As Asian culture continues to grow in media, one of these rising topics is K-pop. The Korean music genre contains intense dance choreography, flashy music videos, and every kind of style of music. While you would think this would have nothing to do with doppelgängers, I wanted to discuss the topic of the pop stars inside those music videos.
Many, if not all, of the K-pop stars are accepted because of their talented skills, but also their visual appearance. To become a member of a group it is almost necessary to meet the Korean beauty standards. The perfect nose, double-eyelids, and white/pale skin are considered beautiful in Korea.
As we all know though, everyone is born differently, and are perfect in their own ways. This is also true when it comes to the people in Korea. Not everyone is going to meet the beauty standards. Unfortunately, to have any chance at becoming famous and a star, many trainees(stage previous to becoming a K-pop idol), often undergo plastic surgery just to be accepted by a music label. The beauty standards in Asia as a whole has affected society in a dramatic way. It has even become normal for the common people to receive plastic surgery for eyelids.
Shown above is a picture of Lisa, a rapper and dancer in the girl group BlackPink. BlackPink is a worldwide phenomenon, and it is very easy for fans or haters to notice the differences in before and after photos of the girls. You can see a difference in her eye shape and nose.
Looking at many K-pop stars now, if you look back at old photos you can see a clear difference. While nothing is wrong with plastic surgery, it can often give an unsettling feeling to the eyes of people who knew them as who they were before. They act the same, and are the same person, but visually there’s something off putting about becoming someone you aren’t. It even gives that uncanny feeling discussed in Freud’s book The Uncanny when someone who was once familiar to you, becomes unfamiliar.