Comparing number of plastic surgery procedures performed per million people, American women fall only a few percentage points behind their Korean counterparts.

As in the West where celebrities often set fashion standards, the people of Korea have grown more comfortable with the idea of plastic surgery as their entertainers and even political leaders have flaunted altered features.

Some of the procedures they seek are predictably similar to those popular in other countries (for instance, breast augmentation and liposuction), while others are strikingly different due to anatomical variations between those from the East and West.

The most popular Korean facial plastic surgery operations, double eyelid surgery to create an upper eyelid crease and augmentation rhinoplasty to enhance the structure of the nose, are very different from their equivalents in the West.

Other well-known Korean cosmetic procedures are all but unavailable outside of the Orient. Cheek, jaw, and calf reduction surgery have attracted the most attention.

While Korean prices are lower than in the West, they are among the highest in East and Southeast Asia.