South Korean plastic surgery show "Let me in" as a rtualized event

Abstract

Plastic surgery is a recurrent and important theme in Korean society that is exposed in different ways from the Korean entertainment world. Specifically, the plastic surgery show "Let me in" shows clearly what are the thoughts and conclusions that revolve around the physical appearance of people. Therefore, this work is an anthropological analysis of "Let me in" as a media ritual event because its structure is similar to that of a rite of passage: separation, liminality, reinstatement. In this sense, the revised bibliography explains the perspective of the body as a modifiable object and how the media have transformed the rituals. The videos in which the television show can be seen were also analyzed to explain the relationship between each part and a media ritual. Finally, the analysis leads to conclude that within the show, as a rite of passage, the body is conceived as a symbol that holds different meanings before being taken and after being reinserted into society. In this sense, this work analyzes how the program exposes the ideology of beauty that prevails in Korean society and how it affects the daily social relations of South Koreans.