Koreans Got Photoshopped With Double Eyelids And It Was So Weird

    The results were eye opening.

    by
    Kevin J. Nguyen
    by Kevin J. Nguyen

    BuzzFeed Motion Pictures Staff

    ,
    Lauren Han
    by Lauren Han

    BuzzFeed Staff

    According to some estimates as of 2014, South Korea has the highest rate of plastic surgery per capita. The most common procedure is the double eyelid surgery.

    Kevin J. Nguyen / BuzzFeed

    Many Asians have monolids, which are lids without a crease or fold. The purpose of the double eyelid surgery is to make a fold so that the eyes appear larger, a feature that many South Koreans have come to view as a beauty ideal.

    So we had three Koreans come in to talk about their experience growing up with monolid eyes and then we photoshopped double eyelids on them to see their reaction.

    View this video on YouTube
    BuzzFeedVideo / Via youtube.com

    "People I knew would just offhandedly suggest surgery to me. They offered it as gifts, as graduation presents."

    Kevin J. Nguyen / Lauren Han / BuzzFeed

    Annie: I've had a tumultuous relationship with my monolids as soon as I realized that I had them, and became hyperaware of my eyes. It was clear that my Korean friends and family held double eyelids to a higher standard. I spent a lot of time fretting about how my own lids made my eyes look smaller and more tired, and often tried to "fake" the crease with makeup.

    Relatives would enticingly tell me about how cheap and accessible "good" eyelid surgery is in Korea so I felt a lot of pressure as a self conscious, malleable teen. The idea of having bigger eyes was SO tempting for me at the time.

    "I definitely knew I was different. There were jokes about my eyes being smaller."

    Kevin J. Nguyen / Lauren Han / BuzzFeed

    Jason: To be honest, I never felt that self-conscious about having monolids growing up. Probably because there were larger issues of not seeing many role models or public figures that looked like me. I didn't ever consider the double eyelid surgery, but I think when I was growing up there was less pressure on guys to look that way. That said, I think even those expectations have begun to change.

    "They told me I would look prettier with the double eyelid surgery. I tried a lot of different things to get that double eyelid, without actually getting the surgery."

    Kevin J. Nguyen / Lauren Han / BuzzFeed

    Lauren: I grew up with everyone telling me to get the double eyelid surgery. Actually, people STILL tell me I should get it, that I could be so much prettier, or even successful with bigger eyes. It's so sad that I put myself down constantly by what other people considered "helpful tips" and that I measured my worth by the size of my eyes.

    When I was younger, I tried glue, tape, literally everything, to try and get those bigger eyes without getting the surgery. It was such a stressful thing, to do this and remind myself daily of my insecurities.

    After a week, it was finally time for the big reveal:

    Kevin J. Nguyen / BuzzFeed

    Annie's before and after:

    Kevin J. Nguyen / BuzzFeed
    Kevin J. Nguyen / BuzzFeed
    Kevin J. Nguyen / BuzzFeed

    Annie was conflicted about her new double-eyelids.

    Kevin J. Nguyen / Lauren Han / BuzzFeed

    Annie: The photoshopped image made me feel pretty conflicted, but I still wouldn’t ever consider getting surgery. I think the biggest bummer was realizing how much I actually do want bigger eyes and an extra flap of skin, but that desire seems pretty silly when I take a moment and put it into perspective!

    Jason's before and after:

    Kevin J. Nguyen / BuzzFeed
    Kevin J. Nguyen / BuzzFeed
    Kevin J. Nguyen / BuzzFeed

    Jason couldn't even recognize himself.

    Kevin J. Nguyen / Lauren Han / BuzzFeed

    Jason: I'm so unaccustomed to seeing this, and I'm so used to the way that my eyes look. And honestly, I think I prefer the way my eyes look now versus the photoshopped version. I think this is just a really good reminder for all of us, that there are things sometimes we may feel insecure about but really, there's a lot more work inside society that we need to do.

    Lauren's before and after:

    Kevin J. Nguyen / BuzzFeed
    Kevin J. Nguyen / BuzzFeed
    Kevin J. Nguyen / BuzzFeed

    Lauren felt uncomfortable seeing the new image.

    Kevin J. Nguyen / Lauren Han / BuzzFeed

    Lauren: Seeing the photo made me remember all the shit I put myself through just to look the way everyone else seemed to want me to look. And I realized that I now actually love my monolids, and I love how I have one double eyelid and one monolid sometimes, I love how my eyes fold in and out whenever they want, I just love my imperfect eyes.

    In the end, they just wanted everyone to embrace themselves, whatever that means to you.

    Kevin J. Nguyen / Lauren Han / BuzzFeed