Why a Booktrail?
2000s: A glitteringly dark and unsettling debut novel about four young women struggling to survive in South Korea
If I Had Your Face
What you need to know before your trail
If I Had Your Face plunges us into the mesmerizing world of contemporary Seoul – a place where extreme plastic surgery is as routine as getting a haircut, where women compete for spots in secret ‘room salons’ to entertain wealthy businessmen after hours, where K-Pop stars are the object of all-consuming obsession, and ruthless social hierarchies dictate your every move.
Travel Guide
Dare to travel to Seoul, South Korea
A very vapid look at the city of plastic surgery – Seoul. This country has one of the highest if not THE highest rate of plastic surgery per capita in the entire world.
There is a sub-culture among the women in this novel as they seek validation in all the wrong places. However, the novel also looks at why women like those in the novel are obsessed with their looks.
This is more of a novel about the demands of a society on women and why women feel the need to ‘fit in’ with society ie men’s ideals of them.
Beauty is explored via tragic fairytales:
”In the original story, the little mermaid endures unspeakable pain to gain her human legs. The Sea Witch warns her that her new feet will feel as if she is walking on whetter blades, but she will be able to dance like no human has ever danced before.
Society:
‘Unless you are born into a chaebol family or your parents were the fantastically lucky few who purchased land in Gangnam decades ago, you have to work and work and work for a salary that isnt even enough to buy a house or pay for childcare, and you sit at a desk until your spine twists, and your boss is somehow incompetent and a workaholic at the same time and at the end of the day you have to drink to bear it all.’
BookTrail Boarding Pass: If I Had Your Face
Destination/location: Seoul, South Korea Author/guide: Frances Cha Departure Time: 2000s
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