Miss Korea 2013 Beauty Clones: Is Plastic Surgery or Photoshop to Blame for Similar Look?

Recent controversy involving the plastic surgery injury and a need for a very limited image of beauty has hit the media, especially concerning pictures from contestants involved in Miss Korea 2013.

Complaints from the public wonder why all the participants seem to look like clones, thanks to the country and many others, need for a projected image of beauty with little room for new looks. All contestants pictured seem to have dark hair, pale skin, big eyes and thin noses with pointy chins. However, some suggest that plastic surgery may not explain why all these women look so similar. Perhaps a bit of Photoshop magic is involved, as well.

The growing obsession with plastic surgery in South Korea is once again under media scrutiny after pictures of a group of Miss Korea 2013 contestants posted online prompted claims that the Asian country's craze for cosmetic procedures have left all the aspiring beauty queens looking like clones.

All the contestants in the pictures have perfectly styled dark hair, either swept over their shoulders or neatly tied up, pale skin, big eyes, thin noses and bright, white smiles.

Just 48 hours after the photos were posted on Reddit by user ShenTheWise with the caption, "Korea's plastic surgery mayhem is finally converging on the same face. Here are the miss korea 2013 contestants," the images went viral, and prompted criticism regarding Korea's plastic surgery industry.

According to various reports, South Korea has the highest per capita rate of plastic surgery in the world. This may explain why many of the young women look so similar, with statistics from the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons stating that one in five women in the country's capital city of Seoul have undergone some kind of cosmetic procedure. Many feel the need for plastic surgery may be explained by a desire for a more "westernized" look.

"These women in fact do look unnervingly similar and yes, Koreans think so too," Reddit user HotBrownie from Seoul confirmed. "This is called the Korean plastic face look. In certain areas of Seoul, you would think all the women are sisters because they look so similar due to the same surgeries. Without plastic surgery, Korean women are very diverse looking and easily can be told apart."

The user also added that "the surgery takes away their individuality and uniqueness and its sad. Most are beautiful without it but telling them that their Korean ethnic features are in fact lovely is as effective as screaming at a brick wall."

Yet it's also important to note that some users, as shown in the picture above, believe that the reason for the similar faces cannot be pinpointed to plastic surgery alone, but digital retouching, photo enhancement and other things. Still, many believe this still sets a negative precedent about what the image of beauty is confined to.

What do you think?