WHAT price Korean beauty?

To get bigger breasts and a sharper 'V-line' chin, South Korean singer Han Ae Ri recently went under the knife twice in a space of just three weeks.

But the 22-year-old singer ended up bleeding so much, she had to be rushed to the emergency room and needed 40 bags of 150cc blood, reported The Chosun Ilbo last week.

Ae Ri's botched surgery has sparked a massive debate online on the country's obsession with cosmetic surgery and how its 'self-hating standard of beauty' borders on being 'dysfunctional' and 'pathetic'.

South Korea prides itself in being a 'cosmetic surgery republic', and many top artistes have admitted that their good looks are the result of some nipping and tucking.

In April, Kim Dong Wan of boy band Shinhwa revealed on TV that he fixed his 'flat nose' after his debut in 1998 because he was unhappy with it.

Actress Kim Jung Eun (Lovers) also said on TV last October that her parents paid for her chin job because it looked so awful that they were worried nobody would marry her.

But Ae Ri's case is arguably the first of a chin job gone horribly wrong, and it has raised alarm bells within the industry.

Ae Ri, who recently quit the girl band Babyvox Re.V to venture into acting, was apparently preparing to look her best for her TV debut.

RECOVERING

Her mother told Star News last Wednesday that she has been transferred to a normal ward and is 'doing well'.

Worried fans have wished her a speedy recovery, but detractors have labelled her 'stupid' and 'dumb'.

Others on the Popseoul.com forum questioned why she needed surgery in the first place when she's already 'freaking pretty'.

Netizen Qin wrote: 'Sad to say... she's turned from a swan to a ugly duckling...

'Who says that big (breasts) and a V-line face make you a star? In order to be a star, you need to earn it, work for it... Not go and pay for it.'

Some Netizens think it is 'insane' that Korean celebrities want to 'look the same through plastic surgery'.

Kezrel wrote: 'It's always what the trend is, like the V-line (chin) and what not. Why can't they just be proud of their special features?'

Ana thinks that 'beauty standards in Korea are getting weirder', while H feels that celebrities are insecure about their looks because 'society puts too much pressure on what is perceived as beautiful'.

STAY NATURAL

Hellaakon appealed to Korean stars to 'please stay natural' because 'with the rampant plastic surgery going on, you forget how dangerous it really is'.

Meanwhile, industry experts lamented that many young, misled upstarts are increasing taking the shortcut of making themselves beautiful first instead of working hard at their craft - be it in acting or singing.

A movie producer told Edaily SPN that good looks were essential in the past, but are now secondary when it comes to choosing actors.

A TV insider added: 'There are so many beautiful people coming for auditions, but they don't seem to realise that very few beauty queens have managed to switch to acting successfully.

'The most important thing for an actor is still acting skills and a personality that suits the script.'

After all, even the prettiest stars like Kim Tae Hee and Lee Hyo Lee have got flak for failing to draw ratings because they lack acting skills.