Dateline: Mar 19

Dateline‘s Aaron Lewis has travelled to Argentina following the election of Pope Francis last week to learn more about where he has come from and what might the world expect from him?

Meanwhile Jeannette Francis looks at the pressures of  plastic surgery in the world of K-Pop.

On Tuesday’s Dateline, video journalist Aaron Lewis gets an insider’s view of the new Holy Father by speaking to colleagues, family and friends in Pope Francis’ home country of Argentina. Aaron also joins worshippers in the Buenos Aires churches where he was formerly Archbishop to shed more light on the 76-year-old behind the robes.

As Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, he eschewed the luxurious trappings due to him as archbishop taking the bus to work, cooking his own meals and reaching out to the city’s poor. The contrasts with his Papal predecessors are many: the first Latin American, the first from the Jesuit order of Catholicism and he’s already turning to Italian rather than the traditional Latin.

With so many controversial issues now on his shoulders, where do the people who know him best think he will take the Catholic Church?

In South Korea, the pressure to look a certain way is feeding a booming plastic surgery industry.

Globally, the Asian nation has the highest rate of cosmetic procedures undertaken per capita and in a growing trend, it’s young people going under the knife.

Dateline explores South Korea’s fascination with the manufactured stars of its multi-million dollar K Pop music scene – many of whom have undergone procedures themselves. They’re known for their pretty looks and cute features, just as much as their catchy tunes and synchronised dance moves.

“I’m looking forward to my surgery. It makes me happy to think that I’ll look prettier after today,” Hwain tells Dateline journalist Jeannette Francis, as she prepares to undergo double eyelid surgery, a high school graduation gift from her parents. 

Eyelid surgery – where skin from the upper eyelid is removed to make eyes rounder – is one of South Korea’s most popular procedures. This and other surgical treatments designed to ‘westernise’ facial features, including nose and chin reshaping, are becoming increasingly common.

“K Pop stars and Korean celebrities have influenced the younger generation to get plastic surgery. For example, if you look at the before and after pictures of a K Pop star you will see they have gotten prettier. When people see the change, they want to be pretty as well. They want to look as good as them”, Doctor Rhee Se Whan, director of Grand Plastic Surgery tells Francis.

In the capital, Seoul, Dateline talks to young people who have had plastic surgery, others preparing for procedures, and teenagers who feel the pressure to conform.

Dateline also visits the ritzy suburbs of Gangnam – made famous last year thanks to one man and his horsey dance – home to one of the highest concentration of plastic surgery clinics in the world.

9:30pm Tuesday SBS ONE