Beauty Recovery Room by Ji Yeo
- Words
- Caroline Kurze
Photographer Ji Yeo took these images in the Beauty Recovery Room directly after the women had undergone plastic surgery. Ji Yeo aims to raise awareness for the social pressure on Korean women to adjust to a Western ideal of beauty. As the photographer describes, they’re living in a culture where men are judged on their balance sheet and women by their beauty.
+ Read MoreShe states: “I have been struck by the clear distinction between the women I photographed in Korea and Westerners who seek surgery. Whereas in America, women often focus on altering their bodies (breast enlargements being the most popular), in Korea most women focus on facial adjustments such as: making their eyes bigger and wider, minimizing their cheekbones and jaw lines, and making their noses higher and narrower. Whereas sexiness is highly emphasized in America, in Korea, notions of childlike femininity and innocence reign supreme. It is this difference that compels me; regardless of geography or body type women are willing to spend thousands of dollars and endure extreme cuts, bruises, and scarring in order to achieve beauty.”
All images © Ji Yeo
