What does “성형” mean in Korean?

성형 is the everyday Korean word for cosmetic or plastic surgery. From the Sino-Korean roots 成 (“to complete, form”) + 形 (“shape, appearance”), it literally means “shaping” — to give something its form. The clinical full term is 성형수술 (“forming surgery”), but in casual talk Koreans just say 성형, and the verb 성형하다 (“to get surgery”) comes up more openly than it might in many other places.

Here a friend worried about her looks floats “나 성형할까?” — “should I get plastic surgery?” — and gets an easy, matter-of-fact reply. That openness reflects how readily cosmetic procedures are discussed in South Korea, which has among the world’s highest rates of such surgery — though it’s still surgery, not a trip to the salon. You’ll also meet 성형 inside 성형외과 (“plastic-surgery clinic,” literally “forming + surgery department”) and the slang 성형 미인 (“a surgically-made beauty”).