In what ways does Korea’s societal standards impact women ?

Do you wear makeup for yourself or because society tells you that makeup makes you prettier? I have gathered information from three sources, “The Price of Beauty in South Korea”, “The Media’s Effect on Women’s Body Image”, and “The Asian Beauty Problem”. These sources are reliable because they come from first hand accounts, personal experience and studies establishing credibility regarding the matter. Due to the heavy conservative and high expectations Korean culture has upon society, the majority of those impacted by this are women. The normality to have cosmetic surgery to have facial features enhanced, beauty products to whiten the skin in order to look more privileged and wealthy, and the pressure to maintain a certain body type are just some examples of the lengths Korean women will go to in order to meet the social standard.

www.earthexcursion.com

  South Korea has the highest rate of plastic surgery (and performance of such). In result of it’s popularity, it became the norm and socially acceptable, even encouraged upon to do so; to fix your appearance using enhancement features whether it be plastic surgery or skin care products. On top of their high plastic surgery rate, they are known “for being very strict with tradition, social norms and education. The pressure to be perfect is everywhere and not only for one’s own good, but also to honor one’s family and ancestors”. The high standards of beauty impacts Korean women when it comes to physical appearances. According to a study done mentioned in The Price of Beauty  “When asked why people went under the knife, most of them said that they assumed people wanted the confidence and to just simply look good. 3 mentioned that society wants for them to be attractive and that people are often compared in terms of looks”.One participant added that they may feel pressured to go under the knife even though they don’t necessarily want to just to meet society’s expectations. The social standards often intermingle with “other aspects of life and gender roles”. As taken from personal experience from the “Asian Beauty Standard”, mothers frequently reiterate to their daughters to “talk quietly and be ladylike”, to invest in products to stimulate pale, white skin as it is a symbol of wealth and high social status. Modifying one’s external appearance is not all that is affected by the social standards set by South Korea. It’s often drilled into a child’s mentality to uphold a certain way of life starting from a young age.
 
  This problem to be as fair-skinned as possible was introduced by Westerners. However, the need to indulge in every single possible product there is on the market to fulfill that needs to end. As a cultural community, we need to actively reject limiting judgments on physical beauty — comments like “You’re fat for an Asian,” “You’re so pretty and docile,” “Why are you so dark-skinned?” and focus on the naturalism of everything of the individual. “Today, Asian-American girls aren’t mincing around on maimed feet. Instead, they’re silently suffering from eating disorders, undergoing radical plastic surgery procedures to look more “Westernized” and paying a tremendous price for our collective failure to embrace an Asian-American culture that doesn’t worship beauty as all-important” said Adora Svitak. According to Cutler on Hamilton,  more and more younger girls are focusing on their body image “because they believe what you weigh determines your worth,” he observed. Women, for example those in South Korea in particular, shouldn’t have to rely so heavily upon societal standards even though it may seem hard to. Which leaves me to end this blog with another question: compared to social standards, how might media influence product usage?