(This chapter had been translated from French to English. I apologize if there are any mistakes in my writing.)
Hallyu is the growth and expansion of South Korean culture. We can also call it the Korean wave. This can be found in music, television and in pop culture. In this report, I will explain the origin, and how it affects the world.
Hallyu is said to have started in the 1990s after Korea's financial crisis, and its spread is attributed to Korean dramas. Many elements have been essential to its growth such as “Squid game” and “Gangnam style”. Hallyu began in Chinese media, and that’s when “Hallyu” was coined as a title.
Manhwa is a genre of comics and graphic novels. Manhwa is a term for South Korean comics (like manga is for Japanese comics). Manhwa is influenced by Manga and is read from left to right, like English comics. Webtoon is a comic site that comes from South Korea, because it was Korean, it has many manhwas. Finally, in the early 2010s as it became popular in the United States, Hallyu spread even more quickly.
Korean skincare products entered the Western market in 2011. The reason why it is so popular is the desire to achieve smooth and shiny skin, which Kpop idols and celebrities possess. Korean skincare is made with more natural oils and herbs.
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(For example: aloe vera, snail slime, vegetable oils)
They also promote hydration and are gentler on the skin. On the contrary, Western skin care products are harsher on the skin and are often used as overnight solutions and are not designed for long-term results.
In South Korea, pop idols control the beauty standard. Often, Korean beauty standards promote a small face, large eyes, preferably double eyelids, very pale skin, and a slender figure with very few curves. Monolids are a common feature of East Asians, which goes against beauty standards. That said, the “dewy” or glass skin that Koreans desire is already difficult to achieve because Asians are more likely to have oily skin.
Because of what people see when they search for Kpop on Pinterest, Tiktok, or YouTube, they often come across a pale, thin woman with double eyelids and full pink lips. From what we see, many people have created tutorials to help others achieve the Korean look.
Due to this, the global lightening and lightening cream market is expected to reach USD 17 billion by 2030.
A parasocial relationship is a one-sided relationship in which one party invests emotional energy, interest, time, and in some cases, money. However, parasocial relationships are not inherently dangerous. In fact, studies show that overall, a typical parasocial relationship is harmless and not dangerous.
To add, according to a 2017 study, parasocial relationships can help adolescents, in particular, form an identity and develop their autonomy.
However, like many parasocial relationships, it quickly becomes scary and leads to harassment. This would be a form of parasocial relationship called borderline-pathological. At first, many cannot control their feelings and, in some cases, their behavior.
Many K-pop fans who engage in these relationships often start stalking the idol and, in some cases, attempt to become the idol (through appearance, behavior, voice, personality, etc.). Pathological boundaries often lead to violence and aggression. Because of these relationships, many fans tend to shame other Kpop idols when they are in conflict, or get very personal and emotional when idols are brought up for controversies such as racism and blackfishing. (Black fishing involves pretending to be black.)
Many of these fans will make comparison videos and put down other idols to prove their "bias". A bias in Kpop is people's favorite idol, often when you have a bias it's when it's a Kpop group.
Korea is very strict about weight. Especially idols. As I mentioned, Kpop idols control beauty standards. If you want to become a Kpop idol, you have to look like one. The ideal weight for a Kpop trainee is 15 kilograms, while the average weight is 58.29 kilograms. This is why many trainees exercise to maintain the ideal weight, but the efforts put in by many worry many. An intern typically trains for months or even a few years before being recruited or hired. About once a week, the company will conduct a weight check. If you have gained weight, you will be avoided.
To avoid this, many Kpop trainees follow unstable and unhealthy diets. This would mean they would not eat or drink water at all. But this is not only for trainees, but also for idols who have already debuted. Because of these diets, many Kpop idols who retired have lost the ability to give birth, or even consider the possibility of having a child.
If you went to a video sharing platform, for example YouTube, you will be able to find many videos on how to get the perfect body of a K-Pop idol. Many people who make these videos often include photos of very thin, pale, thin women's bellies or fingers.
These instructional videos often include the workouts Kpop trainees follow and their diet. These tutorials often send bad advice, and many of them include skipping breakfast and consuming the smallest portion of food ever.
Due to new beauty standards introduced in the West, many people came together to form a group called RCTA. The viral acronym “RCTA” on TikTok refers to a community of people who believe they can change from one race to another. Many of these RCTA members used the community to become Asian, particularly Korean.
RCTA members often fetishize Korea, which is how they earned the name Koreaboo's. Because many historians, scientists, and others refer to race as a social construct based on what you can see (like features, skin tone, hair type). Since the breed is built on what you can see, many have resorted to the whitening creams and regimens I mentioned to achieve these looks. In fact, many people capitulate to their desire to gain views. (As seen with tutorials and on Korean diets, Korean lips, etc.)
Many people who identify as RCTA usually become Korean, why? Because of desirability. This section explains how Kpop is slowly controlling Western beauty standards. Many people will base their preferences on what they consider attractive, and many desire to be desirable. This is why many people surgically alter themselves to fit beauty standards. For example, Kim Kardashian and her BBL. At the time, black culture and traits associated with black were sold as the standard of beauty. (Big butt, darker skin, edges, AAVE, big lips.) But now that beauty standards are influenced by Korea, all of this is now considered ugly. This is why so many Western celebrities are removing their BBLs.
These tutorials not only include things like diets but also things to change their eye shape. As previously stated, double eyelids are a desired feature in Korea. Since many people in the West have double eyelids, a characteristic associated with white people, especially Europeans, many began using subliminals and tape to make their eyes have monolids.
Monolids, again, are a crease-free eyelid shape. Since Hallyu has been booming, many have taken to Tiktok and Pinterest to share their “exotic” and “feline” eyes. Besides monolids, many people want to have more fat under their eyes. This fat, in Korea, is called aegyosal. Many have developed techniques to make their appearance more pronounced, as East Asians are known to have a lot of them.
Many Koreaboos often sexualize Korean men, and since Korea is not very open about topics such as sexual assault, especially towards men, many of them are considered jokes and ignored. Especially if the attacker is a woman.
In conclusion, Hallyu is an interesting and complex phenomenon of how the West interacts with Korea and Korean culture. Korea is becoming very popular these days, and its pop culture will soon become pop culture as a whole. This report is supposed to show how the West interacts with Hallyu and how Hallyu affects the West. I hope this has brought you some insight and sparked discussion in the media.
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