Plastic surgery clinics offer CSAT specials to students and families

[한겨레] The targeted advertising of high school seniors has drawn criticism from parents and observers

By Yu Sun-hui

"CSAT success event! Double eyelid + nose job = 1,750,000 won (bring your test slip)."

"Discounts only for CSAT takers? Do it with your family and everyone gets 40% off."

Plastic surgery clinics are drawing heat with discount events encouraging indiscriminate operations among students taking the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), South Korea's university entrance exam.

Clinic "B" in Seoul's Gangnam neighborhood has been giving heavy promotion to an eye surgery event for test takers. An employee of the clinic told a journalist posing as a test taker over the phone, "When you do the double eyelid, medial and lateral epicanthoplasty, and under-eye surgery all at once, the effect is amazing."

"Right now, we're offering a 30% discount on our eye package," the employee added. "With this event, it costs 1.8 million won."

Another Gangnam clinic said, "We offer 40% off when test takers come with their family members. Cousins, second cousins - it doesn't matter."

"You should really take advantage of the discount," the clinic said.

Amid the marketing blitz from clinics, some high school seniors were pestering their parents to pay for plastic surgery as a college entrance present before the test was even over.

A 19-year-old student named Ko who took the CSAT for the second time Thursday said, "In front of the testing site, plastic surgery and skin clinic employees were advertising discounts on operations when you brought in your test slip."

"I have three or four friends already who pestered their parents into making reservations" at a clinic, she added.

It is not only the female seniors who are getting caught up in the plastic surgery wave. A 46-year-old parent named Sohn with a son in his senior year recalled, "My son got a quote from a clinic after hearing that test takers got a 20% to 30% discount."

"He also said they give another 5% to 10% off when you bring a friend," a disconcerted Sohn said. "Is this some pyramid thing?"

"It is strange to talk about 'discounts' when plastic surgery is a medical procedure, and it really bothers me to see them acting like they are so benevolent cutting prices when it is already a bubble," Sohn added.

Oriental medicine and diet clinics were also pitching themselves to test takers. With the slogan "Fat seniors no! Thin beauties OK!" "J" diet clinic in Gangnam advertised a three-month package of exercise, dietary treatment, and medication as being discounted from one million won to 600 thousand won for CSAT takers.

An Oriental medicine clinic advertising itself as "the diet specialist" said it was discounting an appetite suppressant from 500 thousand won to 380 thousand won for students who brought a test slip.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]

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