Ji Yeo spent her teenage years in Gangnam, a district in Seoul epitomized by Psy’s Gangnam Style. Her own experiences in and out of plastic surgery consultations inspired her recent work, the Beauty Recovering Room series. Acting as a nurse, Ji Yeo gained access to women recovering from plastic surgery and photographed them fresh from going under the knife. Equal parts documentary and art, Ji Yeo’s work aims to interrupt the usual before-and-after plastic surgery narrative by showing the cost of adhering to social pressure in Korea.

Dazed Digital: Were you always fascinated by beauty?

Ji Yeo: When I went back to Korea after going to elementary school in the U.S. I was shocked when teachers commented about their students’ appearance and about their bodies – it was insane. The kids in my school always talked about how tall or skinny they were. If you were pretty you were extremely popular. If not, you were excluded from the group so from an early age everything was centered around appearances.

DD: So where does plastic surgery come in?

Ji Yeo: I definitely think it’s because everyone wants to look more like Western or Caucasian—like having a higher nose and bigger eyes. Even though there is a difference between what Western women want and what Korean women want, I think that is the ultimate goal.

DD: I've seen crazy surgeries like total facial reconstruction. How do you feel about the extreme plastic surgery culture?

Ji Yeo: I started off being very critical. The reason I started this project was because I had my own self esteem issues. In high school my only goal was to become pretty. I was doing a lot of part-time jobs against my parents’ wishes in order to save up for plastic surgery. My goal was to have surgery on my whole body as soon as I graduated from high school. I went to more than a dozen surgeons getting consultations before realizing it wasn’t for me. I thought I’d have a better life if I enhanced my look.

DD: Did your friends do it too?

Ji Yeo: Oh, definitely. I only have two friends in Korea who didn’t do any surgery. I realized this wasn’t what I wanted for myself though because it sounded really scary. I thought it would be quick and easy because I never actually saw anybody during the transformation process – just before and after shots.

DD: Do you think some girl will see Beauty Recovery Room and have a wake up call?

Ji Yeo: I hope so, but I'm not sure it will work in Korea. Korean women are so immune to all kinds of surgery so it doesn't come as much of a shock to them.