Contemporary Koreans’ perceptions of facial beauty

Abstract

Background This article aims to investigate current perceptions of beauty of the general public and physicians without a specialization in plastic surgery performing aesthetic procedures. Methods A cross-sectional and interviewing questionnaire was administered to 290 people in Seoul, South Korea in September 2015. The questionnaire addressed three issues: general attitudes about plastic surgery (Q1), perception of and preferences regarding Korean female celebrities’ facial attractiveness (Q2), and the relative influence of each facial aesthetic subunit on overall facial attractiveness. The survey’s results were gathered by a professional research agency and classified according to a respondent’s gender, age, and job type (95%±5.75% confidence interval). Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS ver. 10.1, calculating one-way analysis of variance with post hoc analysis and Tukey’s t-test. Results Among the respondents, 38.3% were in favor of aesthetic plastic surgery. The most common source of plastic surgery information was the internet (50.0%). The most powerful factor influencing hospital or clinic selection was the postoperative surgical results of acquaintances (74.9%). We created a composite face of an attractive Korean female, representing the current facial configuration considered appealing to the Koreans. Beauty perceptions differed to some degree based on gender and generational differences. We found that there were certain differences in beauty perceptions between general physicians who perform aesthetic procedures and the general public. Conclusions Our study results provide aesthetic plastic surgeons with detailed information about contemporary Korean people’s attitudes toward and perceptions of plastic surgery and the specific characteristics of female Korean faces currently considered attractive, plus trends in these perceptions, which should inform plastic surgeons within their specialized fields.