0:00:02 > 0:00:09This programme contains some scenes which some viewers may find upsetting and some strong language
0:00:10 > 0:00:13I'm Annie Price, and I've lived my whole life with burn scars.
0:00:14 > 0:00:19I've had many operations on my face, but all were for medical necessity.
0:00:19 > 0:00:21- Where would you do that? Across the bridge?- Yes.
0:00:21 > 0:00:23Now I'm older and more confident,
0:00:23 > 0:00:26I'm thinking about having my nose done, but just for looks.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30So, short nose can be released in some degree.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33I'm in Seoul, South Korea.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36This is a city where 60% of people in their 20s
0:00:36 > 0:00:38have had plastic surgery.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40Hi, are you OK?
0:00:42 > 0:00:46I want to find out what some of the best plastic surgeons in the world
0:00:46 > 0:00:47would recommend for me.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50WHISPERING: This lady is having her nose done.
0:00:50 > 0:00:51This could literally be me on here.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55All in the name of beauty.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14I was burnt in a caravan fire when I was about three or four weeks old.
0:01:14 > 0:01:19I had third-degree burns on my whole face, my head,
0:01:19 > 0:01:21both my hands and my arm.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26So, I had splints on my hands because my hands didn't move.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29They didn't think I'd write, so I'm really lucky that I can.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32I've always had to moisturise a lot,
0:01:32 > 0:01:37and my mum really had to do all the heavy, heavy work,
0:01:37 > 0:01:40and she had to moisturise and bend the fingers around every single day,
0:01:40 > 0:01:42twice a day.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46Doing it on a child was quite painful, so I was crying,
0:01:46 > 0:01:48so it must have been horrible for her.
0:01:50 > 0:01:51So, the surgery I have had done,
0:01:51 > 0:01:54I've obviously had the surgery that saved my life,
0:01:54 > 0:01:56and all of the skin grafts that...
0:01:58 > 0:02:00..that...
0:02:00 > 0:02:03..obviously allowed me to move my face at all.
0:02:04 > 0:02:09My mum helped me make most of those decisions because I was quite young.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12You know, she sort of had the conversation with the doctors,
0:02:12 > 0:02:13you know, "Can we make Annie look...?"
0:02:13 > 0:02:16I'm not really supposed to use this word, but "normal".
0:02:16 > 0:02:18And they said, you know, "No."
0:02:20 > 0:02:23I've looked at doing the top of my nose.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26I would like to probably try the tip of my nose,
0:02:26 > 0:02:27but we'll see, we'll see.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37- Hello!- Hello, did I see you downstairs?- How are you doing?
0:02:37 > 0:02:39No, I don't think so. How are you doing?
0:02:39 > 0:02:43As a child I had more than a dozen operations on my face.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47Most of them were performed by reconstructive surgeon
0:02:47 > 0:02:48Mr David Gault.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51I haven't seen him for more than 15 years.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54- And how is life?- Really good.
0:02:54 > 0:02:55I can't complain, I'm very happy.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57So how...
0:02:57 > 0:03:00How has it all been? Have you had lots of operations recently?
0:03:00 > 0:03:02Well, I haven't had anything for about, let me think...
0:03:04 > 0:03:05..about 10 or 12 years.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08The last one that we did together was the eye,
0:03:08 > 0:03:11and then I've just recently had...
0:03:12 > 0:03:16..um, like, zigzag cuts in my nose because that was really webbed.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18Oh, right. Yes, that's a good plan.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20Yeah, and I've just started doing loads of laser work.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23You know the six kind of needles, like...
0:03:23 > 0:03:26- Yeah, lots of little penetrating things.- Yes, that one.- Yeah.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29I've had that probably about four or five times.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32- And you like that?- I love that. - Because your face is looking good.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34It feels so good.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36I've got some slides here...
0:03:37 > 0:03:39..of an operation we did together.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41Oh, wow, there's loads of them.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45And that's a picture of you when you were two.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48Oh, look at my little face!
0:03:48 > 0:03:50Oh, look at my little Jackson 5 afro!
0:03:51 > 0:03:53I've got a massive head.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55I don't need to see that, now I'm about to have a baby!
0:03:55 > 0:03:57That's your ear,
0:03:57 > 0:04:02all pulled forward and sticking out, and shaped like a little cup.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04God, it was so far out.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07- Look at me, little Dumbo. - And you can see...
0:04:07 > 0:04:11..we flattened it out, put that fold in, and moved it back a long way.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13- That looks so good. - That's how it ended up.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15Such a neat ear.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17Do you still look at that now and think,
0:04:17 > 0:04:18"Yeah, I'm chuffed with that"?
0:04:18 > 0:04:21- That's why you're in my collection. - Oh, am I in the Hall of Fame?
0:04:21 > 0:04:23People who have worked.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27Of course, no-one is going to show a bad testimonial, are they?
0:04:27 > 0:04:28I'm thinking of having my nose done,
0:04:28 > 0:04:31just dropping the tip down a little bit.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33What do you think?
0:04:33 > 0:04:36If you really want it, do it, do it safely as you can,
0:04:36 > 0:04:40- but as far as need goes, you don't need surgery.- Thanks.
0:04:40 > 0:04:45What is it about you that's prompted you to think of further refinements?
0:04:45 > 0:04:49I think I'm just happier in the way that I didn't use surgery at all,
0:04:49 > 0:04:52kind of ignored it for about 12 years,
0:04:52 > 0:04:53and since getting back into it,
0:04:53 > 0:04:56I have actually felt physically better,
0:04:56 > 0:04:59so literally, from having the nose done,
0:04:59 > 0:05:03I didn't realise how much I was turning my head to look at things.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06I can see from all angles, which sounds ridiculous to say,
0:05:06 > 0:05:10but, yeah, it's nice, and my face feels a lot freer.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13See, it's not just the shape thing then, is it?
0:05:13 > 0:05:16- No.- It's an actual vision thing. - Yeah.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20First of all, don't make up your mind in a hurry.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23Always take the advice of the people near you that you trust.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26Yeah. You're completely right.
0:05:35 > 0:05:36Look.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38Yep. Lovely.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42I live with cats Bobby and Batman, and my fiance Sam,
0:05:42 > 0:05:43just outside London.
0:05:43 > 0:05:48We've been together for five years and are expecting our first baby.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51So is this... Are you actually packing then?
0:05:51 > 0:05:53Yeah, of course I'm packing.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55These are really comfy. How cute are these?
0:05:55 > 0:05:58- But, I bought them in a size six, and I'm like a four.- Too big?- Yeah.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01Because everyone kept saying, "You're pregnant,
0:06:01 > 0:06:04"your feet are going to swell." I was like, "I want comfort".
0:06:04 > 0:06:06You could wear your shoes inside the shoes.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12How do you feel about me having, like, another nose surgery.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14I literally don't care.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16Care a little bit. How about that?
0:06:16 > 0:06:19- That's how I feel.- You need to care. Care a little bit.
0:06:19 > 0:06:20No, I mainly care about your recovery.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22Like, are you going to be OK afterwards?
0:06:22 > 0:06:26So, you're saying you don't care because you love me so much that you
0:06:26 > 0:06:28think I am beautiful as I am, is that what you meant to say?
0:06:28 > 0:06:31I think if I cared that much about if you had a nose or not,
0:06:31 > 0:06:34- we wouldn't be getting married in a few months' time.- That's true.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36If you want to get a nose, that's fine.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39But what if I have it done and I look...it looks worse?
0:06:39 > 0:06:40Um...
0:06:40 > 0:06:44Well, it's your decision what you do with your own nose.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46Yeah, you're right. Thanks.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49- It'd be nice to have a nose.- Yeah. - It's annoying to have no nose.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51Yeah, it'd be nicer to have a nose for you.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53Not that there is no nose, just a little nose.
0:06:53 > 0:06:54It looks a country mile better than it did.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57I'm also scared that I'm going to get there and they're going to say,
0:06:57 > 0:07:00"Oh, how have you lived like this?
0:07:00 > 0:07:03"Why haven't you done all this sooner?"
0:07:03 > 0:07:05- They probably will. - I think they will.
0:07:05 > 0:07:06I think they'll be like,
0:07:06 > 0:07:08"Really? The nose? Is that all we're going to go for?
0:07:08 > 0:07:11"I think we should do this, this, this and this."
0:07:13 > 0:07:16- Hiya!- Hello!- How are you, my dear? - I'm really good, how are you?
0:07:16 > 0:07:19- Oh, I'm fine, thank you. Look at this!- I know!
0:07:19 > 0:07:22My mum, Maggie, adopted me when I was six.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26She's always brought me up to be comfortable with how I look.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30I'm not sure why you want to have surgery now, I'm not sure...
0:07:30 > 0:07:35Why, what's brought it up now, all these years later?
0:07:35 > 0:07:36I think I feel more comfortable,
0:07:36 > 0:07:39a lot more confident with how everything is.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41I'm having a baby now, and life's going to get more hectic.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44I'd rather do it sooner than later because I don't want my children
0:07:44 > 0:07:47- to be like, "Oh, Mum's changed." - I don't see...
0:07:47 > 0:07:50- I don't think...- I know it wouldn't be a big thing.- No.
0:07:50 > 0:07:51I won't change that much, but I don't want it to be
0:07:51 > 0:07:53something they have to deal with.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56When you were little, there was a lot of stuff
0:07:56 > 0:07:58that the surgeons could have done,
0:07:58 > 0:08:01but I didn't want you to have to grow up from a very young age,
0:08:01 > 0:08:04keep thinking, "I've got to have my face look like everybody else's,
0:08:04 > 0:08:06"or I can't go out."
0:08:06 > 0:08:08I would be uneasy
0:08:08 > 0:08:11if you wanted to keep having little bits and pieces done.
0:08:11 > 0:08:13Although it's not my decision.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15Is your decision. It's not my decision at all,
0:08:15 > 0:08:18I'm just saying, as a mother, how it would make me feel.
0:08:18 > 0:08:19- Yeah.- It's not my decision at all,
0:08:19 > 0:08:21I'd support you whatever you did,
0:08:21 > 0:08:24but we don't always have to like our offspring's decisions.
0:08:24 > 0:08:25No. Unfortunately not!
0:08:25 > 0:08:27In a kind way.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29Not everything's for comfort,
0:08:29 > 0:08:31some of the things I'd like to do is just for look,
0:08:31 > 0:08:33but I don't think that's a bad thing.
0:08:33 > 0:08:34I don't think it'd impact my happiness,
0:08:34 > 0:08:37I don't think I'm going to be a better person if I have it,
0:08:37 > 0:08:39I just think I might feel and look better.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42They're the only two reasons you should have the surgery.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44- That's a good point, yeah. - I think I'm the ideal candidate.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46Yeah, that's a really good point.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49- You know what I mean?- Yes. I just want to make sure that you're
0:08:49 > 0:08:52comfortable and that you're not going to do things that are going to
0:08:52 > 0:08:54set you on a path to being unhappy.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56She's my baby, you know, my youngest child.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59- Favourite child.- No, no, no!
0:08:59 > 0:09:01Sorry, Mum, I think I am.
0:09:01 > 0:09:02You're my favourite adopted child,
0:09:02 > 0:09:04or you're my favourites youngest daughter.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07- Diplomatic, this one. - Yes, got to be.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09No favourites in our house.
0:09:09 > 0:09:10And your baby will be my...
0:09:10 > 0:09:12You can see it in your eyes!
0:09:12 > 0:09:15- ..my favourite second grandchild. - The eyes don't lie!
0:09:15 > 0:09:17You can say all the niceties that you want!
0:09:17 > 0:09:19No, you're my favourite youngest daughter,
0:09:19 > 0:09:22or my favourite adopted child, whichever one you like.
0:09:22 > 0:09:23So there.
0:09:36 > 0:09:41Seoul, South Korea, the global capital of plastic surgery.
0:09:41 > 0:09:47People come here from all over the world to be operated on,
0:09:47 > 0:09:50and Koreans have had more procedures than anyone.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54An amazing one in five of the population
0:09:54 > 0:09:56have had some sort of plastic surgery.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01The doctors here specialise in facial surgery,
0:10:01 > 0:10:05so it's the ideal place to see what could be done for me.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10I'm here in the famous Gangnam district,
0:10:10 > 0:10:13known as the beauty belt of Seoul.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17In this neighbourhood alone,
0:10:17 > 0:10:20there are more than 400 plastic surgery clinics.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24And there's a plastic surgery clinic here.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27I can see all the ones already from here, down there.
0:10:28 > 0:10:30There's some more coming up.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32It's crazy because they're huge.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36They're doing really well, obviously. Big businesses.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39It's crazy how it's so tight, and it's all dense in one little area,
0:10:39 > 0:10:41almost like they want to be like,
0:10:41 > 0:10:44"Come here, there's all this in one spot."
0:10:46 > 0:10:49I'm wondering just how many people here
0:10:49 > 0:10:51have actually had their faces done.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55What was excuse me again?
0:10:55 > 0:10:58- Sillyehabnida.- Sillyehabnida.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00HORN BLARES
0:11:00 > 0:11:02Sillyehabnida.
0:11:02 > 0:11:03Can I...? One second?
0:11:03 > 0:11:05One second?
0:11:05 > 0:11:07Sillyehabnida? No? No.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09Awkward.
0:11:09 > 0:11:10One second?
0:11:10 > 0:11:13Do you know many people that have had plastic surgery?
0:11:16 > 0:11:19Excuse me? You obviously don't need it at all, both of you,
0:11:19 > 0:11:22but would you ever consider having surgery done yourself?
0:11:36 > 0:11:39You have a very unique face, it's lovely. I wouldn't get it done.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41Have either of you thought,
0:11:41 > 0:11:43"You know what? I want to get some surgery for myself"?
0:12:06 > 0:12:08That's a really nice answer to hear.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11It doesn't seem very common around here.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14Why do you think you feel differently to everyone else?
0:12:20 > 0:12:23- Thank you so much. - Thank you so much.- Thank you.
0:12:32 > 0:12:37In Seoul, 60% of people in their 20s have had a surgical procedure.
0:12:43 > 0:12:44There's a picture of plastic surgery,
0:12:44 > 0:12:47someone having their chin done, even on the tube.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52There's definitely a particular look going on here.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55Big eyes, small nose, and a narrow jaw.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03I meet a lady who's booked in for eyelid surgery in a couple of days.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07She's going to let me follow her through her procedure.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11What made you decide to have the surgery?
0:13:18 > 0:13:21For me, it's strange, because if you weren't getting a job,
0:13:21 > 0:13:23or struggling in the job market,
0:13:23 > 0:13:25we'd probably try a lot of different avenues,
0:13:25 > 0:13:28rather than think, "I need to change my face."
0:13:28 > 0:13:32I feel like before, plastic surgery used to be an out-of-the-norm
0:13:32 > 0:13:35kind of thing to do, whereas now it seems like everyone's doing it.
0:13:35 > 0:13:36Why do you think that is?
0:13:49 > 0:13:52This is your first big operation. How do you feel about it?
0:13:58 > 0:14:00I think you're gorgeous, honestly.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02You're so pretty. For me, it's shocking
0:14:02 > 0:14:04that you would want to have it done.
0:14:07 > 0:14:08Oh, thank you!
0:14:08 > 0:14:10I want a nose like yours!
0:14:10 > 0:14:12We'll switch, right?
0:14:12 > 0:14:13THEY GIGGLE
0:14:15 > 0:14:16- Bye.- Thank you.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24I've been thinking about having my nose done for years,
0:14:24 > 0:14:27but it's never felt like quite the right time.
0:14:32 > 0:14:33Hello.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36Now I'm going to have a consultation with Dr Oh,
0:14:36 > 0:14:38one of the most famous surgeons in Seoul.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43On his website, he claims to be the god of facial surgery.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49Obviously I was excited outside, but I am getting a bit...
0:14:49 > 0:14:53I'm sort of tensing a bit now cos I know that I'm an easy sell,
0:14:53 > 0:14:56so I'm worried that he's going to be really persuasive and I'll be like,
0:14:56 > 0:14:59"You've make great points, I will look better, let's do this."
0:14:59 > 0:15:01Can you imagine?
0:15:01 > 0:15:04"Sam, I've just put a non-refundable deposit down.
0:15:04 > 0:15:05"I'll be back in about eight months.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07"The baby will be born here.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09"Plus side, it'll have a dual passport!
0:15:09 > 0:15:11"How do we feel about that?"
0:15:13 > 0:15:16- Hello.- Ah, hello.- How are you? - I'm good. How are you?
0:15:16 > 0:15:18- I'm fine.- Excellent.
0:15:18 > 0:15:19- I'm Dr Oh.- Excellent, I'm Annie.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23Just wondering what you would recommend for me.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27- Ah, for you. - Yeah, I know obviously...
0:15:27 > 0:15:28..I know it's...
0:15:28 > 0:15:30- ..a big ask...- Yes.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32- ..what you would do.- Um...
0:15:32 > 0:15:36- Well, the facial proportions are very good...- Mmm.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41For instance, you have a very lovely facial proportion,
0:15:41 > 0:15:45even though you have scars, your proportions are very good.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49Good proportion, you don't really need plastic surgery.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51- Ah, good. I'm out.- Mm.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54- Saved me some money.- Yes!
0:15:54 > 0:15:56I've had some work done recently in the UK.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00- How recently?- Yes... Not too recently, probably last September.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03I had my nose sort of narrowed at the top because I had webbing,
0:16:03 > 0:16:07where the scars sort of pulled, just to release the tissue.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10- So you released the scar?- Yes, to release the scar tissue, yes.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14- And I've started having laser work over there.- Mm-hmm.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17But I'm looking at possibly getting something done
0:16:17 > 0:16:20- with the tip of my nose.- Ah. - But I wasn't sure what.- Yes.
0:16:20 > 0:16:21Do you mind if I touch?
0:16:21 > 0:16:25Go for it. I've got a lot of make-up on, so you'll get it on your hand.
0:16:28 > 0:16:33The difficult thing about scars, how do you say,
0:16:33 > 0:16:36the shortage of soft tissue...
0:16:36 > 0:16:38- Yes.- ..is the problem.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41I mainly do cosmetic surgery.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44- Yes.- I try to make it more beautiful.- Yeah.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48But in scar contracture or burn scars,
0:16:48 > 0:16:50- it's more about the functional part.- Yes.
0:16:50 > 0:16:56And to achieve the aesthetic part, it is very, very hard.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59Your nose tip, although there's a little room on the tip side,
0:16:59 > 0:17:02- there's no room on the nostril side.- Yes.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06The nostril, that rim, this part has to come down with...
0:17:06 > 0:17:07- With it.- ..with the whole nose.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11- Yeah.- So if there's not enough tissue here, it's very hard to...
0:17:11 > 0:17:14Pull it down. So, would you not do a skin graft?
0:17:14 > 0:17:18- No, you don't like it?- No, I would not do that.- You wouldn't do that.
0:17:18 > 0:17:22If you gain something here, you lose something here.
0:17:22 > 0:17:24You're right.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27For instance, there is a lot of depressions there.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30Those can be released a little bit more.
0:17:30 > 0:17:31What do you mean?
0:17:31 > 0:17:35There is depressed because there is a shortage of skin.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38- Right.- It's wrinkled, like this. It's wrinkled. There is no skin.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41- Right, got you.- So we release it.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43- Yes.- And, because there's no skin here,
0:17:43 > 0:17:46- we're going to put something in there to replace the skin.- Got you.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48- So you would take skin from, say, here?- Yes.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50Is there anything else I could get done?
0:17:50 > 0:17:53I do know that it's... There's a lot to go for, but...
0:17:53 > 0:17:55- Mmm...- Not really?
0:17:55 > 0:17:56The skin is very tight there.
0:17:56 > 0:18:02- There is not...not enough excess of skin to stretch.- Yeah.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04- OK, you have a good stay here. - Thank you.
0:18:05 > 0:18:10It's funny, because I think that I was a bit shocked that,
0:18:10 > 0:18:13I think maybe I wanted him to do, like, "Right, you should do this,
0:18:13 > 0:18:15"you should do that." I thought he was going to say,
0:18:15 > 0:18:17"Do 100 different things,"
0:18:17 > 0:18:19so I think, in a way, there was a tiny bit that I was a little...
0:18:19 > 0:18:23..I was a bit disappointed because he said about the scar tissue,
0:18:23 > 0:18:26that there's not a lot he could do, which is fair.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29You know? You know, I think, obviously, really,
0:18:29 > 0:18:32if I actually gave it a proper thought, that's an obvious thing.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34Now, I know I've got another consult,
0:18:34 > 0:18:37so I'm going to wait, and I haven't closed the book,
0:18:37 > 0:18:40but it's kind of taken the edge off, and drawn a line under it a bit.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42I don't want, "Yeah, here's a wand.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45"We can make everything special, you're going to feel amazing."
0:18:45 > 0:18:48But at the back of my mind, I did think he was going to say,
0:18:48 > 0:18:49"Hey, try this.".
0:19:01 > 0:19:02I've been a bit shocked
0:19:02 > 0:19:06by Koreans' obsession with this idea of physical perfection.
0:19:06 > 0:19:07How are you?
0:19:07 > 0:19:09I wonder what it would have been like to grow up here
0:19:09 > 0:19:11with a face like mine.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14I'm meeting a woman called Song to find out.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18What actually happened? How did you get your scars?
0:19:40 > 0:19:42- Same.- Oh!
0:19:42 > 0:19:44Yeah. Same.
0:19:44 > 0:19:45Four weeks old.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48What would you say it was like growing up in Korea
0:19:48 > 0:19:50with burns?
0:20:29 > 0:20:31Get on with it. Tough love.
0:20:32 > 0:20:34Since I've been in Korea,
0:20:34 > 0:20:37I've really noticed that image is important, how you look,
0:20:37 > 0:20:40what you do for a job, how successful you are.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43Did you feel that you had a lot of social pressure
0:20:43 > 0:20:45to fit in?
0:21:00 > 0:21:01Um...
0:21:01 > 0:21:03I... Give me a second.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05Oh, shit.
0:21:10 > 0:21:14I'm thinking more of you because I just think really, it's luck.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17Do you know what I mean? Like, where you live, where you grow up.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20Growing up, whilst I was aware I was different,
0:21:20 > 0:21:23it wasn't a huge negative, it was just I was different.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25It wasn't until, and I got upset as well because you said
0:21:25 > 0:21:28that you had trouble getting work because of the CV and the pictures,
0:21:28 > 0:21:32that my real trouble started when I was probably around 16
0:21:32 > 0:21:35and all my friends were getting jobs in the local shops,
0:21:35 > 0:21:37in the clothes shops,
0:21:37 > 0:21:40and I couldn't really get a job. I'd go in and hand...
0:21:40 > 0:21:42Because I went in to hand my CV in,
0:21:42 > 0:21:44no-one really wanted to give me a job.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47But beauty actually never really came into it for me for me,
0:21:47 > 0:21:48if I'm brutally honest.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51My mum always told me I was beautiful when I was a baby
0:21:51 > 0:21:55and growing up, so I kind of just thought I was in a way, you know?
0:21:55 > 0:21:57Obviously I'm not, like...
0:21:58 > 0:22:01..you know, compared to standards of other people,
0:22:01 > 0:22:04but I feel lucky that I grew up in an environment
0:22:04 > 0:22:06where I didn't think that it was necessarily,
0:22:06 > 0:22:08you know,
0:22:08 > 0:22:11of more importance than your character.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24If I'm honest, I think I'd have said probably the look a little bit more.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28I don't think I could be comfortable with changing too far off of
0:22:28 > 0:22:30how I already look.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32I wouldn't ever be comfortable looking at myself in the mirror
0:22:32 > 0:22:36and thinking, Jesus Christ, that's a very different face.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38But I would like my nose to be...
0:22:38 > 0:22:41Because to be honest with you, it's embarrassing,
0:22:41 > 0:22:43I don't want to feel like, you know.
0:22:43 > 0:22:44I want to, like, have my nose a bit lower.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47I want to wear sunglasses, I think they look weird...
0:22:47 > 0:22:49My nose looks weird with sunglasses.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51So that's, yeah, that's for a look.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53I would like my eyes to look nicer.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55I feel like the question is more, what would I have
0:22:55 > 0:22:58if I couldn't have one or the other, would I go for functional face?
0:22:58 > 0:23:00Obviously, I would probably go for function,
0:23:00 > 0:23:03but no, I do want to look better. I would like to look better.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39So, the thought of my kids getting bullied on account of me,
0:23:39 > 0:23:41that was something I was worried about.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44I actually spoke to my mum about it because it's such a small thing,
0:23:44 > 0:23:45I know a lot of people would be like,
0:23:45 > 0:23:48"You should be worrying about your kids' health,"
0:23:48 > 0:23:51I don't want people thinking I'm vain and that but, you know,
0:23:51 > 0:23:53things are difficult, and I know how I can deal with things,
0:23:53 > 0:23:56but having to instil that into children,
0:23:56 > 0:23:58I don't how that would work.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01I think my approach will be that I'll...I'll just be honest,
0:24:01 > 0:24:03like my mum did. It worked for me.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05That's the only thing I can relate it to.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09I don't see why I would ever lie, so I think from the beginning
0:24:09 > 0:24:11I will always say... It's more how they deal with it,
0:24:11 > 0:24:15I think the worst thing would be if my kid came home and was like,
0:24:15 > 0:24:17"I'm getting..." you know, "They're being horrible to me,
0:24:17 > 0:24:19"I don't want you to drop me at school."
0:24:19 > 0:24:22That would be, like, I would struggle with that.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26I think I would just have to be the parent and say, "Don't be rude.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28"You respect your family, you respect me," you know.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31Just get them to stand up to the situation.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35Which is something I would rather not deal with, but...
0:24:35 > 0:24:36..that's life.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50It's the day of Myung's operation.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53She's having eyelid surgery at BK Hospital,
0:24:53 > 0:24:56one of the biggest plastic surgery clinics in the beauty belt of Seoul.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00This place has 16 floors,
0:25:00 > 0:25:03with three of them used purely for operating theatres.
0:25:03 > 0:25:07An incredible 10,000 patients come here every year.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13Myung is having a consultation with medical director Dr Kim.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15He'll be performing her operation.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03This is a good example.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05To make the eyes open bigger.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08Before surgery she has left eye weakness of her opening muscles.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12So I gave her surgery to make the eyes open bigger, the left eye,
0:26:12 > 0:26:16so after surgery she made more symmetrical.
0:26:16 > 0:26:17That looks really good.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19She has both eyes weakness.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21You can see how one is quite weak.
0:26:21 > 0:26:23Sometimes the plastic surgery procedures
0:26:23 > 0:26:26can make people more beautiful and prettier,
0:26:26 > 0:26:30but actually, our purpose is to make people more...
0:26:30 > 0:26:36..look friendly, and then they can have a good impression.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39Many Koreans or Asian Chinese people
0:26:39 > 0:26:43have a small eye opening, and they have an angry appearance.
0:26:43 > 0:26:45Even though they are not angry,
0:26:45 > 0:26:47everybody thinks they are angry.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50After she opens the eyes bigger,
0:26:50 > 0:26:55she can have a little more friendly, brighter appearance.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58Has this lady just had her eyes done, or has she had anything else?
0:26:58 > 0:27:01She had eyelid surgery and nose surgery too.
0:27:01 > 0:27:02- And nose.- Yeah.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04If I am employer,
0:27:04 > 0:27:09I do not choose a person who doesn't look friendly
0:27:09 > 0:27:14because when we hire people they should look prettier and nicer,
0:27:14 > 0:27:17and friendly to the customers.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20Do they say, "I want to look more friendly and more approachable"?
0:27:20 > 0:27:23Yes. Many patients come to hospital
0:27:23 > 0:27:25to request the surgery to change themselves,
0:27:25 > 0:27:29to make them less scary and not angry.
0:27:29 > 0:27:30Right. OK.
0:28:04 > 0:28:06Ah, so it's the history of cosmetic surgery.
0:28:06 > 0:28:11Tagliacozzi coined the phrase "plastic surgery" in 1597.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14I wonder how they did it, though, back then.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17Do you know what I mean? Anaesthesia?
0:28:17 > 0:28:18Have a couple shots of whiskey.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21That's pretty much what it would have been, would it not?
0:28:21 > 0:28:23Bite down on a stick? Prayer?
0:28:24 > 0:28:25No.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27Oh, here we go.
0:28:27 > 0:28:32So, "There are different standards for beautiful eyes by era and race.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35"According to the current standard of beautiful eyes,
0:28:35 > 0:28:38"you must have a well-defined shape and big eyes with double eyelids
0:28:38 > 0:28:41"like Westerner, rather than small and sharp eyes like Asian."
0:28:41 > 0:28:43Oh, no!
0:28:44 > 0:28:48That's bad. Just saying, "Yeah, you're not attractive.
0:28:48 > 0:28:50"It's the Westerners' look, that's the one."
0:28:51 > 0:28:55If it goes by this, the Asian look will be completely wiped out.
0:28:55 > 0:28:58They've definitely got their picture of beauty.
0:28:58 > 0:29:00It's sad that it's not their own, is basically what I'm getting at.
0:29:02 > 0:29:04Oh, look. This is a slim mirror.
0:29:07 > 0:29:08I've always liked to be taller.
0:29:11 > 0:29:13Oh, do you know what? I'm really sorry, I like it.
0:29:13 > 0:29:17Sorry! Look at me! "Don't get anything done!"
0:29:17 > 0:29:19I'm in the mirror, I'm like, "Yes!"
0:29:20 > 0:29:22Oh, this one isn't as good.
0:29:23 > 0:29:25To be fair, it's made my head the size of a shed.
0:29:25 > 0:29:28Pre-baby...
0:29:29 > 0:29:31Post-baby.
0:29:33 > 0:29:36It's time for Myung's operation.
0:29:37 > 0:29:39I'm definitely going to ask to keep this.
0:29:39 > 0:29:43Unless blood splatters, and then they can have it.
0:29:46 > 0:29:48Dr Kim has agreed to let me come and watch.
0:29:51 > 0:29:54I feel like I need to explain I'm not going to be helping at all,
0:29:54 > 0:29:56I'll be standing right at the back!
0:30:09 > 0:30:13I'm just about to go into surgery for the first time,
0:30:13 > 0:30:17and whatever I said downstairs about it not bothering me is a lie.
0:30:17 > 0:30:20I'm not looking forward to this.
0:30:35 > 0:30:36This is local anaesthetic.
0:30:38 > 0:30:41And, after the injection of local anaesthetic,
0:30:41 > 0:30:43we wait five to seven minutes.
0:30:45 > 0:30:47Did you always want to be a doctor?
0:30:47 > 0:30:50Yes. I think this is the best job in the world.
0:30:50 > 0:30:52Why do you enjoy the job?
0:30:52 > 0:30:57I think this is the most pleasant job, to make people beautiful
0:30:57 > 0:31:01and the surgical procedures can change the life of the patients.
0:31:23 > 0:31:25WHISPERING: It looks so sore.
0:31:45 > 0:31:48The stitches are so small, like...
0:31:48 > 0:31:50It's almost like an art.
0:32:55 > 0:32:58Here, it seems like your face is everything
0:32:58 > 0:33:01and I've heard that they take this to extremes.
0:33:01 > 0:33:04So today, I get to meet a face reader so I can learn
0:33:04 > 0:33:07a little bit more about the ancient art of face reading.
0:33:07 > 0:33:10It's got a big impact on their society and how they go for jobs,
0:33:10 > 0:33:13on how the direction of their life is,
0:33:13 > 0:33:16so I get to meet this guy. He looks great.
0:33:16 > 0:33:18So, yeah, I'm excited.
0:33:23 > 0:33:27If it's good news I'll take it, if it's bad news, he's a fraud.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30We'll just do that. We'll go with that.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33This guy, he works with some of the top companies.
0:33:33 > 0:33:37He works with Samsung, helps them pick who they're going to employ.
0:33:38 > 0:33:41Which is huge, isn't it? All just because of their face.
0:33:41 > 0:33:44No, it's interesting, I wonder what he's going to say to me.
0:33:46 > 0:33:48I have good proportions, remember, so...
0:33:48 > 0:33:50..he better not try and read it too much.
0:33:52 > 0:33:54If he recommends I should have my nose done
0:33:54 > 0:33:58after what Dr Oh says, I might have to, I don't know...
0:33:58 > 0:34:01No, I'm sorry, that's off the table now.
0:34:01 > 0:34:02I'm not doing it.
0:34:02 > 0:34:04I don't know, I'll have a think.
0:34:04 > 0:34:07Depends what he says I'll get if I get my nose done!
0:34:07 > 0:34:10New nose, and you'll be swimming in riches and happiness
0:34:10 > 0:34:14for the rest of your life. It's a hard thing to turn down.
0:34:18 > 0:34:19Hi.
0:34:21 > 0:34:23This way?
0:34:23 > 0:34:25Should I take my shoes off? Yes.
0:34:53 > 0:34:55Is there anything you can read from my face?
0:35:33 > 0:35:35I am, that's so true.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38- Is it?- Yes, that is so nice. So far, so good.
0:35:49 > 0:35:51Wow, yeah.
0:35:51 > 0:35:53Yeah. Well, yeah, that's...
0:35:53 > 0:35:56That's true. When I was a baby I was in a caravan fire and then
0:35:56 > 0:35:58I was adopted out into a new family.
0:35:58 > 0:36:00So you nailed it.
0:36:01 > 0:36:04Is there anything else you can tell me about my future?
0:36:27 > 0:36:29So you'd advise me getting my nose done?
0:36:34 > 0:36:36Dammit, I'm back again!
0:36:36 > 0:36:39I thought I drawn a line under it. What are you doing to me?
0:36:39 > 0:36:43OK, well, I'll think. If I do get my nose done,
0:36:43 > 0:36:47I would have... I can't just get my nose done like a regular face,
0:36:47 > 0:36:51I would have it done and then there would more scars over my nose and,
0:36:51 > 0:36:54as you said a second ago, the scars impact your career
0:36:54 > 0:36:57so, what would you recommend?
0:37:06 > 0:37:11This has given me a good insight to why the boom has even happened
0:37:11 > 0:37:13because obviously it's picked up huge amounts,
0:37:13 > 0:37:16the amount of plastic surgery people are having done.
0:37:16 > 0:37:19If people are being told directly by face readers
0:37:19 > 0:37:21that it's going to change their life for the better,
0:37:21 > 0:37:23why wouldn't they get it done?
0:37:23 > 0:37:25So, yeah, I mean,
0:37:25 > 0:37:26I guess it's down to the individual,
0:37:26 > 0:37:29and you just hope that they've got it in them to go,
0:37:29 > 0:37:32"You know what? Is it good for me? Is the right thing for me to do?"
0:37:39 > 0:37:42Whether or not plastic surgery is necessary to improve beauty
0:37:42 > 0:37:45will always be a grey area.
0:37:47 > 0:37:51But I know from experience that it can literally transform your life.
0:37:55 > 0:37:58In South Korea, there's even a popular makeover show
0:37:58 > 0:38:02called Let Me In that offers plastic surgery as a prize.
0:38:08 > 0:38:10Contestants have to persuade the judges that their features
0:38:10 > 0:38:13make it impossible for them to live a normal life...
0:38:16 > 0:38:20..and that the only solution is plastic surgery.
0:38:36 > 0:38:38The truth about plastic surgery here
0:38:38 > 0:38:40is that perfectly normal-looking people
0:38:40 > 0:38:42are having really extreme surgery...
0:38:43 > 0:38:47..all in the pursuit of some strange idea of perfection.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50Back at BK Hospital I'm meeting Viv,
0:38:50 > 0:38:53who is about to have her whole face reshaped.
0:38:54 > 0:38:56Tell me about the jaw.
0:38:56 > 0:39:01OK, the jaw I want to look like more slimmer because now I have, quite...
0:39:01 > 0:39:03The shape is quite square.
0:39:03 > 0:39:06So after the jaw reduction I will look like more slimmer.
0:39:06 > 0:39:08- Slimmer face. - To make it more sharp.- Sharp.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11- I want to get more prettier. - Yeah. Oh, more prettier?
0:39:11 > 0:39:13- Of course! - You're gorgeous already.- No.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16Tell me about the fat graft, what's happening there?
0:39:16 > 0:39:19Fat graft, they're going to take my fats and inject it in my face.
0:39:19 > 0:39:22Where are they going to take the fats from, you're tiny!
0:39:22 > 0:39:24Maybe some fat on my tummy, or my thigh.
0:39:24 > 0:39:27So thighs or tummy, and then they are going to put it in your cheeks?
0:39:27 > 0:39:30- Cheeks, yeah.- To give you fuller cheekbones?- Yes, and forehead.
0:39:30 > 0:39:32- Put a little bit in the forehead? - Yes.- Why the forehead?
0:39:32 > 0:39:36To make it more fuller because I think it is now very, like...
0:39:36 > 0:39:37- Flat?- Yeah, flat.
0:39:37 > 0:39:40OK. I wouldn't have thought that, but fair enough.
0:39:40 > 0:39:42Did you have a look in mind before?
0:39:42 > 0:39:44Um...
0:39:45 > 0:39:47No, I don't have.
0:39:47 > 0:39:49You didn't have a look in mind.
0:39:49 > 0:39:51You came to see the consultant and then he said, you know,
0:39:51 > 0:39:54- "I think this would work for you." - Yeah. Yeah.
0:39:54 > 0:39:56So you weren't upset that he said,
0:39:56 > 0:39:58- "Right, I want to improve three big things in your face"?- No.
0:39:58 > 0:40:01- You're happy that he said this? - Yes, I am happy, yes.
0:40:01 > 0:40:04That's quite a specific look, quite sort of...
0:40:04 > 0:40:06..almost doll-like, quite a sweet look.
0:40:06 > 0:40:10Is that something that's popular with your friends.
0:40:10 > 0:40:14Mostly of my friends, they have reshaped look, which I don't have.
0:40:14 > 0:40:16And how are you feeling about it?
0:40:16 > 0:40:20I am feeling nervous, of course, but I am ready for it, yeah.
0:40:20 > 0:40:22We're ready for the patient.
0:40:22 > 0:40:24- Let's go.- Sure, come, let's go.
0:40:40 > 0:40:41She's, um...
0:40:41 > 0:40:43She's so pretty.
0:40:44 > 0:40:48The fact that the consultant told her to do those three big things,
0:40:48 > 0:40:51again, it is nice that she's come and he's given her advice,
0:40:51 > 0:40:53but they're really big operations.
0:40:53 > 0:40:55She don't need it.
0:40:57 > 0:41:00Don't get me wrong. My doctors have even said, "These are options,"
0:41:00 > 0:41:02but look at my face.
0:41:03 > 0:41:07I can get a load of crap on this sorted out, but her, I'm like...
0:41:08 > 0:41:13They're creating a slightly weird little army look.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15No-one's looking like themselves,
0:41:15 > 0:41:17they just looking like they've got that look.
0:41:19 > 0:41:23Of course you can do it, but does it need to be done?
0:41:23 > 0:41:25No, I don't think it does.
0:41:25 > 0:41:27That makes you think, who's driving it?
0:41:28 > 0:41:30She went... She didn't really have an idea.
0:41:30 > 0:41:33She was, like, "Yeah, I just want to look prettier."
0:41:33 > 0:41:35It's a bit sad really, isn't it?
0:41:37 > 0:41:39Come this way.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45I will draw a line for your surgery.
0:41:47 > 0:41:49- Some depression.- Only one temple?
0:41:51 > 0:41:53That will make your face look younger.
0:41:53 > 0:41:56You have some protruded bone.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59Let me show you the X-ray.
0:41:59 > 0:42:03This is OK, but here, too much protrusions.
0:42:03 > 0:42:04We may cut this bone out.
0:42:05 > 0:42:08OK. Let's prepare your surgery.
0:42:10 > 0:42:13In Britain, jaw surgery is rarely carried out
0:42:13 > 0:42:15unless to correct facial deformities.
0:42:19 > 0:42:20Can I come in?
0:42:22 > 0:42:25The surgery involves changing your entire facial bone structure
0:42:25 > 0:42:28and making the face much smaller.
0:42:29 > 0:42:34Right now, being in here, it seems so excessive.
0:42:34 > 0:42:38Viv will literally have a whole new face by the end of this.
0:42:41 > 0:42:43Wow.
0:42:46 > 0:42:47That was super intense.
0:42:51 > 0:42:53It's difficult to know what to say to that
0:42:53 > 0:42:56because I was having a little chat with old Viv on the settee,
0:42:56 > 0:43:00and then I was seeing her face being pulled away from her jawbone.
0:43:00 > 0:43:01It's ridiculous.
0:43:01 > 0:43:04I've got a strong constitution, I think, in that area
0:43:04 > 0:43:05but I was just like, "Shitbags."
0:43:07 > 0:43:08Do you feel quite conflicted?
0:43:08 > 0:43:12I do feel conflicted, you know, seeing all of it.
0:43:12 > 0:43:14You just think, as well, like,
0:43:14 > 0:43:17you understand when people have big surgeries for big reasons but...
0:43:17 > 0:43:19Do you know what I mean? ..in the name of beauty,
0:43:19 > 0:43:21and she is a gorgeous girl anyway.
0:43:21 > 0:43:24I don't know, I keep going back and forth because,
0:43:24 > 0:43:27let's see, I haven't had my consult with Dr Kim yet.
0:43:27 > 0:43:29Do you know what I mean?
0:43:29 > 0:43:32He might say, "Annie, do this and this and this," and there's me,
0:43:32 > 0:43:34"Yeah, I'll be back in three months!"
0:43:35 > 0:43:39I don't know. It's just, after that... Do you know what I mean?
0:43:39 > 0:43:44You just want to hope that you can doll yourself up with some lipstick
0:43:44 > 0:43:46and a nice smile, don't you?
0:43:56 > 0:43:59Not all the doctors here are like Dr Kim.
0:43:59 > 0:44:02Sometimes, surgery can go horribly wrong.
0:44:06 > 0:44:09I've come to meet a lawyer who specialises
0:44:09 > 0:44:12in plastic surgery related lawsuits.
0:44:13 > 0:44:14Hello.
0:44:14 > 0:44:18He currently has 300 cases on his books.
0:44:19 > 0:44:23So are medical malpractices on the increase?
0:44:27 > 0:44:29How do you think the botched surgeries happen?
0:45:00 > 0:45:03And what would you say the... What's the worst case you've seen?
0:45:19 > 0:45:23That's so... That's terrible. And how long has she been in a coma for?
0:45:27 > 0:45:29I can't believe that, that's horrible.
0:45:29 > 0:45:32You'd think, though, if she was a scholar, she'd want to look into
0:45:32 > 0:45:33more who was doing the surgery.
0:45:33 > 0:45:35It makes you think that,
0:45:35 > 0:45:38- I don't know, I guess it can happen to anyone.- Yes.
0:45:53 > 0:45:55Oh, my God!
0:45:55 > 0:45:56That's so bad!
0:45:56 > 0:46:00Do you worry, then, that cases are going to get worse,
0:46:00 > 0:46:02or there's going to be more of these types of incidences
0:46:02 > 0:46:04if things aren't brought under control?
0:46:28 > 0:46:30So many young people are going under the knife,
0:46:30 > 0:46:33do you think they're aware of the consequences?
0:46:54 > 0:46:55Thank you. Thank you.
0:47:06 > 0:47:10Sarah is an American classical pianist,
0:47:10 > 0:47:14one of the victims of South Korea's plastic surgery industry.
0:47:15 > 0:47:19So what brought you to have the surgeries, plastic surgery?
0:47:19 > 0:47:22Well, actually, I went to a couple of auditions here in Seoul
0:47:22 > 0:47:26and the producers thought it would be beneficial if I lost some weight,
0:47:26 > 0:47:29and particularly they wanted me to start in my arms
0:47:29 > 0:47:31because I was wearing a lot of sleeveless dresses
0:47:31 > 0:47:34in my live performances so, you know,
0:47:34 > 0:47:39I was playing piano or singing, it looked a bit "uneven", they said.
0:47:39 > 0:47:42Can I ask what sort of procedure you came for?
0:47:42 > 0:47:44Sure, yes. It's an auxiliary arm lift.
0:47:44 > 0:47:46- So he said he would cut here... - Right.
0:47:46 > 0:47:48..take out some fat by liposuction,
0:47:48 > 0:47:52cut some skin, and then fix it up to make a beautiful silhouette.
0:47:52 > 0:47:54Right. And what actually happened?
0:47:54 > 0:47:57Well, he told me it was supposed to be same-day surgery.
0:47:57 > 0:48:02However, even after two weeks, the sutures weren't healing correctly.
0:48:02 > 0:48:04When I went to him, he said,
0:48:04 > 0:48:06"There is some problem, but we can fix it later.
0:48:06 > 0:48:09"Let me staple this wound."
0:48:09 > 0:48:12Unfortunately this is what happened a week later.
0:48:12 > 0:48:14Oh, my God! That's terrible.
0:48:14 > 0:48:17Yes. I was reaching in my book shelf in my apartment
0:48:17 > 0:48:23and it just, my arm just, it felt like a rip of paper,
0:48:23 > 0:48:25like when jeans rip.
0:48:25 > 0:48:27- I reached for a book...- Oh, my God!
0:48:27 > 0:48:29..and my whole armpit just opened like that.
0:48:29 > 0:48:32That looks so sore. Oh, my God.
0:48:32 > 0:48:37- Sorry, I'm smiling because it's making me squeamish.- It's grotesque.
0:48:37 > 0:48:41Yeah. I was with a friend who said, "No, this is really bad.
0:48:41 > 0:48:44"We need to go to an emergency room."
0:48:44 > 0:48:48One of the ER attendants said to me, you know, this is really serious.
0:48:48 > 0:48:53The blood tests showed that there was a quite advanced staph infection
0:48:53 > 0:48:55running through my body.
0:48:55 > 0:48:59It was so severe that the doctor asked my friends to call my parents
0:48:59 > 0:49:01to say, "We're not sure how much we can help her."
0:49:01 > 0:49:02It was that serious.
0:49:02 > 0:49:05- Oh, my God.- It took about ten days,
0:49:05 > 0:49:07and finally the infection was cleared.
0:49:07 > 0:49:09They had to do a skin graft.
0:49:09 > 0:49:11After my infection was gone,
0:49:11 > 0:49:14they took the skin graft from my thigh,
0:49:14 > 0:49:17and they patched up the hole here.
0:49:17 > 0:49:23Because obviously the severity of this wound,
0:49:23 > 0:49:27- he realised that the median nerve was damaged.- No.
0:49:27 > 0:49:32I was just told that this kind of damage, you cannot fully recover
0:49:32 > 0:49:37your feeling, and your motor coordination in your hand,
0:49:37 > 0:49:38so, as a classical pianist,
0:49:38 > 0:49:42that's the worst news you could ever think about.
0:49:42 > 0:49:44Your career is gone, basically.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47Sarah is fighting her surgeon in court.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50He maintains that he did nothing wrong.
0:49:50 > 0:49:54I think it's quite a dire situation
0:49:54 > 0:49:57that this doctor is still practising,
0:49:57 > 0:50:00and that people don't know,
0:50:00 > 0:50:02especially foreigners,
0:50:02 > 0:50:05and I feel that it's really, really important
0:50:05 > 0:50:07to just protect people.
0:50:07 > 0:50:10Put this word out there, plastic surgery is great,
0:50:10 > 0:50:12South Korea is number one,
0:50:12 > 0:50:15however, you must be cautious in your decision-making.
0:50:15 > 0:50:19You need to be sure the government backs up this hospital.
0:50:19 > 0:50:23Do your research very thoroughly.
0:50:30 > 0:50:34Meeting Sarah and the lawyer has given me a lot to think about.
0:50:37 > 0:50:41Dr Kim is a certified surgeon, and works at a government backed clinic.
0:50:41 > 0:50:43- Hello.- Hello.- Hi.
0:50:43 > 0:50:47I've come to meet him to see what surgery he'd recommend for my nose.
0:50:48 > 0:50:52I made some computer simulation surgery for your nose.
0:50:52 > 0:50:55- Yes.- Right now, you have a very shortened nose.
0:50:55 > 0:51:00With this simulation surgery, we made some correction.
0:51:01 > 0:51:04We can see after surgery
0:51:04 > 0:51:07nose is coming down.
0:51:07 > 0:51:08Yeah.
0:51:08 > 0:51:13For the patient who doesn't have any scar constriction on the skin,
0:51:13 > 0:51:16- we can release much more.- Of course.
0:51:16 > 0:51:20But for your case, I'm afraid your skin has some constriction.
0:51:20 > 0:51:23- Yes.- So I am showing you the simulation surgery,
0:51:23 > 0:51:27which can make only some degree of improvement.
0:51:27 > 0:51:30Yes, so this is without the graft, this is just with the...
0:51:30 > 0:51:33- Without graft. - ..just with the cartilage.
0:51:33 > 0:51:37That would be ideal because I don't want to have another skin graft.
0:51:37 > 0:51:38What would you recommend?
0:51:38 > 0:51:40Frankly speaking,
0:51:40 > 0:51:43I think if you want a little more perfect result, you need...
0:51:43 > 0:51:45..still need skin graft.
0:51:45 > 0:51:48- Right.- Even though you need skin graft,
0:51:48 > 0:51:52I would recommend you to do structure changes first,
0:51:52 > 0:51:56and if you really need it after structure change,
0:51:56 > 0:51:59you can try a skin graft later.
0:51:59 > 0:52:03OK, so you think I can do one and then come back.
0:52:03 > 0:52:07- It's best to actually have a break? - Yes.- Ah, OK.
0:52:07 > 0:52:09Do you know what? I can get on board with that.
0:52:09 > 0:52:11I can recommend another very simple one.
0:52:11 > 0:52:16This kind of scar should be released with skin graft.
0:52:16 > 0:52:20For example, your left finger, this joint should flex.
0:52:20 > 0:52:24- I know, it doesn't bend.- It should flex. You cannot flex that joint.
0:52:24 > 0:52:27- That would be ideal, wouldn't it? - You cannot flex the joint.
0:52:27 > 0:52:29- No, I can't.- The first joint should flex like this.
0:52:29 > 0:52:31You think I can bend my finger?
0:52:31 > 0:52:33- Yes.- Yes, that would be so good.
0:52:33 > 0:52:35I thought this finger would be long gone.
0:52:35 > 0:52:36My hands get really sore.
0:52:36 > 0:52:39- Mm-hm.- But I don't say anything because there's no point talking,
0:52:39 > 0:52:41and my Sam always takes the piss,
0:52:41 > 0:52:44- he says my hand looks like a flipper.- Yes.
0:52:44 > 0:52:47This surgery is not to make a cosmetic improvement,
0:52:47 > 0:52:51this is to make a functional improvement,
0:52:51 > 0:52:54to make your fingers work properly.
0:52:54 > 0:52:56- That could be done?- Yeah.
0:52:59 > 0:53:03- I would love that.- Yes. - I'm going to cry, I'm so sorry.
0:53:08 > 0:53:09I'm so embarrassed, sorry.
0:53:19 > 0:53:21I'm so sorry.
0:53:21 > 0:53:23But, yeah, that would be so nice.
0:53:23 > 0:53:27Because my hands, literally, are like... I can't really...
0:53:29 > 0:53:32Like, it's just annoying, and they ache a lot
0:53:32 > 0:53:33and so I didn't think...
0:53:33 > 0:53:36I'm crying because I didn't think I could do anything about it.
0:53:36 > 0:53:37Oh, my God.
0:53:37 > 0:53:40If you're 30 and your hands hurt now,
0:53:40 > 0:53:43I think, you know, what about when I'm, you know,
0:53:43 > 0:53:4550 or 60?
0:53:45 > 0:53:47Do you know what I mean? You don't want...
0:53:49 > 0:53:52Yeah, I just think I worry that in the future my hands will...
0:53:52 > 0:53:55They're going to fail me, because even if I write for, like,
0:53:55 > 0:54:0010, 15 minutes, I'm like, "God, you know, that's got to go."
0:54:00 > 0:54:01So, yeah.
0:54:01 > 0:54:05I want to make you a big improvement of your function of the fingers.
0:54:05 > 0:54:08Yeah. That is so nice.
0:54:08 > 0:54:10That is much more meaningful surgery.
0:54:10 > 0:54:12Thank you so much.
0:54:12 > 0:54:13You're welcome.
0:54:13 > 0:54:15- Thank you. Goodbye.- Thank you.
0:54:17 > 0:54:20I didn't expect at all that he'd say anything about my hands,
0:54:20 > 0:54:22which was quite interesting because it made me realise
0:54:22 > 0:54:24what actually is important to me.
0:54:24 > 0:54:27Speaking to him today, I got the feeling, not only that
0:54:27 > 0:54:30he can help me functionally, which was a huge shock,
0:54:30 > 0:54:32I didn't think that was on the table for me.
0:54:32 > 0:54:34If I can't use my hands, I can't work, you know.
0:54:34 > 0:54:37That's not something anyone wants to be thinking about at 30.
0:54:37 > 0:54:38And they ache a lot.
0:54:38 > 0:54:40Day-to-day, they pretty much ache.
0:54:40 > 0:54:44So... Yeah, sorry, I keep going on about my hands, but I'm just...
0:54:46 > 0:54:47..so happy about it.
0:54:48 > 0:54:51I made a joke to Sam, I said,
0:54:51 > 0:54:53"Sam, what are you going to do if I come home with, like,
0:54:53 > 0:54:55five different operations that I want?"
0:54:55 > 0:54:57And that is basically what's happened!
0:54:57 > 0:54:59This has gone horribly wrong, hasn't it?
0:54:59 > 0:55:02I thought I would find some inner peace.
0:55:02 > 0:55:05Instead, I'm like, "You know what? I'll take the lot.
0:55:05 > 0:55:06"Thank you very much."
0:55:15 > 0:55:19I'm going to call Myung now, have a little catch up with her and see,
0:55:19 > 0:55:22yeah, how she's looking.
0:55:25 > 0:55:26- Hi!- Hi!
0:55:26 > 0:55:29So how are you feeling after your surgery?
0:55:40 > 0:55:42It looks brilliant.
0:55:58 > 0:56:00Oh, that's good, that's ideal. That's lovely.
0:56:00 > 0:56:02OK, how about the love life?
0:56:04 > 0:56:05That's why you're not working,
0:56:05 > 0:56:08because you're focusing on the love life! Get back to the work!
0:56:13 > 0:56:14Success then!
0:56:14 > 0:56:16A successful operation. That's ideal.
0:56:16 > 0:56:18- Bye.- Bye!
0:56:18 > 0:56:22THEY SPEAK KOREAN
0:56:25 > 0:56:28I think I've near enough made my decision about surgery.
0:56:28 > 0:56:30I think I am going to do it.
0:56:30 > 0:56:32Next year. Next year at some point.
0:56:32 > 0:56:35But my head is just not in the game right now.
0:56:35 > 0:56:37Look at me, I'm folding clothes, I'm thinking about him and,
0:56:37 > 0:56:40can I breast-feed and can I actually...
0:56:41 > 0:56:44..will I sleep? Will I be a nice person still,
0:56:44 > 0:56:47or will I hate everyone because I'm tired?
0:56:47 > 0:56:49It's so cute, look at it!
0:56:49 > 0:56:52Actually, if I'm honest, it makes me feel, like,
0:56:52 > 0:56:55I feel a little bit guilty thinking about wanting to have things done
0:56:55 > 0:56:58when I'm having a child and I should be not caring about that,
0:56:58 > 0:57:01and all that mother earth, and all of, you know,
0:57:01 > 0:57:04focusing just on the baby, whereas, you know,
0:57:04 > 0:57:06there's part of me that's still like,
0:57:06 > 0:57:09"No, let's sort that nose out, sunshine."
0:57:09 > 0:57:13What it comes down to, really, is what are you going to regret less?
0:57:13 > 0:57:15It sounds very morbid to say it like that,
0:57:15 > 0:57:18but I think most decisions have to come to that
0:57:18 > 0:57:21because you're never going to be 100% on either decision, ever.
0:57:21 > 0:57:25And, especially with a decision like this, because it is so grey,
0:57:25 > 0:57:27it's not black-and-white at all.
0:57:27 > 0:57:30I think I would regret it less if I went for it.
0:57:30 > 0:57:32In light of history, and how I've lived my life,
0:57:32 > 0:57:34I'm going to have to do it, I know.
0:57:35 > 0:57:38I'm pro...
0:57:39 > 0:57:41..pro-"go for it", so...
0:57:41 > 0:57:43I have to go for it, won't I?