The Manipulation of Beauty

This project explores how beauty ideals—using South Korea as a case study—shape the way we see ourselves. Seoul, often called the “plastic surgery capital of the world,” represents how cosmetic culture has grown from reconstructive medicine into a multi-billion-dollar industry. These ideals, spread globally through music, media, and advertising, set impossible standards and place enormous pressure on teenagers in particular.

Process
Through desk research, visual experiments, and photography, I examined how beauty is constructed and consumed. I explored metaphors such as clay distortion (reshaping identity) and Kintsugi (embracing flaws), before creating a photographic series that layers clinical aesthetics with graphic elements to highlight the tension between perfection and individuality.

Outcomes
The work resulted in a series of photographs and a visual book that expose both the allure and the darker side of beauty culture. Rather than taking a position for or against surgery, the project opens space for reflection and conversation: What do we consider beautiful? How much of that is shaped by media and culture? And at what cost do we conform?