Plastic surgery craze in the spotlight again

This time the BBC, not Oprah is telling the tale of Korea's obsession with plastic surgery and self-image.

The streets of Seoul are thick with impeccably groomed young women in miniskirts, seemingly immune to the sub zero temperatures of the Korean winter.

Women of marriageable age are under intense pressure to look their best at all times and one of the consequences has been an explosion in plastic surgery.

A woman's magazine recently advised its readers to spend 30% of their incomes on looking good.

The reason, you will end up with a better and richer husband and that has to be a sensible investment.

As much as I like to see the young women wearing their mini skirts and looking as good as they can, I do find this whole thing a bit comical and superficial.

It is no longer enough just to correct perceived flaws. The trick these days is to stand out from the crowd and be the envy of your friends.

By conservative estimates, 50% of South Korean women in their 20s have had some form of cosmetic surgery. And in a recent poll, 70% of men said they would also consider surgical improvements.

Yep - natural beauty and personality are out.  It's not what or who you are, but what you project because it's all about image and what others think about you.  Reality often takes a back seat here in the land of the morning calm.  But, there is a price to pay:

South Korea has just 1,200 certified plastic surgeons. Many thousands of others are operating without proper qualifications.

It is a highly lucrative business and everyone wants a slice of the action.

One qualified surgeon told me he knew of psychiatrists doing liposuction and radiologists performing double eyelid operations.

The results are predictable enough.

Cosmetic surgeons tell hushed stories of botched noses, damaged faces and women who cannot close their eyes at all after too much of the lid is cut away.

Some of the practitioners have no grasp of basic surgery. Patients asking for liposuction are literally risking their lives on the operating table.

Qualified operators say their old classmates from med school constantly badger them for lessons on lucrative cosmetic operations.

The result has been a dramatic drop in the price of plastic surgery, making it available to all. A second eyelid for the price of a night out.

And for those who want an even cheaper job, there is always the massage woman at the local sauna who is handy with the botox injection and the scalpel.

Amazingly, malpractice suits are few and far between, and the damages paid to victims are derisory by international standards.

Most complaints are settled quietly out of court in deals brokered by the consumer association.

The certified plastic surgeons are pushing for tougher regulation and more accountability, but they are up against a powerful lobby of doctors who fight any restrictions on the right to practice.

There's more, and you're more than welcome to read the rest on your own.