The author, who is a quarter Korean, explores the cultural pressures of beauty standards in South Korea. They discuss how they were constantly told they needed plastic surgery to fit in, and how this affected their self-perception. To illustrate this point, they visit a plastic surgeon who recommends several procedures to make their face more "Korean-looking," including double eyelid surgery, a nose job, and cheek implants. The author is then shown a digitally altered version of themselves with these procedures, but surprisingly, they don't feel a strong desire to change their appearance. Instead, they reflect on the importance of self-acceptance and the need for diversity in media representation. The author concludes that they are comfortable with their natural appearance and don't feel the need to conform to societal beauty standards.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. The narrator is a quarter Korean and lived in South Korea for a year.
2. The narrator wrote an article about beauty standards in South Korea that went viral on BuzzFeed and The Daily Mail.
3. The article's headline was "Too fat, too tall, and too dark to be beautiful in South Korea."
4. The narrator's relatives suggested they get double eyelid surgery as a child.
5. The narrator met with a surgeon to discuss potential plastic surgery procedures to achieve a more "Korean" look.
6. The surgeon recommended several procedures, including double eyelid surgery, nose shaping, and fat grafting to the cheeks.
7. The narrator had a simulated plastic surgery experience using digital editing software.
8. The narrator was surprised to find that they didn't like the digitally altered version of themselves as much as they thought they would.
9. The narrator realized that they are comfortable with their natural appearance and don't feel the need to undergo plastic surgery.
10. The narrator believes that there should be more diversity in media representation of Asian faces and that people should feel okay about their natural appearance.