1 RELAXED MUSIC I'm embarking on a journey around the world to discover the secrets of lasting beauty,... There's snail secretion in this. ...great health... This is your pharmacy? Ah, Yeah. ...and extraordinary long life. Better skin than I've got. Look at him! (LAUGHS) I'm Rachel Hunter. I grew up in the fashion world. Now I wanna see what beauty means to other people. And really, is it a sense of well-being or achieving perfection? From different parts of the world, I wanna find the secrets. This time, my tour of beauty is taking me to a place where image and looks mean everything. It's really good for your skin. We make crackling out of it. I'll be checking out the traditional medicine,... These are bullfrogs. (EXCLAIMS) (LAUGHS) ...eat food that's supposed to change lives... Dr Hong believes that this dish cured him from cancer. ...and discover why thousands of young people are flocking to plastic surgery. TRANSLATOR: I didn't mind dying on the operating table if I could change this face. I'll even have a consultation of my own. Eyebrow ` we recommend lifting. At my age, I know that there are things that need to be done. Copyright Able 2015 UPBEAT MUSIC I'm in a country that's obsessed by beauty ` it has the highest plastic surgery rate in the world. You probably think I'm in Los Angeles, where I live. Well, I'm not. I'm here in Seoul, South Korea. FAST-PACED MUSIC This city is pumping... by night and by day. Sometimes described as the Hollywood of the east, it's at the heart of a cultural and beauty revolution. And for the next few days, I'm gonna get amongst it. I'm in this part of Seoul that has endless beauty care products one store after the other, and people are lining up, buying product after product after product. There's this insatiable appetite for beauty and skincare, including breast pads ` to moisturise, I guess, I don't know ` and butt pads. There's a pad for every part of your body if you want it moisturised. And it's not just the girls who are into it. Do you have a skin regime? Sunblock and BB skin lotion. BB cream stands for beauty bar. It's an all-in-one moisturiser, foundation and sunblock. You're got amazing skin. Every day, I use BB cream. And many guys don't leave home without it. Better skin than I've got. Look at him! (LAUGHS) The pressure to look young and fabulous in South Korea is immense. The ideal type of woman ` they should have big eyes with double eyelids,... small face and flawless skin,... Very small nose but a little bit pointy, because of media influence. Media influence. Yeah. Because of the K-pop, yeah. They wanna look like them. Beauty here is now pretty much defined by local K-pop stars, known for their catchy tunes, trend-setting fashion and facial features not inherently Korean. And to get that look, skincare is just the beginning. Looks like you've got avocado masks over here. Carrot, bamboo, caviar ` if you would like a more expensive version of it. Caviar. It's really moisturising and anti-aging. There's snail secretion in this. This is birds' nest. Korean people, they used to eat birds' nest for their skincare, and they made this cream. But you don't get to look like this with only a skincare regime. Teens and early 20s are flocking to cosmetic surgeons for that competitive edge in a country where jobs are scarce. Some parents even give it to their kids as a high school graduation present. Others, like 23-year-old Dong Hee, who I'm meeting today, became famous by winning her cosmetic surgery on a reality show. On the Let Me In TV programme, contestants plead their case for surgery in front of a panel of judges. What made you want to go and do the show? TRANSLATOR: I had a big complex about my appearance, so I had a hard time going out to society. So I took a chance to go on the programme. I was lucky enough to win. Her prize ` facial reconstructive surgery; a nose job, double-eyelid surgery, liposuction and a tummy tuck ` US$60,000 worth of work. That's gotta be scary. TRANSLATOR: I did not mind dying on the operating table if I could change this face. The results were revealed to a huge television audience. AUDIENCE APPLAUDS And for the first time, Dong Hee was allowed to see her new face. TRANSLATOR: I thought I was hurt inside, but I realised I didn't love myself enough. I used to think when people were looking at me, maybe it is because I'm so ugly. But now I think people are looking at me because I'm very beautiful. Wow. I don't even really know what to say to that because it's so true. You know, so many people in the world, they go, 'Oh, but you're beautiful inside,' and, you know, everything ` you know, 'You should find a way to love yourself' and all the rest of it, but I think that you have to be comfortable in your own skin. Everybody is becoming more and more obsessed by looks. Do you think that people need to go through this and look better and better and better all the time? TRANSLATOR: I think it depends on your personal situation. If it is about the pain inside, like me, I would recommend plastic surgery. But if it's only about looks, then I don't know if I would recommend it highly. It was so nice to meet you. Thank you so much. You're beautiful. You too. (LAUGHS) Dong Hee now works as a model, and her story really strikes a chord with me. I was made fun of at school and bullied at school and told that I was ugly, and that I had a carrot stuck up my arse, and, like, all these things, cos I was really tall. You know, my ugly duckling stage kinda turned out just fine. But what if it doesn't, you know, and you do have the option of plastic surgery to make those two worlds ` the inner and the outer ` work? You know? Is that wrong? FAST`PACED MUSIC Around one in five South Korean women have plastic surgery; an amazing figure ` one of the highest rates in the world. And in the famous district of Gangnam, you'll literally find hundreds of cosmetic surgeons offering their services. I've got an appointment with one of the best ` Dr Park ` to see what he might recommend for me. I'm about to, uh, go in, and I'm kinda a little bit nervous to see what he has to say. ELEVATOR CHIMES Uh, have you made a reservation with us today? Yes. Rachel Hunter. I'm gonna put this in here? OK. Have a seat first, and then I'll call for you when the doctor's ready. OK, perfect. Thank you. Apart from trying Botox, I've never had any work done before. It's pretty nerve-racking waiting. There's nothing worse than having your face picked at, um, and... and told what should be done. But the reality ` um, at my age, I know there are things that need to be done, in the world that we live in now. Kinda sad, right? Hi. Miss Rachel? Yeah. The doctor's ready to see you. OK, great. Dr Park performs more than 10 operations a day, and his team are living advertisements of the clinic's expertise. I've basically come here today to find out what you would suggest I do. Before we start, let's take a photo of you to analyse. We are going to figure out how to restore some of the changes. (CHUCKLES) It's OK ` you can laugh. BOTH LAUGH Would you suggest I get, um, a facelift? Plastic surgery improves self-esteem. 1 I'm in Seoul, the beauty capital of South Korea. And I have a feeling I'm about to get a reality check from Dr Park. Let's take a photo of you to analyse. I'm not against getting a little high-tech help to age gracefully, but I really don't want anything too invasive. First of all, um, you have crease over here,... and here... and here, and you have sagging over here, here... Have to lift some of the jowls upward, and also here. Yep. This is kind of what I was expecting. If we elevate eyebrow a little bit, then your forehead and eyes will look much fashion. OK? Would you suggest I get, um, a facelift? Mm, I think, uh, for... < your face,... we can do with the lasers. So not invasive yet? Mm-hm. This is me now, and this is what I could look like after cosmetic surgery. Nothing too drastic. You like it? Yeah. Yeah. So that's mainly with, um, like, fillers, and maybe some liposuction on there, on the jawline? Yeah. We also use the lasers for the neck. You do? Neckline, yeah. Mm. I mean, I know it's the same in America and everywhere else ` people wanna look different. But what about` What is it here? We, uh, feel that we should be competitive enough to survive in this society. That, uh, includes the looks. Plastic surgery is, uh, surgery which, um, um,... improves self-esteem, self-respect. We get much satisfaction from our job. Um, if I was completely honest with myself, what he said is probably something that I should definitely get done. Um, whether I'm gonna do it or not ` I don't know. Maybe I need a bit more convincing, but plenty of people don't. More than 100,000 foreigners come to South Korea each year for cosmetic surgery, and organising group tours to this particular clinic is tour leader Ahn Le from Australia. So are more and more Europeans coming here to get plastic surgery? Yes. I do have, actually, a number of friends coming from Europe, because basically, they just want to look a bit younger. What procedures did you have done? Nose, because I didn't have a bridge on my nose; the double eyelids and also the eye bags; a laser facelift. What made you decide to do those procedures? I'm 46 years old, I've got four kids, and I was telling myself, 'Look into the mirror', and I thought, 'I don't wanna look like this any more, because I look old, 'and I look, you know, really tired and everything. I just wanna look like, 'let's say, 10 years younger.' Yeah. That's all that I want to do. Yeah. Ultimately I am on a search for well-being and happiness, but I'd be lying if I said that sometimes I didn't wanna look 10 years younger as well. And the clinic has prepared a master plan to achieve just that. OK. > That's more than US$10,000 worth of work to try and turn back the clock. I'm not young. How old are you? Me? I'll tell you my age if you tell me yours. You look beautiful. Thank you. (LAUGHS) I'm 44. 44? Yeah. So you look really good. Yeah, good. Mm. Yeah. > Um, the prices are great, and Mr Park is lovely, and you guys are beautiful. I'd feel I was in safe hands, but I don't know. Um, I'm still gonna think about it. I'm not quite there. And I think when you... you do something like this, you have to be emotionally really ready to. So I'll live with my saggy self. As well as flocking to some of the most modern clinics in the world, Koreans remain big fans of traditional medicine. And far from the clinics of Gangnam, I'm heading for a check-up with a traditional doctor who'll measure my inner beauty ` that is the health of my organs, bones and nervous system. Anyong haseyo. Anyong haseyo. Now, I struggle with back and neck pain, and like most people these days, my stress management isn't great. I wonder what Dr Dong Su will find. Tell me, pain? No. I've a high pain tolerance. Right. It's all about the yin and the yang and how everything in the body connects. What's wrong now? Stress. (LAUGHS) Well, it didn't take Dr Dong so long to uncover my old enemy. Stress! Now he's using a wooden stick to probe the health of my internal organs and increase my blood circulation at the same time. Ooh. Ow! That's not good. No, I don't like that. It's also meant to flush toxins out of my system. Yeah, I don't like that. Now you're gonna go deeper, aren't you? No wonder it really hurts! (SPEAKS KOREAN) Yeah. You go for it. Ow! That's really sore. (SPEAKS KOREAN) Jesus! (LAUGHS) Inner beauty is not easy! That one's sore. That one's really sore. (SPEAKS KOREAN) This is good. DRUM ROLLS (SPEAKS KOREAN) Shh, shh. Dude! You just stuck a thing up my arse. (LAUGHS) What this told him about my body, I have no idea. That was amazing! Fortunately, a translator has turned up to pass on the doctor's assessment. He's saying that you have, sort of, fever in your heart, which means that you're always, like, workaholic or stressful. You might have problems with backbone` Yep. I do. I do. or, like, neck. So try to be, you know, straight. I had a surgery on my lower back, and then I have a huge disc problem up here. So this area's all connected to your backbone. Ah, now that might explain the placement of that probe! I very much believe in... this type of medicine. Physically, you are quite strong. I have a lot of anxiety. So what does he suggest I need to go and do? Can I` Shall I go get some chill tea? Gooseberry. So you try to make a tea using gooseberry. OK. You need more vitamin E. Thank you so much for everything. Thank you. Aw! Mwah! UPBEAT MUSIC So the doctor's given me a list to really help restore some of my inner beauty, which is the feverish heart that I have, um, my backaches and my stress level, which actually causes the fever of the heart. But where to start to find gooseberries and tea in a traditional market that stretches for blocks? The smell here is so intense. It smells like aniseed or liquorice. It's very, very, very potent. There's naturopathic beauty products ` no surprises there. This... is for hair? Hair. Apparently, it makes your hair have more volume and growth. This one's the gooseberry? And it hasn't taken long to find what I was looking for ` that natural source of vitamin E. What is this? And there's more. Bullfrog? And these guys are millipede? Backache? Really? I have a bad back. I have to try it because it's really good for your lower back, your knees, your neck, um, and I guess stress. Anything for the sake of inner beauty. (CHUCKLES) That smell is, like, really, kind of, a urination smell. Why are you laughing? It's gonna be horrible, right? (SPEAKS KOREAN) OK, here we go. Oh my God. It's so gross. (LAUGHS) OK. > I cannot even describe that. I don't``It's very chalky. Everything gets kinda caught in your mouth, and... It's kind of fishy and salty again. Um,... not good. Well, I've got my gooseberries for vitamin E, millipedes for my back pain and stress, so I thought I'd go the whole frog and try just that. These are bullfrogs. Now, they're used for strength, and this lovely gentleman has cooked me up some bullfrog tea. OK. So I drink now? OK. I can't wait to see what it does to my... insides. Ugh! (LAUGHS) This is gonna make me strong? Strong. For men or women? Communication breakdown. I'm hoping it's fine for me. Dr Hong believes that this dish cured him from cancer. Ah, this is good for your skin. We make crackling out of it. This is unbelievable. 1 On my tour of beauty I'm finding that Korea is full of all kinds of natural medicines, but who would have thought you'd find beauty treatments at a full-on meat barbecue? So, what's this? We make crackling out of it. Now, there's two ways of consuming the pork skin. If you eat it, the collagens are supposed to work their way through your system and repair that skin damage. And also there's a more direct way. So it's a definite alternative way to get collagen on your face. This is unbelievable. But tonight, I'm just eating the beauty treatment. No, it's good. And now for the main course at another restaurant with an entirely different menu and vibe. It's run by Dr Hong, a former gynaecologist who serves a meal that he claims saved his life. So you've been cancer-free for how long? 12 years. Wow. I've come to his kitchen to discover the secret ingredients. What's in the dish that we're making that's for the belief that it cures cancer? Ah. (SPEAKS KOREAN) So the bean? Yeah. It's the bean. The key ingredient is these beans which are also soaked in this rice and fermented, I think, for, like, five days. So, there's anchovies and there's also seaweed that gets made into a broth. Can I just pour the whole thing? Yes, whole thing. I'm not surprised that this has a lot of curing properties by the smell that's coming off this. There's lots of garlic, that powder was sea urchin, there's seaweed in there, there's anchovies in there, there's radish, there's spring onions, I mean, it just must be packed with all sorts of nutrition in there. But I don't know about the taste of it. The soup is slow cooked for several hours before it's ready to eat. The fermented soya beans with the good bacteria. Good bacteria. > That's inside the soup. That makes it very very good? When you smell ` Yeah. MYSTICAL MUSIC With the aftertaste of ground millipede still in my mouth, I'm not so sure about trying everything once any more. It's good. You can feel it, um, settle your insides down, though, and it` it makes it even. Do you eat it every day still? That's delicious! Dr Hong, my inner beauty thanks you. Reflecting over the last few days while I've been here in Seoul, I would say there's been this incredible fusion of the old ways and some of the really interesting new ways. The beauty products ` yes, I'll be taking them home, especially the masks. I've never seen this kind of thing in LA. Fermented food ` I'm into it. Not sure if I've got the patience to make it at home, but I'll definitely be ordering it at Korean restaurants. Ground millipedes ` mm, no, not for me. My God. But gooseberries ` yes, for my vitamin E deficiency. And as for cosmetic surgery? I just don't want to be under the pressures of basically what society, kind of, dictates out there on this. So still wanna live outside the box of this plastic surgery reality. What's left to do in Seoul but a night of karaoke Gangnam-style, of course. ALL SING, EXCLAIM Captions by Shelley Upchurch. Edited by Faith Hamblyn. www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2015