26 7월2012

Ethnic Beauty and Asian Nose Surgery

Written by Chelsea Kim. Posted in Korean Rhinoplasty

The Asian Nose

What is it with the Asian nose? While not wanting to stereotype this conundrum, it is generally understood that the Asian nose is somewhat – ‘sticking out’ for the wrong reasons!

The Asian nose is stereotypically considered as having a wide nostril, a bulbous tip and a poorly defined bridge (and in some cases, none at all!). How many times have you heard Asians marveling the Caucasian nose, those with high definition and a pointy nose tip?

But in truth, a Caucasian nose would not fit onto an Asian face. It simply boils down to anatomy – because structurally, Asians and Caucasian differ.

Those that contemplate nose surgery (rhinoplasty) idealize having an end product that is natural looking –one that fits into the overall Asian facial features. And even after surgical enhancement, many still want to retain their unique ethnic look.

Ethnicity

Needless to say, improving aesthetic proportions is usually seen as making the difference in a fiercely competitive world. But it is equally important to recognize the need to maintain racial identity and an appreciation of ethnic beauty; thus providing better balance and harmony to a person’s overall beauty.

For this reason, many Asians (be it local or overseas-based) wanting rhinoplasty look towards Korea as a place to get a natural looking nose job, one that is befitting the individual’s ethnicity.

It is a combination of the individual’s ethnicity, anatomical and structural components that need to be considered when planning Asian nose surgery. The new nose should be in harmony with the rest of the facial features. And the best plastic surgeons in Korea to do this would be those that specialize in Asian nose surgery.

Geography

Asia is the world’s largest and most populous continent. Not only does it border Europe, Africa and Oceania, it is also subdivided into 48 countries. The mere fact of its geographical spread shows the ethnic diversity of its people, its culture and appearance.

If we just focus on a small segment of East Asia – there are already major variations that exist within the various Asian groups with respect to archetypical characteristics.

Koreans in general, are renowned to have very prominent and high cheekbones. Characteristically, their faces have a long middle third with long noses.

The Japanese on the other hand, generally have more facial accent and angulation when compared to the Chinese, who tend towards rounder faces. The Chinese nose tends to be broader and shorter, with a less defined, rather broad nasal tip. And finally, the Malay racial groups (which include the Philippines and Indonesia) typically have short, flat noses with a wide nostril base and flared nostrils.

Asian Nose Surgery as a Worthwhile Investment

An Asian nose surgery would involve augmentation to the tip and dorsum of the nose, thus constructing a desirable pointy tip of the nose (as opposed to wide and flat). In Korea, rhinoplasty is a popular cosmetic surgery.

Many Koreans see rhinoplasty as a worthwhile investment since having eoljjang (best face) is equated to success. It is understood that the ‘right face’ will provide significant gains in many areas such as education, career and marriage. Cosmetic surgery is not only an alteration to the body but widely seen as an improvement to the self.