Yang Mi-ra /Courtesy of HJ Entertainment

Actress Yang Mi-ra has spoken publicly about the difficulties she went through after cosmetic surgery in 2007. Yang, who made a comeback on TV after two years of absence on SBS talk show "Kang Shim Jang."

"After the surgery, I felt I could only survive if nobody saw me." She was met with a torrent of malicious comments and virulent criticisms after the surgery, making her life miserable.

Yang had cosmetic surgery to change her image, and produced a photo catalogue featuring her new look. "I made that sexy photo catalogue in order to break away from my girly image. I wanted to be seen as a woman, but I was too ambitious," she says.

The photos were met mostly with disapproval. Yang was barely able to leave the house and started avoiding people. She quit all her professional activities, which ranged from advertisements to TV programs.