整容噩夢：愛美無罪！

Chinese businesswoman Chen Yili paid a South Korean hospital thousands of dollars to reshape her face in the hope she would look more like the glamorous stars she saw on television.

Instead she says she was disfigured by the operation—one of a growing number of Chinese women who claim 1）shoddy procedures and a lack of regulation in South Korea’s booming “medical tourism” industry， have left them physically scarred.

“They said they would design my face to look like a South Korean， and help me design a new nose， lips and chin， but （afterwards） when my friends saw my nose they were all shocked. They said it was 2）crooked （and） ugly，” Chen said.

Seoul on Friday announced a crackdown on illegal 3）brokers and unregistered clinics in a bid to protect medical tourists， especially those drawn by the country’s huge plastic surgery industry.

The country is a cultural powerhouse in Asia—its soap operas and pop music videos are massively popular in China and often feature cosmetically-enhanced stars.

While China’s domestic plastic surgery market is worth tens of billions of dollars， persistent safety concerns are driving growing numbers of wealthy consumers abroad.

South Korea has pushed hard to foster its so-called“medical tourism” industry， which was worth the equivalent of nearly $360 million in 2013， according to official figures.

China topped the medical tourist list with more than 25，400 visitors， an increase of 70 percent from the previous year according to the South Korean health ministry.

Chinese tourists generally pay more than twice as much as locals for cosmetic procedures， Chinese newspaper Southern Weekly reported this month.

Dozens of South Korean clinics have Chinese-language websites， some offering surgery alongside sightseeing vacations， with promotions offered during Chinese holidays.

One clinic promises to provide “almond shaped eyes” and a “magical V-shaped face”—considered the ideal of feminine beauty in much of East Asia. Another is seemingly full of glowing testimonials from past patients.

While most procedures in South Korea appear to occur without incident， last month attention focused on the industry after a 50-year-old Chinese woman was left in a coma by a clinic in Seoul’s up-market Gangnam district.

As much as a third of Chinese patients’ costs can go towards fees for brokers who act as 4）liaisons for the hospitals. Chen said after making initial enquiries she was contacted “incessantly” by an agent and felt 5）cajoled into having the surgery.

She spent more than $26，000 dollars on the surgery in 2010 at the Beauty Line clinic in Seoul. One of her procedures involved having 6）cartilage taken from her chest and added to her nose to make it more prominent.

But upon returning to China， she began to suffer from nasal infections. Now staying at a clinic in Beijing， she says her mental health suffered and she is taking 12 7）antidepressants a day.

“I’ve lost sleep， I can’t meet with friends， and I suffer from depression， because my nose is just too ugly，” she said.

“I feel tricked. I think the industry is protected by （South Korea’s） government， because it’s a key source of revenue，” she added.

Park Ji-Hye， an official at South Korea’s health ministry， told 8）AFP that “activities involving illegal brokers and inflated fees， as well as disputes over 9）malpractice， are sparking complaints from foreign patients.”

Hoping to bring the industry into line， authorities last Friday declared that owners of unregistered facilities treating foreign patients could be punished with jail sentences.

“Some clinics are treating Chinese patients without a state license allowing them to treat foreign patients， because obviously that’s where the money is，” said Cho Soo-Young， spokesman for the association of Korean plastic surgeons.

Back in China， an online 10）support group made up of hundreds of victims of alleged 11）botched cosmetic procedures done in South Korea has begun a campaign to highlight these problems.

“You start to believe that cosmetic surgery is something magical that can change your life. We have to take some responsibility ourselves， for not understanding the industry， and being too trusting，” said group organiser Jin Weikun.

Many women in the group added that clinics had not warned them of potential risks.

Winnie Wang， 45， said she was “devastated， cried and even attempted suicide” after an operation in 2013 left her with unequally sized eyes.

Yu Lijun， a designer， underwent one of the most controversial procedures at Seoul’s Faceline clinic—“doublejaw” surgery—which involves cutting the bone to produce a slimmer jawline. Today her mouth is visibly 12）misaligned， making it hard to eat and prompting her to wear a facemask at all times.

But Faceline disputed this， saying Yu had been through two botched surgeries in China that had left her mouth crooked before coming to them for help fixing it.

“We sent Yu back several times because the risk was too big， but eventually decided to treat her after her repeated pleas for weeks，” the clinic said in a statement， adding that she did not follow post-surgery care instructions.

Beauty Line， which is licensed to treat foreign patients， said it could not locate Chen Yili’s file as its records are in Korean and do not contain patients’ names in Chinese. The company did not return calls from AFP after being contacted by a reporter with proof of Wang’s history at the clinic.

It also said Mi had signed a pre-surgery statement acknowledging potential side effects to her procedures. Mi Yuanyuan， a Chinese actress， said a 2013 operation left her with regular pain in her nose， as well as numbness and hair-loss on her forehead.

“They said there weren’t any risks. They said the surgeon was as famous as the Hermes bag I was carrying，”the 38-year-old said.

“I would warn people not to be attracted by the South Korean fairytale.”

懷著要變得像電視明星一樣迷人的美好愿望，中國女商人陳怡麗向韓國一家醫院支付了數千美元進行臉部整形手術。

然而，她說自己被這場手術毀了容——越來越多的中國女性對劣質整形手術提出索賠，陳女士便是其中之一。蓬勃發展的韓國“整形旅游”行業缺乏監管，使這些女士身體受損。

“他們說會把我的臉設計成跟韓國人一樣，幫我重塑一個新的鼻子、雙唇和下巴，但是（后來）當我的朋友看到我的鼻子時，他們都被嚇到了。他們說我的鼻子歪了，很難看，”陳女士說。

本周五，首爾政府宣布打擊非法經紀人和未經登記注冊的診所，旨在保護醫療游客，特別是被該國龐大的整容行業所吸引的游客。

韓國是亞洲的文化強國——該國的肥皂劇及流行音樂視頻在中國廣受歡迎，主角通常是一些整過容的明星。

中國國內整容市場擁有數百億美元的市場潛力，持續的安全問題促使越來越多的高端消費者走向海外。

韓國政府大力促進其所謂的“醫療旅游”業，官方數據顯示，這一行業在2013年為該政府帶來了等同于接近3.6億美元的經濟收入。

韓國衛生部稱，中國以25，400人次位居醫療游客榜單之首，比去年增長70%。

中國報紙《南方周末》本月報道，中國游客到韓國進行整容手術，通常需支付比當地人高兩倍以上的費用。

許多韓國整容診所開設了中文網站，部分診所在提供手術之余，也提供觀光度假服務，如遇中國節假日，還有促銷活動。

其中一家診所承諾可以塑造出“杏眼”和“神奇V臉”——在東亞各國，這樣的五官被認為最能展現女性之美。……