The It Will Hurt A Little project introduces interiors of plastic surgery clinics in Seoul. The lens explores clinics from luxurious receptions to employee-only zones, all while the clinic is empty, with no patients in the building except in recovery rooms.

For over a decade, I’ve witnessed the plastic surgery industry in South Korea grow dramatically. Like many Koreans, my interest in cosmetic surgery began at a young age, with a desire to have procedures done on myself. South Koreans now have more plastic surgery than any other nation in the world, with more than one in five South Korean women having had cosmetic work done, and medical tourism to Korea is approaching 300,000 visitors per year.

Embodying this growth, small clinics have become multi-million-dollar complexes. One clinic built its own 21-floor building in Gangnam: 300 employees, 30 doctors, 12 operation rooms, 40 postoperative rooms, 70 consulting rooms, a spa, a cafe, a library, and a sky lounge, all under one cosmetic surgery clinic. These towering clinics are forming a new skyline in Gangnam.

Through collecting images covering just a fraction of these clinics, I attempt to measure the scale of the industry and visualize the millions of people who’ve passed through these rooms and halls, evoking my own mixed emotions: association with this culture, as it is part of me; but also melancholy.

Solo exhibition: Baxter St at CCNY, New York, 2015.

Seoul, South Korea · 2014

It Will Hurt A Little — Operating Theater, 6th Floor — Operating Theater, 6th Floor

It Will Hurt A Little — Employee-Only Zone, Curtain — Employee-Only Zone, Curtain

It Will Hurt A Little — Waiting Room, 17th Floor — Waiting Room, 17th Floor

It Will Hurt A Little — Employee-Only Zone, Supply Trays — Employee-Only Zone, Supply Trays

It Will Hurt A Little — Operating Theater, 21st Floor — Operating Theater, 21st Floor

It Will Hurt A Little — Waiting Room, 21st Floor — Waiting Room, 21st Floor

It Will Hurt A Little — Reception, 21st Floor — Reception, 21st Floor

It Will Hurt A Little — Consultation Room 08, 3rd Floor — Consultation Room 08, 3rd Floor

It Will Hurt A Little — Operating Theater, 5th Floor — Operating Theater, 5th Floor

It Will Hurt A Little — Waiting Area, 3rd Floor — Waiting Area, 3rd Floor

It Will Hurt A Little — Waiting Area, 5th Floor — Waiting Area, 5th Floor

It Will Hurt A Little — Consultation Room detail — Consultation Room detail

It Will Hurt A Little — Waiting Area, 2nd Floor — Waiting Area, 2nd Floor

It Will Hurt A Little — Consultation Room 07, 2nd Floor — Consultation Room 07, 2nd Floor

It Will Hurt A Little — Consultation Room, 2nd Floor — Consultation Room, 2nd Floor

It Will Hurt A Little — Waiting Area, 1st Floor — Waiting Area, 1st Floor

It Will Hurt A Little — Infrared Light Therapy, 2nd Floor — Infrared Light Therapy, 2nd Floor

It Will Hurt A Little — Operating Theater, 3rd Floor — Operating Theater, 3rd Floor

It Will Hurt A Little — Operating Theater, Details, A Wall — Operating Theater, Details, A Wall

It Will Hurt A Little — Operating Theater, Details, Floor — Operating Theater, Details, Floor

It Will Hurt A Little — Operating Theater, Details, Healing Patch — Operating Theater, Details, Healing Patch

It Will Hurt A Little — Operating Theater, Details, Operation Bed — Operating Theater, Details, Operation Bed

It Will Hurt A Little — Operating Theater, Details, Surgery Needles and a Gauze — Operating Theater, Details, Surgery Needles and a Gauze

It Will Hurt A Little — VIP Only Lounge, 15th Floor — VIP Only Lounge, 15th Floor

It Will Hurt A Little — VIP Operating Theater with Viewing Room, 16th Floor — VIP Operating Theater with Viewing Room, 16th Floor

It Will Hurt A Little — Waiting Area Hallway, Silicone Implants and skin care line display — Waiting Area Hallway, Silicone Implants and skin care line display

It Will Hurt A Little — Waiting Area and Consultation Rooms, 15th Floor — Waiting Area and Consultation Rooms, 15th Floor

It Will Hurt A Little — Details — Details

It Will Hurt A Little2014