Shimali De Silva, 'K-Pop Star Hunt' [VIDEO]: 14-Year-Old Talent Show Contestant Told to Undergo Plastic Surgery by Music Competition Show

The entertainment industries are run on the concept of aesthetics and talent. When one overpowers the other, the higher-ups make decisions to "fix" the lesser attribute. But when a music talent show sent a 14-year-old performer to a plastic surgeon because she looked too old, a countless amount of lines were crossed. Good job, Korean talent show K-Pop Star Hunt.

Shimali De Silva posted a video of herself singing and playing guitar on YouTube, resulting in her winning the Hong Kong leg of the hunt and then being flown out to Seoul, South Korea. This sounds like the start of a great success story, right? Unfortunately that is very far from the case.

While filming 14-year-old Shimali's appearances on the show, the K-Pop Star Hunt organizers told the young performer that she would be receiving a "surprise." This "surprise" was a trip to a plastic surgeon!

Shimali, now 15 and living in Hong Kong, explained: "The doctor brought out this terrible mugshot and said to me, 'You're 14, but you look 30'. He pointed out the curvature of my forehead, the ratio of my nose to my chin, all this stuff that I hadn't even thought about.

"I was trying not to be affected by it, but as a 14-year-old, people tell you that the way you look is important if you want to break into this industry; that sunk in and I started tearing up."

Clearly a harrowing incident, Shimali's mother flew out to Seoul and took her home after an emotional phone call.

"We teach our children to be proud of who they are, that they should be judged not by the color of their skin but by their good actions," said Shimali's mother Ruanthi. "Suddenly, my daughter was told that her skin, her nose, her face are not right; my heart was breaking."

Check out Shimali's YouTube audition clip right HERE!