> I wonder if this is unique to Western/materialistic cultures or more widespread. Not at all, you just don't seem like someone who has much exposure to the wo

> I wonder if this is unique to Western/materialistic cultures or more widespread. Not at all, you just don't seem like someone who has much exposure to the world outside of "western cultures". Which is unfortunate, because the rest of your comment has a lot of pretty interesting points to ponder. As others have mentioned in replies, plastic surgery in South Korea is so commonplace and integral to everyday life, it will blow a lot of people's minds. Plastic surgeries are common high school graduation gifts there (double eyelid surgery seems to be one of the most popular ones). For a personal example, sister of one of my friends was graduating from a nursing school there, and ended up getting a surgery or two closer to the end of her program, despite resisting it for the longest time. Why? Because photos are required on resumes for pretty much any position there. And she felt like she was at a strong disadvantage compared to her classmates (who all had at least a couple of plastic surgeries done) when it came to job applications, and iirc her suspicion was strongly supported by her experiences.