Singer stopped at airport after 'face upgrade' surgery sparks passport photo query

Trot singer Hong Jin-young. Yonhap

By Dong Sun-hwa

Korean singer Hong Jin-young disclosed Thursday that she had been rechecked at a Swiss airport because the staff thought she looked different to her passport photo.

On KBS 2TV talk show “Happy Together 3,” Hong confessed that the passport photo was taken before she had plastic surgery.

Hong, 33, said: “I did not change the passport photo after having a nose job and that made the airport staff question whether I was the same person as the one in the photo in my passport.”

Hong said she then told airport officials in English: “I had a 'face upgrade.'” They then let her through.

Hong, a top Korean “trot” genre pop singer, has had hits including “Love Battery” in 2009 and “Good Bye” this year.