The Modern Korean: Looks - Page 32

andyrau

13015 Posts

March 25 2012 11:54 GMT

#621

all the fashion and body shape factors you mentioned have been trends worldwide for quite a while now.
ideal male body shape is slender but muscular, and female body shapes have been trending towards skinny and fit for ages. likewise, the trend for f/w fashion has always been fitted peacoats/bridgecoats, layering oxford shirts+cardigans/pullovers, slim fit jeans/chinos, either oxfords or chukkas depending on occasion.

I liked your views on cosmetic sugery/makeup though; people who are interested in korean/asian culture often take a eccentrically negative stance towards the subject.

CursOr

United States6335 Posts

March 25 2012 19:47 GMT

#622

Going on vacation to Korea in about a year.

Part of me just wants to dress like crap, and say fuck you to all this superficial bullshit. But, I'm really nice on a personal level, so I don't think I will do that. I've got long hair though, just past shoulders kinna Jon Lennon style.

I'm always very nice to people, and go out of my way with the "please", "thank you" and "sirs", but if someone says anything about the way I dress or look, or my wife, I would quickly start throwing people out windows. No joke. I seriously hope they are not too forward with this "Saying stuff" to other people about the way they look. Otherwise, we will have a great time.

desRow

Canada2654 Posts

March 25 2012 20:19 GMT

#623

this is an amazing blog and after spending 3months in Korea, This blog is very accurate =P

Dodogrunt

Taiwan2 Posts

March 26 2012 06:05 GMT

#624

Very illuminating thread. Late to the party but glad to be here.
BTW, I live in Taiwan, and looking through the posts above I think that the racism mentioned in east asia is a bit overexaggerated. There is a bit, but usually it never goes beyond joke territory and the usual stereotypes. For example, we refer to the korean plastic surgeries as their planning of a "clone war".
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And regardless of our views towards the country itself, all males watch Jap pr0n. All of them.

AsnSensation

Germany24009 Posts

March 26 2012 08:55 GMT

#625

On March 26 2012 04:47 CursOr wrote:
Going on vacation to Korea in about a year.

Part of me just wants to dress like crap, and say fuck you to all this superficial bullshit. But, I'm really nice on a personal level, so I don't think I will do that. I've got long hair though, just past shoulders kinna Jon Lennon style.

I'm always very nice to people, and go out of my way with the "please", "thank you" and "sirs", but if someone says anything about the way I dress or look, or my wife, I would quickly start throwing people out windows. No joke. I seriously hope they are not too forward with this "Saying stuff" to other people about the way they look. Otherwise, we will have a great time.

I think you got a big misconception reading this thread, I doubt people just randomly walk to people, especially foreigners and tell them the are fat dress like shit or should take care of their skin. If you already have korean friends it's probably another story.

fearus

China2164 Posts

March 26 2012 12:39 GMT

#626

Good thread was really informative, I shall link my gf to this, ha.

p.s

link to said north face jacket plz..

***edit***

On March 25 2012 20:54 andyrau wrote:
all the fashion and body shape factors you mentioned have been trends worldwide for quite a while now.
ideal male body shape is slender but muscular, and female body shapes have been trending towards skinny and fit for ages. likewise, the trend for f/w fashion has always been fitted peacoats/bridgecoats, layering oxford shirts+cardigans/pullovers, slim fit jeans/chinos, either oxfords or chukkas depending on occasion.

I liked your views on cosmetic sugery/makeup though; people who are interested in korean/asian culture often take a eccentrically negative stance towards the subject.

Not entirely true, if you come to Australia, come to a music festival and take off your shirt with your 'muscular' slender male body and 10 inch arms, you will be laughed at.

StarStrider

United States689 Posts

March 26 2012 21:01 GMT

#627

Don't misunderstand this OP, this is the way Korean culture treats it own, not common for them to hold foreigners to the same standards. They usually look at foreigners with curiousity and intrigue simply because they are something unique and exotic, all the traditional Korean 'look' rules don't usually apply to you. Especially if your hair is naturally any color other than black. You are seen as highly exotic in this case regardless of other factors.

But yeah, don't think that as a foreigner going to Korea you have to worry about being judged on appearance. It's not that way. Mostly they just stereotype you to a common Western celebrity, like I have red hair so they all said "ohhh, chuck norris? You live in Texas, wear big hat, boots?" Also, even for Koreans, the article is talking about standards that exist only in the forefront of fashion culture, the cutting edge being the media and celebrity, it's not like every man woman and child subscribe to these ideals or are influenced by them on a regular basis. Especially outside of Seoul.

Pulselol

Canada1628 Posts

March 27 2012 02:05 GMT

#628

And what if you're not korean, but you possess the same light-er skin (i.e. chinese/japanese). Would you be held to the same standards, even though the culture(s) are vastly different? You'd still be "foreign," but yet you're not quite white nor black.

When I lived in Macau/Hong Kong, it was easy for people to mistake any koreans/japanese who lived there and naturally assumed that everybody who had, for the lack of a better word, yellow skin spoke a dialect of chinese. Obviously, there's visual differences between all 3 (chinese/japanese/korean) but when you're in a hurry you'd probably overlook it.

Dagobert

Netherlands1858 Posts

March 27 2012 07:11 GMT

#629

On March 20 2012 13:04 stalife wrote:

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to certain extent. money > looks in Korea though.

And only in Korea.

No wait.

Focuspants

Canada780 Posts

March 27 2012 16:09 GMT

#630

I read about half of the responses in the thread but not all, so sorry if this has been answered already.

Considering your post was entirely about appearance, I was wondering what the ideal "shape" is for women when it comes to curves (breasts and butt). In North America, men generally try to work out, and an athletic build is the preferred look, and for women, thin (slightly fit) with nice curves is the desired ideal. I personally like a really natural look, but its strange to me that the characteristics of beauty for a female didnt include their curves, because that is what most people notice first here. Do big boobs and a nice butt do the same for women as what trap muscles do for guys in the OP, as in make them look "bigger"?

Melchior

United States112 Posts

March 27 2012 17:05 GMT

#631

Great read!

While people (including myself) may be against surgery, I think there's definitely something to be learned (especially here in the US) about making the most of what you have been given. To some extent I think the emphasis on looks portrayed in the OP is just a result of increasing levels of competition in everything. Just as college degrees are necessary for most well-paying jobs now, being well-groomed and well-dressed is table stakes nowadays. Smart, outgoing, financially-secure, caring men aren't in short supply -- in that case, why would you do yourself a disservice by underselling your looks?

Now I can see why some people might aspire toward a different sort of body type than the normal Asian preference, but there's still really no excuse for poorly fitted clothes... For men, dress styles aren't nearly as varied as women's clothing, so more than anything else, the fit really makes the look, regardless of if you're wearing a three-piece suit or a hoodie and jeans.

rotinegg

United States1719 Posts

March 27 2012 22:26 GMT

#632

On March 28 2012 01:09 Focuspants wrote:
I read about half of the responses in the thread but not all, so sorry if this has been answered already.

Considering your post was entirely about appearance, I was wondering what the ideal "shape" is for women when it comes to curves (breasts and butt). In North America, men generally try to work out, and an athletic build is the preferred look, and for women, thin (slightly fit) with nice curves is the desired ideal. I personally like a really natural look, but its strange to me that the characteristics of beauty for a female didnt include their curves, because that is what most people notice first here. Do big boobs and a nice butt do the same for women as what trap muscles do for guys in the OP, as in make them look "bigger"?

yes. It may vary on an individual basis but generally a Beyonce-like body would be labeled fat. There are celebrities like 유이 that are hailed for their "curves" when in reality they are just not chopstick skinny. With that said, some curvature is appreciated, like B-cup breasts and a nicely shaped butt, but that's about it.

Waterflow

Sweden1550 Posts

March 29 2012 12:25 GMT

#633

On March 20 2012 11:45 JunkkaGom wrote:
It's like old Korean saying; the food that looks good also tastes good. To hell with western "don't judge the book by its cover" crap.

Why so bm? xD got ya!

But yeah it's true that how the food look and how you put it on the plate has a really big influence on your initial feelings towards it. If it looks yucky it will probably taste yuckier than it really is.

If it looks beautiful then it will probably taste better than it really is.

It's all a matter of balance i guess. Make it taste good, make it look good and make it smell good. ^^ (That would actually be the "perfect" girlfriend).

Otolia

France5805 Posts

March 29 2012 13:15 GMT

#634

Now I understand Noblesse much better.

Stratos

Czech Republic6104 Posts

March 29 2012 13:33 GMT

#635

On March 29 2012 21:25 Waterflow wrote:

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It's all a matter of balance i guess. Make it taste good, make it look good and make it smell good. ^^ (That would actually be the "perfect" girlfriend).

The plate involved also plays a significant role. If you serve the same food on a heavy and on a light plate, people will consider the one in the heavy plate superior. Way to improve your cooking skills - just don't tell your guests.

DISHU

United Kingdom348 Posts

March 30 2012 14:13 GMT

#636

Every culture has there superficial prefences and being tall and having good skin is normal human behaviour.

Stratos

Czech Republic6104 Posts

March 30 2012 14:48 GMT

#637

So you learn something about the culture of a country you want to visit and the first thing that comes to your mind is doing the opposite just to show your disapproval?

Suppose it would be that way (which it really isn't) and they would be used to telling other people they look good or bad, whatever their reasons are. You come in and expect them to know how to behave around you and treat you that way? Good luck with that attitude.

Obviously nobody expects you to become a Korean just to visit the country but intentionally challenging anyone's culture just because it's different is rude to say the least. How would you like it if I came to visit your country and ran around the streets naked just to prove a point? Superficial bullshit, right?

Frostfire

United States419 Posts

March 30 2012 18:42 GMT

#638

On March 30 2012 23:48 Stratos wrote:

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He has a point, you shouldn't go out of your way to learn about something, and then go even further just to piss the people off. Then when people do get pissed, you shouldn't threaten them after you've been acting like a dick the whole time intentionally.

andyrau

13015 Posts

March 31 2012 09:22 GMT

#639

On March 26 2012 21:39 fearus wrote:

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Not entirely true, if you come to Australia, come to a music festival and take off your shirt with your 'muscular' slender male body and 10 inch arms, you will be laughed at.

I simply said that Korean fashion is synonymous with global styles and it's been that way since forever; the op talking about fashion in Korea wasn't something unique or different.

fashion != "taking off your shirt at music festival"

Look at any of the models for higher class brands like Burberry, Jean Paul Gaultier, Prada, Yves Saint Laurent, etc and you'll find that all the models are tall, slender, low bf%, with decent muscular tone, excluding the ones that pose for underwear/sportswear.

Even more plebeian brands/wholesalers like H&M or UO follow this: see Sean O'Prey/whoever the fuck is promoting for them currently.
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