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