Korean Beauty Standards.
Appearance and external beauty are a topic that should definitely be discussed in the context of South Korea. It is possible to claim that no other country signifies beauty and appearance more than South Korea. Korean people consider a person’s appearance as one of the most important characteristic of him/her if not the most. Both Korean men and women invest a great deal of time and money into their skin, hair and overall appearance. Korean beauty products went viral all over the world. Moreover, when finding a job in Korea, starting a relationship and even when making friends, appearance plays a vital role.
What is interesting, is that despite the fact that beautiful people can be different (tall and short, slim and plump, pale and tanned, long-haired and short-haired, fair-haired and dark-haired and so on), for Korean people there are fixed beauty standards – external characteristics they find beautiful.
So, how does a “beautiful” girl look like in the eyes of Korean people? A beautiful Korean girls should not be very tall. She should have a slender body and small head. Her face should be oval, not wide with a narrow V-shaped chin. Big eyes, straight and thick eyebrows, a thin nose with a high bridge are also included in Korean beauty standards. Hair should be thick and shiny, either straight or with large curls, not small curls.
Irrespective of age, a beautiful Korean woman should have a pale (white), tender and glowing skin without tan or dark spots. White skin is the most essential for Korean people, that’s why they do everything to keep their skin white. For instance, they use skin whitening creams, sunscreen (SPF) is a must every single day, be it summer or winter. On the days with bright sun, Korean people will go out with an umbrella to protect their skin from sunlight. If you go to the beach in Korea, no doubts that you will see Korean people wearing swimsuits that totally cover their bodies and they only sit under umbrellas. Moreover, almost everyone will use caps or hats to protect from the sun.
Korean men also put lots of efforts to look attractive. Just like women, Korean men should be slender with thick brows, large eyes and V-shaped chin. Most Korean men have thick and glowing hair. They thoroughly take care of their hair because being baldheaded is a disaster for Korean men. It is extremely difficult for bald Korean men to find a job in Korea and to find a lover. Therefore, Korean people take care of their hair since young years.
Body shape is important among Korean people as well. However, “slender body” for Korean people can be a little different from our perception of a “slender body”, because for them girls should weigh 45-46 kilograms to be considered as slim. It can be extremely difficult for plump and overweight people to live in a Korean society. It is hard to find clothes of big sizes, hard to get a job or get invited on a date. This is why Korean women are strict about their bodies. They go to gyms, but mostly, they keep to strict diets. Even though Korean food is not fat and does not lead to gaining extra weight, still some girls prefer to give up delicious Korean food for a better shape.
In case of body shape, doing sports and keeping to a diet is a way to adhere to Korean beauty standards among Korean men and women. But what if your face does not fit these standards? With regard to face, there are two ways of changing it as well. First is makeup. Korean girls use cosmetics and skincare products to brighten their face, change their eye shape and make them look more beautiful.
But if makeup does not work well, plastic surgery comes as the second method of achieving dream shapes. The most popular one is eye surgery – getting a double eyelid. Korean people are born without the second eyelid, thus, in order to make their eyes visually larger, they get the double eyelid surgery. Sometimes, parents make this surgery as a gift for their children since they understand the importance of appearance in a Korean society. Nose job and changing face shape (V-shaped chin) are other popular surgeries in Korea.
One thing you may notice is that a great number of foreign girls living in Korea look more or less like Korean people. This is because as they live in Korea, they start doing Korean style makeup to match Korean beauty standards. They use Korean beauty products to lighten their skin, to draw contours under eyes like Korean girls, use glitters and make a cute look.
Even though trying to match Korean beauty standards is based on people’s personal preferences and cannot be recommended to do or not to do so, I highly recommend following Korean skincare routines because they are really effective and good for skin in case you choose really good skincare products from tested Korean brands.
In general, beauty is a relative concept, regardless of the standards that exist. So, even if your appearance doesn't align with Korean beauty standards, remember that there are always people who find your appearance beautiful, and appreciate your individuality.
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