Sharp rise in seeking the trendy South Korean 'idol' look

The increasing popularity in China of South Korean TV dramas and music is resulting, say experts, in a spectacular rise in the number of Chinese traveling to their neighboring country to have plastic surgery.

According to the latest figures from the Chinese Association of Plastics and Aesthetics, some 56,000 Chinese people traveled there last year to go under the knife for cosmetic reasons - a considerable rise on the 16,000 who traveled the year before, say South Korean health ministry numbers.

The burgeoning medical tourism industry is centered on the southern Seoul district of Gangnam, a high-profile neighborhood packed with luxury shops and a growing list of plastic surgeons.