According to Holliday and Elfving-Hwang, the pressure to succeed in one's career and marriage is mostly derived from one's capacity to control one's body, which is influenced by attractiveness. With marriage-matching services and even job applications requiring a photo of the candidate, the Korean people is naturally under pressure to get plastic surgery in order to achieve "natural beauty."

One of the most popular destinations for medical tourism is now South Korea. 190,000 overseas patients have visited plastic surgery facilities over the last four years, with Thailand and China making up the majority of these visits. As of 2021, South Korea has the greatest estimated number of plastic surgery cases worldwide per capita, according to ISESP data.

The interest in appearance that exists now in Korea has its origins in physiognomy (gwansang), which dates back to the 7th century. During Japan's colonial reign over Korea, the idea that looks may influence identity grew stronger because Japanese authorities thought that particular facial traits indicated higher levels of knowledge and nobility. Following that, American physicians' plastic surgery techniques from the Korean War were adopted, along with the Western belief that altering one's appearance would alter one's fate.

South Korea's labour market was deregulated in response to the Asian financial crisis of 1997, and its citizens did all within their power to obtain a competitive advantage over job applicants, even resorting to cosmetic surgery. This still occurs today since part of the employment process involves employers requesting an applicant's height, picture, and occasionally their family history.

In Korea, plastic surgery has gained more acceptance in the previous several decades. For instance, in 1994, only 38% of respondents agreed with the statement "can a woman get plastic surgery for marriage," while in 2015, 66% of respondents agreed. According to the same report, from 5% in 1994 to 31% in 2015, more women than ever before underwent plastic surgery. Compared to males, women regularly score better and show greater support for the operations. In 2020, a poll by Statista with 1,500 respondents revealed that many young women in South Korea have undergone plastic surgery.

Just 2% of men between the ages of 19 and 29 have had plastic surgery, compared to 25% of women. Among those aged 30 to 39, this percentage rises to 31% for women and 4% for males. According to a case study published in Allure Magazine, the proportion of men who have had plastic surgery has risen recently, making up as much as 30% of all instances. The prominence of K-pop idols like Wonder Girls and Girls' Generation has contributed to the expectation of receiving cosmetic surgery spreading from urban areas to rural villages.

The phrase "plastic surgery capital of the world" is often used to South Korea. In South Korea, receiving cosmetic surgery is not uncommon, if not a typical graduation present. With a quarter of the global market for cosmetic surgery, South Korea leads the industry. In contrast to one in twenty women in the US, one in five Korean women have had plastic surgery. A total of 464,452 people underwent cosmetic surgery in South Korea in 2018, representing a 16.7% rise from 2017. There are two providers in the Korean surgery market: Specialty Clinics and Hospitals, as well as Spas and Cosmetic Surgery Centres. The market was estimated to be worth 1.95 billion US dollars in 2021.

Korea is sometimes condemned for having unattainable beauty standards, with women frequently expected to be extremely slender to the risk of becoming unhealthyly overweight. The "escape the corset" movement actively promotes beauty products and surgery while actively opposing the nation's ideals of beauty. The goal of the movement is to lessen the rigid expectations placed on women in the nation and promote body positivity. According to a study by Charlotte N. and Patrick M. Markeya, watching reality television is associated with an interest in cosmetic surgery.

A study conducted by Young A. Kim, Duckhee Chae, and Hyunlye Kim titled "Factors Affecting Acceptance of Cosmetic Surgery Among Undergraduate Students" confirms that the rise in beauty standards propagated by the media, the internet, K-pop stars, and actors has a negative impact on people's mental health by raising anxiety levels and lowering self-esteem. Peer-transmitted sociocultural messaging reflects the elevated ideals of beauty that have become the norm. According to a Miami University study, if someone thinks they are less attractive, they may feel inferior and feel under pressure to have the "perfect" appearance.

Let Me In was a contentious South Korean TV programme that centred on full makeovers, which included plastic surgery. A panel must be persuaded by participants that their looks cause them hardships in life, even to the point where it forces their parents to apologise for how they look and for not having had plastic surgery. Following their transformation, the participants are introduced to the audience. The show was forced to end in 2015 due to a great deal of controversy and criticism, since it was claimed that the programme had made plastic surgery seem more appealing to its audience.

In South Korea, employment surgery is a frequent occurrence. The competitive nature of the job market makes appearance a deciding element in recruiting decisions, which puts pressure on individuals to have surgery in order to gain an advantage over rivals. In South Korea, discrimination based on looks frequently occurs, which normalises the use of plastic surgery to obtain desired employment. Statistically speaking, those who are deemed more attractive are more likely to "have" the job than those who do not meet beauty criteria. Koreans are aware of this, and it can have an impact on the mental well-being of job seekers who meet the requirements but fall short on the attractiveness factor. A 2006 survey found that 92.2% of South Korean women anticipate facing discrimination at work due to their appearance.

A bill to combat this mentality was proposed in 2021 and would have made it illegal for employers to request images with a resume. According to a 2006 poll, 80% of publicly traded corporations demand sensitive data, such as pictures.

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