"Hating on the culture they themselves created": Netizens bash Miss Korea finalists for having severe plastic surgery despite of the country's toxic beauty standards

Miss Korea 2022 finalists faced backlash from netizens for having extreme plastic surgery and even called the winners Virtual AI Humans as a result of the country’s toxic beauty standards.

On October 26, the 66th edition of the Miss Korea Pageant finals was hosted by Global E&B held at Blue Square in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Lee Seung-Hyeon has been crowned Miss Korea after competing with 30 contestants in the finals. The 2022 contest slogan is:

"Green Healing Moment – The most beautiful healing begins"

This reflects upon the message of providing beautiful healing to those who enjoy the contest together. While the message was to provide beautiful healing and enjoy the contest, the recent backlash from netizens has contradicted the message.

Later, many Korean culture fans came forward in response to the criticism and shared that it is the country’s toxic beauty standards that has led to such a situation over the last few years of the contest. A fan mentioned,

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Miss Korea 2022 finalists face backlash from Netizens for extreme plastic surgery

Miss Korea 2022 revealed its winners and as soon as the pictures of the finalists were released, harsh criticism was faced by finalists in the online space. Here are the comments on online forums with Google translations that have been posted about the Miss Korea finalists.

finalists facing criticism (Image via Naver)

Here is the Google translation of the comments.

finalists facing criticism (Image via Naver)

Many fans have also come forward to call out the toxic beauty standards and harsh comments received from netizens.

Miss Korea finalists have always been subject to criticism. A netizen tweeted in 2021:

The tweet below is from 2019:

Another comment below from 2018 shows how toxic beauty standards have never seemed to change or pressurize the contestants:

Many also came in support of the finalists. But in recent years, there has been more criticism of Miss Korea finalists than praise across various social media platforms, despite how the country’s toxic beauty standards have constantly been addressed by various Korean artists as well.

Meanwhile, the 2022 contest was won by 23-year-old Lee Seung-Hyeon. She won first place this year and is a college student studying economics at Korea University.

Second place was secured by 25-year-old Yoo Si-eun from the Department of Aviation Service at Yeonsung University. Kim Go-eun who is 22 years old, secured third place and is from the Department of Aviation and Aeronautical Engineering.

Miss Korea 2022 Lee Seung-Hyeon, who has also faced backlash from netizens, has called herself a trendsetter. She also shared that she wants to become the CEO of a global fashion brand.

Seung-Hyeon is working on creating her own brand value through numerous activities. Other winners have also shared their dreams and what they aspire to be. Despite such inspirational thoughts, the finalists have faced the utmost criticism.

The contest will air on November 11 at 8 pm on Wavve and cable channels SmileTV, TVAsia, and Weetv.