Hong Kong K-pop contestant, 14, left in tears after organisers offer plastic surgery
Fourteen-year-old finalist in Korean pop talent competition was advised to go under the knife for a chance to break into the industry
Aspiring singer Shimali De Silva was surprised when she got through to the finals of an international Korean pop talent competition last year.
Her surprise quickly turned to shock, however, when organisers of the K-Pop Star Hunt took her to see a plastic surgeon, who told her, "You're 14, but you look 30", and proposed major changes to her appearance.
"They told her she was too dark and her nose was not proper," the Hong Kong teenager's mother Ruanthi recounted to the last week.
Today, as dozens of young Hongkongers audition for this year's Star Hunt, Shimali is busy rehearsing for her role as Diana Morales in the Youth Arts Foundation's production, , confident and self-assured.
But barely a year ago, the Australian-born Sri Lankan girl's self-esteem was in shreds. She was just 13 when she won the Hong Kong leg of the Star Hunt, and was, alongside 15 other finalists from Asia, flown to Seoul last November, where a television crew filmed their efforts.
Two weeks into the finals, the contestants were told they would be given a "surprise". Shimali, who had just turned 14, was the youngest of the group.
The "surprise" turned out to be an individual consultation with a plastic surgeon. Shimali, now 15 and a Year 11 pupil at Sha Tin College, said: "We weren't told what we were doing, but we quickly caught on, flicking through the catalogues of eyes, noses and boobs.
