For Korean men it's beauty before age

South Korea is rightfully famous in Asia for its pursuit of beauty. Seoul's plastic surgeons, fashion boutiques, hairdressers and cosmetics merchants attract customers from throughout the region. People in the industry attribute the phenomenon to an ultra-competitive society, especially when it comes to jobs.

We've been discussing many aspects of popular culture: music, dramas, food, comics, but we've yet to consider plastic surgery, which I think plays a large role in Korean popular culture. Plastic surgery, especially double eyelid surgery is extremely popular amongst Korean celebrities who feel the pressure to improve their appearances to keep up with the demands of the highly competitive and fast-changing industry; and real women, who in turn, feel the pressure to measure up to the beauty standard. However, men are not immune to the obsession with beauty.

I was pretty surprised, and a little amused to find this article, and thought it would be interesting to share with the class. But more importantly, instead of just reading this as a piece of general knowledge, it is essential to consider what it speaks about the values of Korean popular culture and what it takes to succeed and be happy in Korea: youth and beauty.

Points to take note:

-meshing of two Korean popular culture icons: beauty industry and soccer

--> celebrity endorsement to promote product (soccer star Ahn Jung Hwan)

-according to the article, Korean men are precursors of the Western “metrosexual” type.

--> rumor that even Kim Jong ll colors his hair

-the most widely received audience of male cosmetic products are middle-aged Korean business men who feel that they “need to look younger to succeed”.

For Korean men it's beauty before age

Barbara Demick Los Angeles Times

The handsome young men walk past each other in the blinding sunlight in Seoul, South Korea. Their shoulders lightly brush, and they turn their heads for a closer inspection. "Wow, he's got great skin,'' murmurs one, while the other casually informs him, "It's just that I've changed skin lotion.'' The scene is from a television advertisement, hawking what is euphemistically called a "colour lotion'' for men. Actually, it's a liquid foundation designed, as the ad says, to "cover the imperfections.''

Cosmetics merchants in the West still fantasise about the day that men will wear make-up -- and presumably cough up as much money as women on their appearance -- but in South Korea, the future is the here. Colour Lotion was introduced last year with a lavish advertising campaign starring androgynous World Cup soccer star Ahn Jung Hwan – the David Beckham of South Korea. The lotion chalked up $4 million in sales in the first six months, surprising even its manufacturer. Meanwhile, the chairman of one of the country's largest cosmetics companies recently published his confessional memoirs with the title "The CEO Who Wears Make-up.'' "Why shouldn't men want to look beautiful and take care of their skin?'' asked Yu Sang Ok, 70, the head of Coreana Cosmetics. "Especially as they grow older, they have to wear make-up if they don't want to look shabby.''

In fact, Korean men have been touching up their appearances long before the term "metrosexual'' was coined by trend-spotters in the West to describe heterosexual men who willingly spend money on their looks. Most politicians older than 50 dye their hair. President Roh Moo Hyun and his predecessor, Kim Dae Jung, are distinguished by prominent heads of jet black hair -- as is North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, although his regime is sufficiently secretive so that one cannot say with certainty whether his hair is dyed. Kim Min Yoo, an Estee Lauder salesman at a department store here, says that prominent figures have been using makeup as well, but discreetly.

"It's always existed. Men would wear a little of their wives' or girlfriends' makeup. It is just that now it is out in the open and respectable,'' said Kim, who wears his hair streaked with copper highlights and admits to applying a little powder and eyebrow pencil on special occasions. South Korea is rightfully famous in Asia for its pursuit of beauty. Seoul's plastic surgeons, fashion boutiques, hairdressers and cosmetics merchants attract customers from throughout the region. People in the industry attribute the phenomenon to an ultra-competitive society, especially when it comes to jobs.

The advertising for men's make-up here features young, girlish models –called "kkotminam,'' or flower men. But market research indicates that the best customers are middle-aged businessmen. "We thought this would be popular with teenagers and men in their 20s, but we discovered to our surprise that it was men in their 40s who were most concerned about their skin being rough from the effects of aging, heavy smoking and stress,'' said Chong Pu Kyung, who helped develop Colour Lotion for Somang Cosmetics. "This is Confucian society that respects age, but men feel they need to look younger in order to succeed,'' she said.