the curious beginnings of double eyelid surgery in 1950s korea

The Face of “American Goodwill in Asia”

Ralph Millard, Howard Rusk, and the Curious Beginnings of ‘Double Eyelid’ Surgery in 1950s Korea!By Karl Schutz

Korea Today Introduction

Miss Korea Candidates, 2013

–The Atlantic, May 2013

“One in five South Korean women has had some form of cosmetic surgery, compared to

around one in 20 in the United States.”

“Plastic Surgery Capital of the World” A Subway Ad in Seoul

–The Atlantic, May 2013

“None of this was so when the American plastic surgeon Dr. Ralph Millard arrived in South Korea in 1954… He performed what

Korean academic journals say was the first recorded double eyelid operation

in South Korea.”

Who was Dr. Ralph Millard?

Korea, 1953 Millard’s MASH Unit near Seoul

“This was indeed a plastic surgeon’s paradise.” – Ralph Millard on Korea, 1955

The Cold War Context Korean Refugees, June 1953

South Korea and the Cold War, circa 1953

• 1948 – Division of the Korean peninsula

• 1949 – “Loss” of China

• 1950-1953 – Korean War

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“A critical stage upon which the U.S. could dramatize liberal development in East Asia”

“Visible evidence of American Goodwill in Asia”

Plastic Surgery’s Role in the American Aid Effort

–Ralph Millard

“We Americans are naïve babes in the Asian wood never knowing whether we are feeding the mouths of friends or loading the guns of

communists. Yet we can be relatively certain that after each deformity was corrected or

improved and the Korean returned home, America had won the heart of the patient, his family and possibly even a part of his village.”

The “Occidentalization” Program Millard’s Double Eyelid Surgery

Innovator, not Inventor

Ralph Millard’s true place in the history of double eyelid surgery in East Asia!!!Pictured right: Uchida Junichi, Biyō Seikei

“…because of the squint in his slant eyes, Americans could not tell what he was thinking and consequently could not trust him.”

“Several Oriental girls requested to be occidentalized in order to be more attractive to the American troops.”

Dr. Howard Rusk and the American-Korean Foundation A Counterpoint to Millard

The Rusk Missions

1st Mission – March 11-18, 19532nd Mission – August 20-27, 1953

–Report of the Second Rusk Mission to Korea, August 1953

“Korea must have the warm, personal assistance of ‘people to people.’”

Physician Training An Example of an AKF Program

–Eisenhower to Rusk, 1956

“When young physicians from overseas receive specialized training in the United States, it gives

them an opportunity to become familiar with our history, government, and cultural activities. When these physicians return home, they will

be trained in the latest techniques of rehabilitation and also serve as interpreters

of the American way of life.”

“From Gooks to Friends”

Perceived Identity Transformation in the AKF’s People-to-People Aid Programs

–Howard Rusk, July 1953

“I think probably the greatest thing that has happened in Korea is the change in the G.I.’s

attitude. Koreans no more are gooks; they are buddies.”

Millard, Rusk, and the “Great American Mission” Conclusion