"Mostly Done at Home as Illegal Plastic Surgery"
"Orthodontic Treatment and Double Eyelid Surgery Are Common"
North Korean defector YouTuber Han Songi has spoken out about the reality of illegal plastic surgery taking place in North Korea.
Han, who is in her 14th year since defecting, talked about the "Gippeumjo," a group of women who serve North Korea's supreme leader, and about plastic surgery in North Korea on February 10 on the YouTube channel Jeonwonjuingong.
At a celebratory event for the Workers' Party of Korea congress held in Pyongyang in 2016, the Moranbong Band is performing. Korean Central Television, Yonhap News
"In North Korea, pretty women end up in the Gippeumjo... Looks and family background are all scrutinized"
Actress Jeon Wonju, who is originally from Kaesong, asked, "What kind of work do pretty women do in North Korea?" Han replied, "They either get selected for the Gippeumjo," adding, "People like us can't do it. You have to be at least 165 cm tall." Jeon then said, "I'm not even 150 cm tall," and asked, "What kind of screening process is there to become a member of the Gippeumjo?"
In response, Han said, "You have to be a red from the roots," claiming that no matter how tall or beautiful a woman is, she cannot join the Gippeumjo if her family background is not good. As an example, she said, "If your parents were ginseng (wild ginseng field) landlords in North Korea, your family would be classified as counterrevolutionaries and punished, so you could never go there."
Kim Jongun, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, with members of the Moranbong Band after a performance commemorating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party in 2015. Korean Central Television / Yonhap News
"Illegal plastic surgery is done at home"
When Jeon asked Han, "Did you also get plastic surgery to try to become a member of the Gippeumjo?" Han joked, "I wasn't this pretty when I was in North Korea. After I came to the Republic of Korea, I started going to dermatology clinics and getting lifting procedures, and I became prettier."
Han went on to say that in North Korea, illegal plastic surgery is mainly done at home. She said, "In North Korea they do orthodontic treatment and double eyelids," adding, "In South Korea, you get procedures at plastic surgery clinics or dermatology clinics. In North Korea, they do it at home."
She continued, "If you go to a house where they perform illegal surgery, you will see about 10 people lying down. On one side they are cutting (the eyelids) and on the other side they are stitching," adding, "If you look at people in North Korea who have had double eyelid surgery, they sleep with their eyes open at night because they can't close them."
Han defected from North Korea in 2013. She became known to the public through appearances on programs such as Channel A's Now On My Way to Meet You and currently does streaming broadcasts.
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