's been but this whole kind of sense that kpop has such a huge influence on the way young girls look I think it's great to idolize people who you admire but for me for 18 year old girls to start getting Botox just because they feel like they have to fit into this kpop ideal lives kind of made me feel a bit uncomfortable [Music] one thing that I noticed here that's really weird is that there's just a big room of people yeah and they just they're asleep on the floor like randomly yes this is like their parents are sleeping in the kitchen like playing around and stuff and they sleep here all night and I used to sleep here every weekend with my friends [Music] is being like your beauty regime how would you feel if someone took that away from you and told you that you could never have cosmetic surgery again [Music] right here this is a pretty bizarre place if I'm honest I've never been to a spa before there's open 24 hours into a spa that has like an arcade in it I'm used to going to spas Oh being and or and maybe people looking at me funny because I'm quite to this extreme you can tell that just not impressed by me and I definitely think it's got to be the tattoos and the stigma around her - a few years ago wouldn't even been let in a place like this like I would be completely ban it's clear that will Jana reflects South Korea's mainstream beauty culture while I'm an easy that this billion-dollar business puts huge pressure on young girls to look perfect it's easy to see why so many are influenced especially when k-pop idols themselves are having to conform to the very narrow beauty ideals I know young women in the West are facing a lot of the same pressures although in South Korea it's socially acceptable for teenagers to have cosmetic surgery it is illegal to be a tattoo artist I'm fascinated to understand how younger generations are challenging traditional views of beauty you

Channel: VICE Asia

Views: 1,421,968

Keywords: South Korea, korea, beauty, Grace Neutral, Tattooing, illegal Tattooing, tattoo, tattoo artist, underground, underground tattoo, subculture, youth, youth culture, self expression, body art, body modification, body piercing, ink, Documentary, documentaries, docs, interview, culture, lifestyle, world, exclusive, independent, videos, journalism, vice guide, vice.com, vice, vice magazine, vice mag, vice videos

Id: cgWCpdFc68k

Length: 10min 57sec (657 seconds)

Published: Thu Oct 04 2018