That’s just one example of many.
There’s no denying that South Korea has strict and sometimes unrealistic expectations of beauty. In particular, the lengths and measures K-Pop agencies take to get their idols to have this particular look can be extreme. It seems that things other than “Korean standards”, such as dieting, skin whitening, and plastic surgery, are often neglected.
However, besides a small face, fair skin, and big eyes, one of the important standards expected in Korean society is being slim. Regardless of your size or height, it’s an expectation, and it’s not uncommon for people who don’t fit these criteria to have a hard time shopping for clothes. It’s only recently that certain brands have started to come in all sizes.
A TikTok video went viral after a user shared a video of their outing in South Korea. User “ThizisDan” shared a video with the caption, “By the way, I hate this side of my country #Korea #lifeinkorea #weneedtochange #korealife #bodypositivity.”
In the video, there is a wooden device with the words “How’s your belly fat doing?” written on the top of it. The different ages at the top have gaps of different sizes corresponding to each category.
Users explained that the text on the device seemed to imply that the younger you are, the thinner you need to be, regardless of the situation.
Naturally, he placed his hand on that tiny gap and explained:How on earth am I supposed to get through this?”
He also pointed out that the condition was very common on jogging trails in South Korea, even though many passersby were shocked. The gap size wasn’t big enough and as he got older and the gap got bigger, his last two had the words “you need to try harder” and “you need to work out harder” written on them.
Once the video was shared, many people left comments shocked by what they had just seen. Especially for Westerners, it would have been hard to believe that something with such letters on it could be turned into an exhibit that even young children could see.
However, others seemed less surprised and thought it was a more widespread issue in South Korea regarding body confidence and image issues.
This isn’t the first time TikTok has shown differences in beauty standards, as the differences between the Korean and American platforms also illustrate.
Seeing news about idols being forced to lose weight through strict diets or being shamed for exceeding a certain size, it seems that this problem is not just related to K-pop. It is also very worrying that these views are being openly expressed and that people of all ages can see these expectations.
@thizisdan By the way, I hate this side of my country. #South Korea #lifeinkorea#need to change#KoreaLife#bodypositive