Perhaps the title of this post is a bit harsh but according to South Korea’s Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs, one in five Korean women are malnourished and intentional starvation is a leading cause.   This statistic is considered high for a developed nation like South Korea.  The underlying reason for such starvation appears to be superficial in nature: to be beautiful or what is perceived as beautiful.

In the 2007 report, 48.7 percent of teenagers were on a diet, with 65.3 percent of females restricting their eating.

About 88.3 percent of the females were doing so to make their appearance better. This year, the trend has not significantly changed.

This is rather unfortunate because isn’t beauty in the eye of the beholder?  More importantly, such malnourishment could lead to long-term health issues like osteoporosis and depression.  Koreans need a gut check and start putting some food in their bellies!