They say filler procedures and ear tape products are drawing attention because their faces look relatively small when their ears are exposed to the side of their faces. The WSJ analyzed that the trend of “Elf Ears” shows the expansion of the Korean beauty culture and the plastic surgery industry, which prefers small faces.
The WSJ introduced a case of a woman who got a hyaluronic acid filler on her cartilage in her ear. “I got to know ‘Elf Ear’ by watching a video of someone else’s procedure online,” she said. “My face looks slimmer and more balanced, so I’m satisfied with the results.”
Elf ears refers to a beauty trend that makes the ears pointy or more visible to the side of the face. The key to this procedure is that if the ears are visible from the side, the optical illusion effect that makes the face look relatively small.
Han, who said he runs a plastic surgery clinic in Daegu, told the WSJ that he once performed as many as 20 elf ear filler procedures a day. As domestic demand increased, he wrote a paper on the “ear colossus technique,” which was published in the journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons in September last year. “The procedure is short, and the results are dramatic,” the director said. “It is now considered part of anti-aging procedures.” There is also a method that is less burdensome than filler. It is a tape product that is attached to the back of the ears so that the ears can be seen in front of them. In Korea, interest has grown since Mimi, a member of OH MY GIRL, said that she uses “Elf Ears” tape last year.
Related products poured into online shopping malls, and some products had thousands of reviews. On the domestic plastic surgery information platform Babi Talk, the search volume for “ear fillers” reportedly surged by 1,200%.
WSJ reported that there is a large area of plastic surgery clinics called the “Beauty Belt” in Seoul. The media explained that this area is smaller than New York Central Park, but there are more plastic surgery clinics than the total number of plastic surgery clinics in Los Angeles, Miami, and Rio de Janeiro.
While foreign media did not reveal the specific names of regions, Gangnam, Apgujeong, and Shinsa are considered the most common areas in Korea where plastic surgery is concentrated. The WSJ analyzed the trend of “Elf Ear” by linking it with the expansion of the Korean plastic surgery industry.
John Demois, a professor at Seoul National University, explained that since Korea introduced the national health insurance system in the late 1980s, some doctors have turned to the beauty sector where patients directly pay for it. He analyzed that as the economy of Korean society has increased and competition has intensified, services related to plastic surgery have also expanded. “Some students don’t hide their plastic surgery experience,” he said. “This is not a self-flagellation, but a choice to give a good impression at a job interview.”
An increasing number of foreign medical tourists are visiting Korea. According to government data, more than 2 million foreigners visited Korea for medical procedures in 2025. This is almost double the number of the previous year. About three-quarters of them were for plastic surgery or skin care.
The WSJ analyzed that “Elf Ear” is a by-product of the mature Korean plastic surgery industry. With procedures that make the eyes bigger, nose higher, and jawline slimmer already popular, the industry is continuously looking for new profit areas.
SALLY LEE
US ASIA JOURNAL
