Recently, Dispatch released yet another borderline horrifying article titled “As light as a feather: 9 ‘paper doll’ idols”(part of its ongoing list series “Girl Story” which focus on idols and often, specifically, their diets like this one) about several female idols and their less than 45kg bodies.
One of…
Over the past two weeks we have been running a series of articles which aim to challenge widely held perceptions about what has caused Korea’s massive plastic surgery boom. In the first part of the series, I tried to debunk the various arguments put forth by western media outlets…
Last week, we began a new series of articles which aim to explore the real reasons why South Korea has the highest rates of cosmetic surgery in the world. In the first part, I tried to debunk some of the so-called ‘truths’ put forward by western media outlets. Having…
Recently there has been a growing amount of interest in plastic surgery in Korea from various western media outlets. From TV documentaries to newspaper articles to various high-profile blogs, it seems like everyone wants to talk about Korean plastic surgery and why it has become so prevalent. However, to…
Centuries of conservative morals and Confucian culture has led to a traditional sense of gender in South Korea. Gender roles are still widely very stereotypical and the ‘macho male’ image still prevails across the country – yet South Korea is the male make-up capital of the world. It has the…
The image above is a screenshot of G.NA’s performance on last week’s Inkigayo
Sometimes I really don’t enjoy watching K-pop music shows. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the big fancy set pieces and costumes and I’m always curious to see if the…
It is no secret that Korean culture seems to hold beauty in such high regard to the point that it is common practice for young women and even men to alter their appearance in drastic ways.
It is normal for people to want to look their best, it is just…
Many people I talk to often become very confused when I say that I have female acquaintances who are Korean. Mainly as the first thing they ask me is how I manage to deal with their constant fussing about their appearance before laughing the matter off. But to me this…
Cuteness is something valued throughout the world. For evolutionary reasons, humans are programmed to want to protect and care for cute things. Big eyes, small mouths, small noses, naivety and innocence are all traits which are universally thought to be inherently cute and they are all traits associated with those…
Since I started my degree in Korean Studies and moved to Korea, I have noticed that foreign women are idealising Korean men. From students of Korean to English teachers and people just casually interested in Korean popular culture, they have all created this perception of Korean men being the perfect…