A glance at the two bar charts reveals clear differences in the popularity of cosmetic procedures among Korean men and women in 2004. Although both genders sought physical enhancements, the number of procedures undertaken by women was significantly higher than that of men overall.
Cosmetic surgery was particularly popular among Korean women during this period. The most common procedures were eyelid surgery and rhinoplasty, with approximately 320,000 and 275,000 operations respectively. This was followed by laser skin resurfacing at around 215,000 procedures. In comparison, breast enlargement and liposuction were less frequently performed, with figures of roughly 145,000 and 120,000.
By contrast, cosmetic surgery was far less common among Korean men. Hair transplantation ranked as the most popular procedure, although it accounted for only about 60,000 cases. Laser skin resurfacing followed closely at approximately 55,000 procedures, while rhinoplasty placed third at around 40,000. Abdominoplasty and facelift surgeries were the least common, with only about 19,000 and 14,000 cases respectively.
Overall, the charts highlight a substantial gender gap in cosmetic surgery trends. Certain procedures were exclusive to one gender: hair transplantation and abdominoplasty were only performed on men, whereas breast enlargement and eyelid surgery were undertaken solely by women.