38. K-Pop Plastic Surgery Obsession

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/05/the-k-pop-plastic-surgery-obsession/276215/

              Zara Stone, the author of the article "The K-Pop Plastic Surgery Obsession," writes about how k-pop surgery has made a huge mark on culture. The author talks about how Korean Americans are starting to become highly unsatisfied with their appearances and are turning toward plastic surgery to have the ideal k-pop star face. The author includes an example of Kim who is currently taking a break from college to save up money for more plastic surgery (she already had her nose and eyes done). Kim is now looking forward to having a V-line surgery which supposedly shaves the jawbones to create a more Western and anime-like image. The reason Koreans are widely having cosmetic surgery is because they equate feminine beauty with economic and social success. K-pop stars have also intensely influenced Koreans to become more beautiful through painful and expensive processes.
               The author used several rhetorical devices and strategies to achieve her purpose. The author's purpose is informative and the tone is serious and grave. The author uses primarily the cause and effect structure and organization for the writing; the cause is that widespread k-pop is influencing Koreans all over the world and the effect is that Koreans are getting obsessed with cosmetic surgeries. The author includes a lot of statistics and facts to explain how Koreans are starting to get more and more cosmetic surgeries to become more like k-pop stars in Korea so that they can have a more Western look or an anime look which would supposedly result in successes in life. The author includes real life stories and examples of Koreans who have all had cosmetic surgeries because of k-pop influence. The author also adds on to say that k-pop is now not only confined to music but its cultural impact is extending out to the appearances of peoples.