The Dongguk Post's October cover story on the plastic/cosmetic surgery boom was just another reminder of the whirlwind changes that have taken place in Korean society over the past two decades. After all, college girls were only beginning to experiment with cosmetics in the early 1980s. This cover story inspired me to make cosmetic surgery the topic of an in-class composition for my writing class, especially because most of my students are young ladies. Given the time limit (two hours) for an in-class composition, the topic should be of human interest so students can begin writing without having to do too much brainstorming and detailed planning. No one was at a loss for words when it came to writing about cosmetic surgery. While many students looked upon the cosmetic surgery boom and all it entails with a jaundiced eye, there was a consensus that such surgery is simply a personal choice. And rather than sneering at those who choose surgery, most students said that if it makes you feel better about yourself, then by all means have it done. They reserved their strongest criticism for a "cruel society" that "pressures" women to alter themselves to satisfy the current dictates of the job or marriage market. What struck me as I read the compositions were 1) how common cosmetic surgery is, and 2) the stress that young women undergo to conform in this hyper-competitive society. Getting eyelids altered, for example, is so common it barely qualifies as cosmetic surgery nowadays. And when I gave a student a quizzical look during a classroom discussion after she said "80 % of her friends" had undergone surgery, other girls nodded in agreement, saying they were often the only ones among their friends who had not had it done. Even though these girls were putting off surgery, they said it was compelling since they all knew former "ugly ducklings" whose surgery had turned them into raving beauties with numerous suitors. I expect Seoul will soon become like Mexico City, where young bourgeois women meet at posh coffee shops to celebrate a friend's return from surgery. Rather than disappear for the customary 10 days until the bandages, black eyes, and swelling from a "nose job" are gone, this senorita proudly exhibits herself and revels in her status as a new member of the club. I do know a Korean woman, in fact a medical doctor, who was not so forthcoming, telling me that her recent nose job was the consequence of being hit by a golf ball. Gimme a break. Two other common student concerns were the legacy of this cult of beauty on the next generation, and the role of the fashion and cosmetics industry in perpetuating the cult. What choice is there for the adolescent daughter who desires her mother's surgically enhanced looks? And what sort of Pandora's box is being opened by parents who give their daughters surgery as a high school graduation gift? Isn't it curious that American black girls, a demographic virtually ignored by the advertising industry, are generally satisfied and much more comfortable with their physical appearance than suburban white girls, the target of numerous marketing ploys aimed at seducing them into believing that they, too, can be a cover girl? Sound familiar? Students also wrote of insufferable mothers telling less than perfect daughters that their futures are bleak unless they undergo cosmetic surgery. I'm sorry, but isn't it mommy's role to say, "Of course you're pretty, my little darling?" And then there was the mother from hell who "dragged" her teenaged daughter into a clinic, where "she [the daughter] kicked and screamed and was held down by ten nurses" until the surgery was performed. "To this day she has no self-esteem and thinks she is ugly." Women have been enhancing their natural beauty with cosmetics since at least the days of the ancient Egyptians. (Liz Taylor wore tons of the stuff in CLEOPATRA.) So I don't think it's too difficult of a decision for women, especially those who put on cosmetics daily, to choose surgery. Why go through the daily hassle of putting a line across each eyelid when after very simple surgery they're permanent? I also believe cosmetic surgery is quite normal in the feminine scheme of things. "Vanity," said the bard, "thy name is woman." What is abnormal is deluding yourself into believing that a visit to a surgeon can turn you into the self-confident person you always wanted to be. However, facial alterations, according to most accounts, do work magic on women's psyches. A case in point: One coed wrote that for some inexplicable reason she began to "hate my face" and "stayed home in bed for a month crying my eyes out." Crying was getting her nowhere; so she decided to change the color of her hair and, presto, she became a self-confident woman. Since there is absolutely nothing wrong with this girl's perfectly attractive face, perhaps she should have replaced crying her eyes out with SMILING. Should anyone with a similar silly notion be reading this essay, don't be so self-critical. Maybe all you need to do is smile a bit more. This University enrolls all sorts of movie and TV stars, singers and super-models, and wannabes. Some of them attend my classes. My usual private reaction to their obvious surgical makeovers is, BORING. They have traded away what was unique about their faces for bland, nondescript visages. And how sad it was indeed to read of a student who rues the day she got her nose job and pines in vain for her old nose. There's this joke going around American universities: "Now that you've got your BA, MA, and PhD, all you need is a JOB." The punch line could be "cosmetic surgery" at Korean universities. For it's patently unfair that after years of jumping through all the academic hoops Korea throws at you, going abroad for an expensive year of English study, getting a high TOEIC score, and acquiring computer skills, your success in the job market now may depend on expensive cosmetic surgery that you don't need, can't afford, but think you can't do without. And isn't it time you went on a starvation diet? I'd be thinking about emigration.