During a recent episode of her talk show "The Oprah Winfrey Show," Winfrey was discussing women's image and fashion culture around the world when she disparaged Korean women, saying they have "an obsession with plastic surgery."

The program dealt with content that suggested Korean women have a unique preference from plastic surgery and an inferiority complex in which they would like to have Western features. It also described Korea as a plastic surgery superpower.

Because of this, the Korean-American community is harshly criticizing the program, and fallout is spreading as some Korean expatriate groups demand a public apology.

During the program, in which the images of women from nations like Mexico, Ghana, Brazil, Cuba, Korea, Iraq, the United States, France and Great Britain were compared and analyzed, Winfrey spent about 10 minutes providing information about each country, and invited women from the relevant nations to the studio to talk.

The program dealt with women's rising positions and female culture in each country, like Mexico's bold, stylish fashion, women in society in Ghana and the barriers they face, Cuba's passionate club scene, and the relaxed and confident style of U.S. women.

Yet with Korea, uniquely, the atmosphere of the discussion started with plastic surgery and ended with plastic surgery. In a scene on how women "worship" plastic surgery, the show highlighted the seriousness of the plastic surgery fad in Korean society. Moreover, the show invited to the studio not a Korean, but a Chinese women who claimed Korean women "go under the knife to shed traditional Korean looks for Westernized features."

One Korean student studying in the U.S. said, "The Oprah Winfrey Show is a program with a lot of viewers worldwide, and for it to deal with Korea negatively like this is a big problem. Because of this, I worry if the nation's image won't take a big hit."

(englishnews@chosun.com )