Is the Future Pore-less?
I’ve seen the future and it is poreless, Elise Hu writes in her book Flawless.
Elise Hu’s story begins in Seoul, South Korea, as a foreigner trying to navigate and also learn from the Korean beauty industry.
South Korea is regarded as the forefront of cosmetic advancements globally. Beauty analysts estimate that the country, propelled in part by substantial government investments, is a decade ahead of its competitors. South Korean citizens outpace their counterparts in the United States, the UK, and France by spending twice as much on skincare products. Known for their discerning tastes, Korean shoppers are recognised as some of the most astute consumers worldwide. Notably, eight out of ten Korean women in their 20s and 30s actively participate on Hwahae, an app comparable to a cosmetics-centric Yelp, engaging in discussions about and evaluating the merits of various common ingredients.
No blemish, no bulges and no hair out of place
South Korea’s embrace includes an enthusiastic submission towards beauty products, but also digitisation of beauty standards by using filters where necessary. However, Hu asks, now that technology and medicine has made it possible to be more “beautiful” where do we draw the line in the amplification of our exteriors?
The obession with appearance runs deep. You are expected to include photo, height and weight in resumes for a wide variety of industries, not just for modeling and acting. Parents encourage kids to get cosmetic surgery so that they can do better in the labor market or get into tougher schools. The dating market uses the term specs in the way that we use the term specs for computers and other devices. There’s discounts if you show up with your evidence that you took Korean SAT because it is really common to get plastic surgery right after you’ve finished your Korean SAT just before college, so there is an entire seasonal discount that’s offered at that time of the year.
Elise Hu states how people are encouraged to “work hard on your appearance” because the landscape is hyper competitive, which makes it really rational to try. The term “specs” is used on people and the specs conclude physical attributes like your height and your weight and your bra size and your hairlessness.
South Korea also has the most mature and advanced plastic surgery market in the world. No other country comes close. It has more plastic surgeons per capita than anywhere else. Brazil is second. The United States is third, but South Korea has four times more plastic surgeons per capita than the U.S.
Western surgeons often go to Seoul to actually study the ways and the innovations of South Korean plastic surgeons and then the country, the state actually tries to lure visitors in as medical tourists to get procedures there so you can go and get a lot of tax-free procedures that are already heavily discounted compared to the United States, and it's a place where everyone can go and get it.
Having lived through the postpartum weight in South Korea, Hu states how she was time and again reminded of the significance of conforming to a 50-kilogram weight standard, roughly 110 pounds, regardless of height. Boutiques introduced the concept of "free size," which, as we explore in a chapter, is anything but free—it corresponds to a U.S. size two. Even at a size eight, she was deemed large or plus-sized, making it nearly impossible to shop for trendy clothes. This experience exposed her to pervasive fatphobia, a global issue exacerbated by the extremely narrow window of acceptable thinness in East Asia.
Bbali Bbali
A sensibility that abhors waiting.
It means efficiency and is often described by Koreans as an evidence of South Korean exceptionlism: the result of or the reason for the country’s rapid growth and development. South Korea's rapid growth and industrialization in two generations is often referred to as the "Miracle on the Han River." This transformation occurred primarily during the latter half of the 20th century, spanning from the 1960s to the 1990s. The rapid growth and industrialization of South Korea were characterized by a strong government-led developmental state, strategic planning, heavy investments in education and technology, and a focus on export-oriented industries.
It's truly remarkable how events unfolded during the turn of the century, coinciding with South Korea's rise as a significant soft power. This era saw the flourishing of Hallyu, the Korean cultural wave encompassing K-pop, movies, animation, and games. As South Korea gained prominence in these visual industries, it also became a global exporter of images featuring aesthetically pleasing Korean individuals.
Consequently, there was a surge in domestic pressure on Koreans to enhance their appearances and adhere to elevated aesthetic standards. Hu says that she personally underwent postpartum experiences twice while in Seoul, where she encountered a plethora of suggestions on managing postpartum bodies, including slim wraps, diet teas, and diuretics, all emphasizing size.
The bbali bbali narrative underpins the cosmetics industry as well. Government data shows that companies spend 64% of the budget on R&D and developing products faster that the others. Korean’s have the OEMs in beauty manufacturing that stands for "Original Equipment Manufacturer." An Original Equipment Manufacturer is a company that produces components or products that are purchased by another company and then sold under that purchasing company's brand name. Essentially, the OEM is responsible for manufacturing the product, while the purchasing company takes care of marketing and selling it. For as little as $20,000 you can create a beauty product, test it and get a few hundred units of it packaged.
Chok Chok
Chok chok is a Korean term meaning moisture or wetness but it is usually used in the context of skin, commonly used to describe the “girlish glow”. Another way to call it is “gwan” or radiance. “Its when your skin is so healthy, even-toned and plumped with hydration that its almost translucent, like a shard of glass”, says Christine Chang the founder of a Korean beauty brand Glow Recipe.
It's that really glassy skin that's porous and usually quite porcelain white. A small nose, full lips, a chin, or a jawline that meets at a V, a very delicate feminine jaw. Big, bright eyes, and just long luxurious black hair, typically, and then a very thin waist.
Escape the Corset
In response to the meteoric rise of stringent beauty standards, a tired generation fights back.
Launched in 2018 in South Korea, the "Escape the Corset" movement is a socio-cultural movement associated with young women rejecting traditional beauty standards and societal expectations arising from appearances, an attempt to break free.
In this context, "corset" is a metaphor for the rigid beauty standards and societal pressures that have been historically imposed on women, that included aspects such as fair skin, a slim figure, and other conventional features. The widespread influence of K-pop and K-drama along with increased access to global media and a growing awareness of feminism and gender issues helped the rise of the “Escape the Corset” movement.
Women looking to Escape the Corset have expressed themselves through various means, such as changing their hairstyles, rejecting makeup, and choosing clothing that deviates from traditional expectations. The movement has sparked conversations about gender roles, body image, and societal expectations in South Korea and beyond.
By the end of the book, a crucial question emerges: Are the beauty rituals, products, or procedures you engage in a genuine exploration of your inner self, or are they driven by external expectations? Evaluating whether your choices are ego-driven or soul-driven proves to be an enlightening inquiry.