#kpop visual

Voyage in Wonderland ♡

I've caught just enough of these references in my first year of BL viewing to realize that it's "a thing": Korea is the gold standard of ... something ... to other SE Asians ? Do I have that right ? If so, the ideal of what, exactly ?

Astro’s Eunwoo is generally considered/discussed as the perfect example of Korean masculine beauty. 

10 Korean Male Beauty Ideals

The checklist of Korean masculine beauty standards (as of 2022) is as follows: 

over 183cm (6″+) 

slim/skinny build but toned body (we talking swimmer over bodybuilder) 

a “small face” 

pale skin 

dark defined eyebrows

a smaller mouth

high cheekbones

v shaped or sharp jaw line 

double eyelids & bigger eyes 

high nose bridge 

Plastic surgery is often utilized to attain the final three in particular.* 

Add to the above the global procreative breeding standards for “healthy” masculinity such as: symmetry in face and form, broad shoulders, clear skin. 

SF9′s Rowoon is a great example of an idol successfully transitioning to leading man. He meets all 10 standards and is v tall at 190.5 or about 6″3. 

A Bit About Idols & Beauty Standards 

The visual of the idol group is (usually) the one who meets the most of the above checklist + photographs particularly well. As opposed to the center who is usually the best allrounder and/or most charismatic performer. Ironically the face of a group is usually the best representative in terms of communication and popularity style (handling fans + the press). But idols can/do hold more than one position in a group. 

Position distinctions are becoming less popular in 4th gen Kpop groups. While position assignments, including those based explicitly on Korean beauty standards, were pretty much expected of 3rd gen group formation. 

Idols “visual” judgement tends to be decided upon and called via the same standards as above checklist, but they are permitted to be more androgynous by branding than if they were leading man Kdrama actors.

That said, idols tend to transition to acting if they can meet more of the above named standards (and want to act, of course), specifically height. They will probably never get to play leading men if they don’t meet the height standard so that’s usually the biggest hurdle (pun intended) - except for if they do BL. Of course, there are exceptions if the idol is an extremely good actor or very very famous. My bias, Jinyoung, is short to be an actor, for example. He still gets rolls but it will always be harder for him to play a grown up leading man in a romance Kdrama than someone like Rowoon or Eunwoo.  

GOT7′s Jinyoung in Devil Judge 

How Does this Work Outside of Korea? 

Hallyu has had a profound effect on taste not just in other parts of Asia, but globally. But you asked about Asia.

Here’s a very good YT vid on the subject which basically is focused on women and China, but still addresses why Asian Beauty standards are the way they are culturally & historically. 

So when an Asian country (particularly in the south) calls a character “handsome like a Korean actor” that is code for particularly distinguishing the character as handsome by virtue of his “non local” features: like paleness and tallness. (Thailand also does this with reference to western beauty standards. Both Dean in UWMA and Tharn in TharnType are commented on/called out for/self identify as being handsome due in part to their “foreign” features, but the Thai word used is slang for a “foreigner of European decent.”) 

TharnType 2

Because of the popularity of both Kdramas and Kpop, Korean beauty standards are coming to dominate taste at least amongst specific age brackets of consumers/watchers and in countries where Kdramas and Kpop are particularly popular. In these case, the 10 point check list above comes into play when you get a comment like the ones we see in Thai BL. 

That said, Chinese beauty standards (somewhat different) are also in play in the culture itself (for primarily socio-political and historical reasons, so more prevalent amongst older generations, and places that were occupied by China or have intimate social-political relations with it, like Taiwan), as well as western standards (blame colonialism, Hollywood, and the fashion industry). Taiwan is an interesting case since it has intimate ties on all levels with China, Japan, S Korean, and the west, so their beauty standards are particularly varied. 

Japanese beauty standards (which used to dominate many parts of Asian because they cornered the market on music initially *waves at 90s Jpop* as well as manga, animation, cinema, and porn prior to Hallyu not to mention the whole, ya know, empire thing) have experienced significant pushback in the last 20 years, particularly from Korea. That said, their standards still hold pretty strongly within Japan (of course). They are a lot less formal and proscriptive. But, loosely, Japan tends to like a softer face shape, heavier jaw, and wider mouth and be less concerned about extreme tallness. They do love big eyes though. NCT’s Yuta is a pretty good example of one type of Japanese masculine beauty standard. But Japan has more than one. Remember the culture concept of kawaii is in play. Aka men are also allowed to be cute as a form of sexiness. 

Old Fashion Cupcake 

* Yes, I am well aware this is a terrible unachievable bullshit. I am answering the question not making a judgement call. 

Finally: 

Like most beauty standards, these are the result of classism, racism, and colonial occupational history. Not to mention trends, styles, permissive fetishization, gender binary, infantilization, and core linguistic symbolism and syntax around the meaning of worlds used to define and talk about beauty. 

I’m discussing this shizz from a cultural anth and pop culture analysts perspective. Don’t come at me in the comments because you possess the sadly ubiquitous inability to critically think about your own cultural biases and how these might impact your consumption of a different culture’s pop product. My patience is wearing thin and my ban hammer is immediate these days. 

Kim HyunA 180616 Cube Concert Encore