The graphs compare the number of cosmetic procedures performed on Korean men and women in 2004, presenting data in thousands. For Korean women, the most popular procedure was eyelid surgery, with over 300,000 operations, followed by rhinoplasty, which was performed approximately 280,000 times. Laser skin resurfacing was carried out around 200,000 times, while breast enlargement and liposuction were less common, with roughly 150,000 and 100,000 procedures respectively. Overall, women opted for a wide range of cosmetic surgeries, with a strong focus on facial enhancements (eyelids and nose) as well as body contouring procedures.
For Korean men, the most frequent procedure was laser skin resurfacing, with about 60,000 operations, closely followed by hair transplantation, which was also performed around 60,000 times, indicating significant interest in hair-related cosmetic procedures. Rhinoplasty was the second most popular procedure among men, with approximately 40,000 cases. In contrast, abdominoplasty and basic liposuction-type surgeries were the least common, with under 20,000 procedures each. Men tended to focus more on skin treatments, hair restoration, and nose reshaping, with fewer body contouring procedures compared to women.
Key differences between genders are striking: women underwent significantly more cosmetic surgeries than men across all categories – for example, eyelid surgery alone in women exceeded the total number of all procedures performed on men. Procedure preferences also varied: women favoured body contouring (liposuction, breast enlargement) alongside facial surgeries, while men prioritised skin treatments and hair restoration. Rhinoplasty, although popular among both genders, was considerably more common among women (around 280,000 procedures) compared to men (around 40,000). Hair transplantation was a notable procedure for men, almost absent in the women’s data, whereas breast enlargement and liposuction were exclusively or predominantly women’s procedures.
In conclusion, the data reveals distinct gender preferences in cosmetic surgery in Korea in 2004: women predominantly sought facial and body contouring procedures, while men focused on skin treatments, hair restoration, and rhinoplasty, with the volume of surgeries among women being significantly higher.