[ti:Cosmetic Surgeries Rise in South Korea During Pandemic]
[by:www.21voa.com]
[00:00.00]更多听力请访问21VOA.COM
[00:00.04]South Korean demand for cosmetic surgery operations
[00:05.80]sharply increased in 2020.
[00:09.64]Last year, the industry in South Korea
[00:13.68]was worth about $10.7 billion dollars.
[00:18.52]That was an increase of around nine percent from 2019.
[00:24.48]South Koreans are expected to spend around $11.8 billion this year,
[00:31.72]says Gangnam Unni, the country's largest online cosmetic surgery website.
[00:39.04]Ryu Han-na is a 20-year-old university student.
[00:43.92]She got an operation on her nose in December.
[00:48.88]Ryu took her classes online throughout 2020.
[00:53.52]She said the abilities to rest at home
[00:57.44]and to wear a face covering in public were important for her.
[01:02.04]"I always wanted to get a nose job...
[01:05.60]I thought it would be the best to get it now
[01:08.88]before people start taking off masks
[01:11.80]when vaccines become available in 2021,"
[01:16.32]she said as she prepared for the operation, which cost around $4,000.
[01:23.72]"There will be bruises and swelling from the surgery
[01:27.72]but since we'll all be wearing masks I think that should help," she added.
[01:33.12]That thinking is leading to an increased demand
[01:37.64]for such operations in South Korea.
[01:40.84]Gangnam Unni data showed its users grew to about 2.6 million last year,
[01:47.96]an increase of 63 percent from a year earlier.
[01:53.52]However, the pandemic made it nearly impossible
[01:57.72]to sell cosmetic services to foreign patients.
[02:01.76]As a result, the industry has tried to promote its services more
[02:08.04]to people in the country and nearby.
[02:11.96]Promote means to make something more popular or well-known.
[02:16.60]Cosmetic surgeons say patients are interested in operations
[02:21.48]on all parts of the face.
[02:24.24]Some want operations on parts of the face that are
[02:28.88]easily hidden under coverings, such as the nose and lips.
[02:34.28]But others want operations in places that face coverings do not hide.
[02:41.08]Park Cheol-woo is a surgeon at WooAhIn Plastic Surgery Clinic.
[02:48.16]Park was responsible for Ryu's operation.
[02:52.64]"Both surgical and non-surgical inquiries about eyes,
[02:58.04]eyebrows, nose bridge and foreheads - the only visible parts
[03:03.00]- certainly increased," Park said.
[03:06.96]Surgeon Shin Sang-ho runs Krismas Plastic Surgery Clinic.
[03:12.92]Shin said many people have spent their emergency payment
[03:17.12]from the government at hospitals and surgical centers.
[03:22.52]"I felt like it's sort of a revenge spending.
[03:26.40]I've sensed that customers were expressing their pent-up emotions
[03:31.48]from the coronavirus by getting cosmetic procedures," Shin said.
[03:37.08]Pent-up emotions are feelings that have been held back or not expressed.
[03:43.40]Government data shows that of about $13 billion in government payments,
[03:50.68]10.6 percent was used in hospitals and drug stores.
[03:56.68]That was the third-largest area of spending
[04:01.32]behind supermarkets and restaurants.
[04:04.76]However, details of spending at hospitals were not provided.
[04:10.48]A third wave of coronavirus remains a concern in South Korea
[04:16.36]as the country reports more daily cases.
[04:20.20]"We've seen growing numbers of cancellations...
[04:23.80]recently as people refrain more from going outside..." Park said.
[04:30.00]I'm John Russell.
[04:32.28]更多听力请访问21VOA.COM