Teenagers who have finished the college entrance exam dream of transforming into mature female figures, but…

[Bridge Economy] It is reported that there is an increasing number of teenage girls visiting hospitals after the college entrance exam to transform into a mature, grown-up figure. However, caution is advised as there are quite a few cases where they suffer setbacks after visiting hospitals without proper medical knowledge.  

Jeong Mo-yang (19) has also been eagerly awaiting the end of the college entrance exam on the 15th. She has endured several months of studying for the exam, dreaming of attending an English conversation academy to prepare for overseas travel, obtaining a license to drive a light car, and maintaining her figure for a romantic campus life. 

I am fairly confident in my ability to manage my figure. I thought that if I exercise consistently and control my diet, losing weight wouldn't be too difficult. However, I am very worried that even with all this effort, my clothes might not fit well because my breasts did not develop properly since childhood. 

She had been making sure to eat foods said to be good for breast development, increasing her protein intake, and even practicing yoga to enlarge her breasts, but to no avail. Ultimately, her choice was to go to the hospital.

Director Shin Dong-jin of SC301 Clinic emphasizes that even when undergoing plastic surgery, one must carefully examine the surgical equipment and the skill level of the medical staff in advance.

The body types of our young generation generally fall into one of two categories: either plump due to lack of exercise and stress, or conversely, extremely thin and "skinny." It is difficult to find glamorous women like those in the West. The average breast size for women is an A cup, the smallest size according to bra standards. Although the body types of Koreans are gradually becoming Westernized due to changes in diet and lifestyle, strangely enough, breast development tends to be slower. It is known that among Asian countries, Korean women have less developed breasts compared to those in Japan or China.

Appealing, full breasts are largely determined by innate factors. Acquired elements resulting from lifestyle habits, such as diet, sleep, and exercise, are merely secondary. Adolescent girls undergoing secondary sexual characteristics can promote development to some extent through diet. Consuming foods rich in isoflavones, such as soybeans, as well as apples, potatoes, garlic, carrots, pomegranates, and barley, can help develop mammary gland tissue to some degree. Getting enough sleep is also a way to achieve a feminine figure. 

However, growing students who cannot get proper sleep due to academic stress find it difficult to benefit from the positive effects of female hormones and growth hormones released during sleep. A woman's breasts swell as female hormones are secreted throughout the body and stimulate the mammary glands. Female hormones are secreted from the pituitary gland when the first menstruation begins during the growth period. Shin Dong-jin, director of SC301 Clinic, emphasized, "The biggest factor determining the amount of female hormone secretion is 'appropriate sleep duration,'" adding that "10 PM to 2 AM is the 'peak time,' so getting sleep during this period is key."  

If your growth period has already ended, it is difficult to expect the desired results through lifestyle changes alone. If you cannot give up a voluptuous figure, you may conclude that surgery is your only option. However, blindly relying on surgery can lead to disappointment. 

Until now, breast augmentation using implants has been the most preferred method, as it provides permanent breast enlargement with a single surgery. However, with increasing consideration for safety and natural beauty, breast augmentation using autologous fat has recently been gaining attention.  

Studies show that after approximately 10 years of breast augmentation surgery using artificial implants, about 40% of patients experience side effects such as leakage of implant contents, silicone pack rupture, and capsular contracture (hardening of the tissue surrounding the implant). Furthermore, the artificial appearance where only the implant stands out and the awkward texture upon touch make patients reluctant to undergo the procedure. 

For this reason, autologous fat grafting, which involves extracting unnecessary fat from one's own body and transferring it to deficient breast areas, has recently been gaining attention. It is attracting interest because it is said to be much safer than implants, offers superior tactile sensation, and can even correct body contours. However, there are downsides to this procedure. While it is safe because it uses one's own fat, the disadvantage is that most of the transplanted fat cells are absorbed into the body. Even if the breasts are enlarged with great effort, the survival rate is only in the 20–30% range, causing them to sag quickly. 

Stem cell breast augmentation is a method in which adipose-derived adult stem cells are separated from fat cells extracted from the patient's abdomen or other areas, mixed with pure fat cells in an optimal golden ratio, and aesthetically injected into areas such as the breasts to enhance volume. Stem cells are currently being widely utilized in regenerative medicine because they possess the ability to differentiate into desired tissues or cells when specific conditions or environments are created. 

Director Shin Dong-jin said, “It is true that the surgical results of autologous fat grafting lack consistency due to large variations depending on the patient and the doctor,” adding, “If the tissue regeneration effect of stem cells is utilized and applied to autologous fat grafting breast augmentation, the engraftment rate can be stably improved to an average of 70%.”  

As the effectiveness of stem cell breast augmentation has become known through word of mouth, many people search the internet for famous clinics. However, the vast majority of these places lack proper equipment or the doctor's skill, performing nothing more than simple autologous fat grafting. It is said that establishing the necessary equipment and sterile operating rooms costs at least 3 million won. Since few have the financial capacity for such an investment, and while mastering the surgical technique requires training under a skilled expert, special caution is required because most doctors merely imitate the procedure after observing a few surgeries.