But Kim Jong-un, the 27-year-old heir to the North Korean regime, has reportedly taken the opposite tack by going under the knife to look more like his grandfather.
Speculation is rife in North and South Korea over the striking similarity between Kim Jong-un and Kim Il-sung, the founder of the family dynasty.
Gone is the slender youth shown in earlier pictures of the youngest son of ailing North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
His first official photographs reveal an unmistakable resemblance with his deeply respected grandfather, with the same chubby jowls, double chin and down-turned mouth. He also favours the family's trademark swept-back hairstyle.
South Korean newspapers suggest the new look is all part of a concerted effort to raise the hitherto unknown prospective leader’s standing with the public.
He has had a dizzying rise to prominence. Until the past few weeks, he had never even been named by the North Korean media and before a recent Worker’s Party conference, when he was promoted to senior positions within the government and the military, only a few grainy images of him had been seen.
It is no surprise, then, that his handlers feel that he may need a little help to make his mark.
The Dong-A Ilbo newspaper in South Korea said the Pyongyang regime was hoping to cement Kim’s position as the country’s next leader through ‘a reincarnation of North Korea’s late founder.’
Another report said North Koreans were also speculating that Kim may have had some cosmetic help with his new look.
‘A lot of people in South Korea have pointed out that Kim’s face is very different from when he was young, particularly the shape of his chin,’ said Professor Toshimitsu Shigemura, an expert on North Korea at Tokyo’s Waseda University.
‘From previous photos, everyone had remarked that he looked nothing like his grandfather, so the change is quite dramatic,’ he said in an interview.
Kim Il-Sung, officially referred to as the ‘Great Leader’ in North Korea, ran the country from its founding in 1948 until his death in 1994, when his son, Kim Jong-il took over the reins of power.
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