Has Plastic Surgery Made These Beauty Queens All Look The Same?

South Korea's growing obsession with plastic surgery became apparent when pictures of a group of aspiring beauty queens posted online prompted claims that cosmetic procedures have left all the contestants looking the same.

Pictures of the 20 Miss Korea 2013 finalists were posted on Reddit fueling speculation that many of them had undergone surgery and prompting users to criticize the Asian nation's growing trend to go under the knife.

 

South Koreans currently have more plastic surgery than in any other country according to recent figures, with the craze particularly popular among 19 to 49-year-olds.

The popularity of surgery, particularly among the young, has been blamed by some on a desire to look more 'western' fueled by an obsession with celebrity culture.

All of the women vying for the crown of Miss Korea 2013 have dark, perfectly trussed hair, either tumbling over their shoulders or neatly tied up, pale skin, bright eyes and a perfect bright white smile. And their apparent similarity prompted Reddit user ShenTheWise to post their pictures online, suggesting that many of those vying for the Miss Korea title this year have had similar surgery. 

He captioned the image: 'Korea’s plastic surgery mayhem is finally converging on the same face.' The post saw more than 3,000 people comment in response, debating the merits of widespread plastic surgery.

Reddit user HotBrownie, who claims to hail from Seoul, said: 'Those women in fact do look unnervingly similar and yes, Koreans think so too.

'This is called the Korean plastic face look. In certain areas of Seoul, you would think all the women are sisters because they look so similar due to same surgeries. 'Without the plastic surgery, korean women are very diverse looking and easily can be told apart.

'The surgery takes away their individuality and uniqueness and its sad. Most are beautiful without it but telling them that their Korean ethnic features are in fact lovely is as effective as screaming at a brick wall. 'They wont believe you because they've been brainwashed to think westernization of their features is superior, I don't think they want to look white, but a mix of white and Asian and definitely less Korean.'

Another Reddit user, Forevertraveling, added: 'I live in Korea and older women complain how girls don't look Korean anymore because of all the plastic surgery. 'It's so common to the point if I meet a girl, I just assume she has had something done.