Three Chinese women were left stranded at a South Korean airport after officials said their passport photos did not match their . The women had just had cosmetic surgery to change their . The surgery had transformed their faces to an extent that passport officials in South Korea could not confirm their . Photos of the women went on the Internet. Their faces were swollen from the and were heavily bandaged. The Shanghaiist.com website reported that the women were not allowed to take their return back to China, and were instead held for questioning by the airport authorities. It is still if the women have been able to return to China.
South Korea has become the cosmetic surgery of the world. Cosmetic surgery from China is now booming business. More than 500,000 Chinese residents a year flock to in South Korea to reshape their faces and bodies. Many of them go to clinics that specialize in making look more "Western". Cosmetic surgery is also hugely with South Koreans. Around half of under 30 in the capital Seoul are estimated to have had surgery. Many parents encourage their children to undergo surgery in to gain a "competitive " in the job market. There are even popular prime time TV that feature before and after transformations.