As Cherry Park sat in her parents' home for the interview, it was hard for me not to notice that she almost perfectly fits her culture's notoriously high beauty standards.
Her shiny black hair framed her unblemished face and precisely lined eyes.
But the 20-year-old law student, who lives in New Zealand, believes "she'll never be beautiful enough".
Cherry, who is of Korean heritage, says ideals for both men and women include naturally pale, glowing skin — often described as "glass skin" — a smooth V-shaped chin, large eyes, full lips and a slim, fit body.
Cherry says it is common in Korean culture to receive unsolicited comments about one's weight or having an "ugly" nose.
Even passport services airbrush photos to make the applicant's face look whiter and slimmer, she adds.
Cherry explained that's why she had long thought she needed to look a certain way and travelled to Seoul last year with the intention of getting a nose job.
But Cherry quickly changed her mind after seeing the "toxic beauty standards" firsthand.
"The societal expectation was so extreme that everyone was getting surgery," she says.
"That kind of shocked me and I was like, 'Do I really want to look like everybody else?'"
Experts have warned that fixations with looking a certain way are harmful and contribute to poor mental health.
This is true for Cherry, who says the extreme beauty expectations have damaged her self-confidence.
She is worried she may have undiagnosed body dysmorphic disorder — a preoccupation with perceived issues in a person's appearance.
"It almost feels like everything I do is not good enough," she says.
"I constantly want to improve myself. I just feel like I'm not beautiful enough, no matter what I do."
Plastic surgery graduation gifts
South Korea's high beauty standards have spurred the growth of its billion-dollar cosmetics industry.
The country is also known as the "surgical capital of the world" because it has the highest number of plastic surgeons per capita, according to business intelligence platform Statstia.
And double eyelid surgery, which gives a crease to monolid eyes, is one of the most common surgeries performed in Korea.
Cherry says it's common for women to be gifted double eyelid surgery by their parents as a graduation gift.
She believes one's appearance contributes to success in Korea, adding, "the prettier, the more successful".
While Cherry describes herself as a non-traditional Korean, she admits to being influenced by the country's booming beauty and skincare industry.
The growing uptake of K-beauty skincare — known for its extensive 10–12-step routines and unique ingredients like snail mucin and charcoal — has also been bolstered by the increasing popularity of Korean pop culture.
Hollywood celebrities and K-pop idols also promote these products, making them very popular all over the world.
The history behind Korean beauty
There are several theories on how Korean beauty standards formed.
Some historians say the ideals can be traced back to the Joseon dynasty (1392–1910), when pale skin was associated with wealth.
It was believed people who worked outside in the sun usually had darker skin and came from poorer backgrounds.
Others attribute it to the US influence in the 1950s during the Korean War.
Los Angeles journalist and podcaster Elise Hu, who wrote a book about Korean beauty standards, says that during the Joseon dynasty, beauty equated to being dutiful to your elders, serving your husband and spending time with your children — all done indoors.
This was how women kept their complexion clear, pale and untouched by the sun, Hu tells the ABC.
Beauty standards were also influenced by Confucianism, she adds, which placed an emphasis on a pure and natural look.
Women who were considered beautiful had "three whites", "three blacks" and "three reds".
These were: white skin, teeth, and sclera (the whites of the eyes); black pupils, eyebrows, and hair; red cheeks, lips, and fingernails, according to think tank Asia Society.
The historical emphasis on looking natural meant middle- and upper-class women wore minimal makeup and kept their hair long.
Today, make-up techniques are used to achieve this "natural" look.
Hu says South Korea has become the world's third-largest exporter of skincare and cosmetics, behind the US and France.
In Hu's book, she describes Seoul as a "skincare mecca", where surgery clinics are as common as hair salons.
"What I found in Korea was a society that upholds beauty as a form of political, economic, and social capital," she says.
But Hu says the social expectations can be toxic.
From the hundreds of women she interviewed while researching her book, many "shared stories of burnout and exhaustion from the work required to fit the narrow standards required for social capital", she said.
"They lead us into judging each other and judging ourselves for our appearance in a way that can be really alienating," she says.
"[It] also marginalises those who can't fit the conventional norms."
Beauty ideals 'ruined my self-image'
Gabby Marcelline says her life completely transformed when she fell in love with Korean music, television and culture when she was a teen.
Growing up as an Asian Australian, the now-23-year-old with a Sri Lankan heritage says the K-pop scene in Sydney made her feel accepted.
But Gabby says her attempt to keep up with the Korean beauty standards, which were heavily reinforced in K-pop, "ruined" her self-image.
She developed an eating disorder because she believed being "slim with a small face" was beautiful.
"I restricted my eating and I would use skin whitening products because I didn't want to be tan, I wanted to be as light-skinned as I could because that's also a Korean beauty standard," she says.
"I looked at myself constantly as something to work on. I view myself as like, 'Oh well, one day I'll be pretty.'"
Luckily, Gabby managed to shed that mindset after moving to Brisbane, where she connected with new friends who helped her embrace her own beauty.
She was also inspired by the feminist movement in South Korea.
In 2018, the " movement resulted in hundreds of women destroying their makeup and cutting their hair short to fight back against unrealistic beauty ideals.
While Gabby still uses Korean skincare products, she does so with a new perspective.
Now she avoids "anything that promotes brightening or whitening."
"I'm very much about embracing my skin colour," she says.
