Aegyo Sal: Korean Women Have Surgery to Make Eyes Puffy and Baggy

Korean women are reportedly spending large sums of money on cosmetic surgery to create eye-bags - puffy pouches of skin under each eye. This is believed to be a rising fashion trend in the Asian country, where they are referred to as Aegyo sal or "eye smiles".

According to the Mail Online, the trend involves accentuating fatty deposits under the eyes, rather than drawing attention to the dark circles. Supporters have been quick to defend the trend, saying it does not refer to saggy skin caused by sleep deprivation.

"Aegyo sal are not eyebags. Eyebags are caused by lack of sleep or if you're unlucky, caused by your genes and makes you look like a sleep deprived zombie or an unadorable panda, but aegyo sal is loosely translated as 'cute/beautiful skin,'" Patricia Cahiga, a blogger, told the Mail Online.

"Aegyo sal is the layer of skin under the eyelids that gives your eyes more life and basically makes it look bigger," she adds.

The Koreans think the eye-bags are both cute and make a person look younger, by making the eyes look brighter and bigger. They say the puffiness is akin the effect of a person smiling. The Korean fashion market apparently has several ways of creating the illusion, ranging from permanent to temporary.

The surgical route is obviously a more intensive option but dermal fillers and small rubber bands can reportedly be taped tightly under the eyes to achieve the same look.

"Travelling to Asia, I saw so many girls with puffy eyes. I remember one morning; I barely had any sleep so when I went onto a shoot for work, the girls commented on my puffy eyes. I felt so embarrassed, but then I realised that they were complimenting them," Michelle Phan, a popular Internet make-up guru, wrote on her site according to Oddity Central.