Did You Know? Rain Almost Had a Double Eyelid Surgery Before He Became Famous
The Korean star recalls how the doctor turned him away and told him not to touch his “million–dollar” features.
by Kyla Villena
Published on May 21, 2026
Since debuting and re-emerging as a solo artist in the early 2000s, Rain has become a widely recognizable singer and actor. The South Korean star rose to fame because of his talents, and undeniably, his charming looks played a part, too.
But did you know? He almost went under the knife before entering the limelight, as advised by an entertainment giant.
Rain Constantly Dealt with Advice to Get Double Eyelid Surgery
Rain recently appeared on the SBS radio program Two O’Clock Escape Cultwo Show. During the broadcast, the hosts and the listeners discussed playful rankings for things that would suit him best. Guest DJ Jwang Chi-yeul joked that Rain would probably rank first among male singers who would look great with double eyelid surgery.
With that, Rain revealed that he actually considered the procedure at the dawn of his career.
He debuted as a solo artist in 2002—at only 20 years old—under Park Jin-Young’s JYP Entertainment, and was advised by the founder himself to have double eyelid surgery before his debut day because his eyes appeared swollen. Ear surgery was also suggested to make his ears lie flatter.
The crooner eventually visited a plastic surgeon and was turned away. “The doctor said, ‘This kid should not get this surgery,’” Rain recalls. “He said I had million-dollar ears and eyes. He told me that if I changed my eyes, then I would have to change my jaw, nose, and mouth, too. He said the balance of my face was very good as it was.”
Rain expressed his gratitude to the “very famous doctor” for responding like so. “Honestly, it is not easy for a doctor to say something like that when surgery is their business.”
The topic of getting surgery is not new for the star. In a 2005 interview with CNN, he recalled that he “was told after one audition that my singing and dancing was great but I did not make it because I did not have double eyelids.”
Kyla Villena loves a good lip gloss and a trip to the art gallery. She is Preview's beauty girl, who doubles as a self-proclaimed motivational speaker.