A luxurious S.Korean plastic surgery clinic in Seoul’s famous Gangnam district faces a fine for displaying two structures made of human jaw bones that have been “nipped” out of real patients.
The photo of two 60-centimetre-tall glass structures consisted of over 2,000 jawbone parts removed from around 1,000 patients after surgery has been published on the clinic’s website, reports the S.Korean Chosun Ilbo newspaper. Each jawbone was labeled with the name of the patient who donated a part of their jaw for the sake of beauty.
The clinic, situated in Seoul’s famous Gangnam district, mostly specializes in jaw procedures, reports AFP, which are very popular in South Korea, especially among women wanting to get a thinner facial look.
A procedure to narrow a face by shaving off sections of jawbone to get a V-shaped chin costs nearly $3,200.
The aim of the photo was to tell potential customers that “they will be able to check what has been cut off their faces” and to show how skillful the surgeon who performed such a “masterpiece” is.
@MarinaHyde@_PaulHayward hey this is Human's jaw Bones in one of Plastic Surgery Hos in Seoul. doc made it for him pic.twitter.com/AAddr7yzsR
— Song Se Rok (@songisanycar) January 22, 2014
However, the photo received outraged comments after someone posted the “jaw” photo in social media on Sunday.
"This is the most gross, disgusting image I've seen in recent memory," tweeted @dadaibadi in S.Korean, reports AFP.
One person even wrote to the Gangnam district office on Tuesday, asking the local authorities to remove the photo.
The local official said it also “contravened regulations requiring the disposal and incineration of body parts removed in medical procedures.”
"We visited the clinic after some people filed complaints and plan to slap a fine of three million won ($2,796) on them," the official, who declined to be identified, told AFP.
The owner of the clinic told [Gangnam district] authorities he was unaware that the monument violated the law and promptly removed the now notorious photo from the website.
According to S.Korean law, hospitals must store by-products from surgery in special containers and transport them in special vehicles to incineration facilities. Those who break the law face a maximum 2-year sentence and a fine of $9.2 million.
A tower made of patients' bones at a plastic surgery clinic in Gangnam, Seoul pic.twitter.com/CNOtReqOlt
— ဓာစီနီ (@talksatan) January 23, 2014
South Korea is considered to be the world leader in plastic surgery procedures, says the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons. Nearly 20 percent of South Korean women have gone under the knife to get finer features.
Seoul’s famous Gangnam district, chanted in a well-known "Gangnam Style" hit by South Korean singer Psy, has a “Beauty Belt,” grouping of streets lined with hundreds of cosmetic surgery joints.
Scores of people around the world arrive there to get “nipped” and “tucked” for a pointed nose, rounded eyes, a slimmer jaw line and even a gentler smile.