title: The God of Mercy or the King of the Hell? Plastic Surgeon Depicted in Parodies of Altar Portraits of Buddha.
abstract: The aim of this paper is to see how the plastic surgeons are depicted in some recently made parodies of altar portraits of Buddha. Three of Kim's traditional paintings depicting a plastic surgeon were collected and 3 types of altar portraits of Buddha were also collected. The Water-Moon Avalokiteshvara (Symbol: see text) sits on a rocky outcropping above the waves. At the lower right, is the boy pilgrim Sudhana (Symbol: see text). In the "Plastic Surgeon as a Bodhisattva," the plastic surgeon is wreathed in gold necklaces and seated on stones as if he were a wise man or perhaps a divine being, only it is his services that help allow for transformation. Below him, there is a female who yearns for man-made beauty. In Emma's court, there is a "Mirror of Perfect Clarity" that reflects unfailingly, the past misconduct and sins of the dead. In "Judgment of the Obese" (Symbol: see text), the plastic surgeon looks down on his patients from above and makes severe judgments about their looks. The women are holding their hands out desperately, standing haggard in front of the mirror, pleading to the doctor. The Great Master of Seon Buddhism holds a large fly-whisk. In the "Portrait of a Plastic Surgeon" (Symbol: see text), a surgeon is sitting in a chair holding a huge surgical knife as if the patriarch holds a monk's stick. Like the patients at our clinic and the sole of the dead at the Emma's court, we plastic surgeons should have a "Mirror" to reflect our practices and ask ourselves whether we are "good" doctors or not.
authors.affiliation: *Kettering General Hospital, Kettering, UK, and Inha Research Institute for Medical Science, Incheon, South Korea †Department of Plastic Surgery, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon, South Korea.
authors.forename: Se Ho
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Kun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hwang
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010151:Paintings; D011187:Posture; D066231:Surgeons