Korean women reject K-beauty standards in ‘Escape the Corset’ revolt

One-third of Korean women between the ages of 19 and 39 have had some kind of cosmetic surgery, polls show

But hundreds of thousands of young feminists are now giving up the make-up, skincare products and procedures to reclaim a ‘lever of our freedom’

Reading Time:4 minutes

In South Korea, beauty is more than skin deep. It is a duty. A 2007 survey found that one in four Korean mothers had advised their daughters between the ages of 12 and 16 to undergo cosmetic surgery. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 11:01am, 29 May 2023

In Seoul, the beauty capital of the world, surgeons offer recent college and even high school graduates discounts on procedures so they will be ready for the job market; resumes in South Korea often require job applicants to include a photo, as well as their weight and height.

One-third of Korean women between the ages of 19 and 39 have had some kind of cosmetic surgery, according to a 2020 Gallup Korea poll – 66 per cent said they would go under the knife to improve their chances on the marriage market. Even more distressing, a 2007 survey by the brand Dove found that one in four Korean mothers advised daughters between the ages of 12 and 16 to go under the knife.

Yet some South Korean women have had enough.

Since 2018, hundreds of thousands of them have taken to social media to post pictures of themselves cutting their long locks and destroying their make-up. They storm the streets in baggy clothes and spectacles.

Women in Seoul protest in 2018 against the rise of so-called spycam porn, in which intimate photos and footage are taken using hidden cameras, as part of a “big surge of feminism” author Elise Hu said she witnessed while in South Korea. Photo: Yonhap via AP

They called their movement “Escape the Corset”.

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