Skewed Self-Image

Most teens recognize SuChin Pak from her glamorous gig as a MTV host and correspondent. She was the first Asian face featured on the hip cable channel, and since her debut in 2001, she's interviewed hundreds of rock stars and tackled some of the toughest issues facing teens today.

In her documentary series, My Life (Translated), SuChin turned the camera on herself to reveal what it's like to be caught between two cultures.

When SuChin was a child, her family immigrated to the United States from Korea. Growing up, she says she never felt like she fit the Korean or the American standard of beauty.

"I didn't feel like I was pretty anywhere," she says. "I didn't fit into my own Korean family's standard of beauty because my parents and my family [think] eyes with creases are prettier. They're bigger. They're more open. … I don't have a crease in my eye. My whole life, all I ever wanted was this stupid centimeter of a freaking fold in my eye."

The crease, SuChin explains, is a fold of skin that some people have on their eyelid (see photo), which makes the eye appear larger. It's such a desirable quality that SuChin says many Asian girls use beauty products—like skin closures, tape, applicators and waterproof eyelash adhesive—to create an artificial crease. Some women even resort to plastic surgery, which can create a permanent crease.