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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
4.5 stars rounded down
"Later, I would come to see that unpleasant standoff as emblematic of a prevailing attitude about women's bodies: that in their most natural state, when bodies are naked and not prettified, they should be hidden. The idea that femininity should be cultivated and our bodies somehow 'cleaned up' for presentation is something I had already been picking up from Korean beauty culture."
"A...study...found that despite the smaller body size of Korean women, they were more negative about many of their physical characteristics than US women were, since people with a high sensitivity in social situations (read: the ability to read a room, which is valued in collective societies) are also more likely to feel worse about social criticism. A systematic review...found the same. Women who have difficulty expressing their own emotions and who prioritize other people's feelings are more likely to exhibit restrictive eating behaviors."
"I cannot emphasize enough how distracting it is, how psychologically taxing, to fixate on exercise and weight. I cannot quantify how much time I have lost lingering in front of mirrors, focused on problem areas, silently calculating calories in my mind, journaling what I ate each day, or thumbing through Shape and Self magazines from the early 2000s to memorize the most calorie-burning workouts. My 17-year old self could have spent that time building stronger relationships, absorbing ideas, taking personal risks or trying new experiences. Instead, she whirred with obsession and ached with hunger - thoughts of food, when to eat food, what to do to burn off the food - occupied the mental space equivalent of the Pacific Ocean."
:c
"Later, I would come to see that unpleasant standoff as emblematic of a prevailing attitude about women's bodies: that in their most natural state, when bodies are naked and not prettified, they should be hidden. The idea that femininity should be cultivated and our bodies somehow 'cleaned up' for presentation is something I had already been picking up from Korean beauty culture."
"A...study...found that despite the smaller body size of Korean women, they were more negative about many of their physical characteristics than US women were, since people with a high sensitivity in social situations (read: the ability to read a room, which is valued in collective societies) are also more likely to feel worse about social criticism. A systematic review...found the same. Women who have difficulty expressing their own emotions and who prioritize other people's feelings are more likely to exhibit restrictive eating behaviors."
"I cannot emphasize enough how distracting it is, how psychologically taxing, to fixate on exercise and weight. I cannot quantify how much time I have lost lingering in front of mirrors, focused on problem areas, silently calculating calories in my mind, journaling what I ate each day, or thumbing through Shape and Self magazines from the early 2000s to memorize the most calorie-burning workouts. My 17-year old self could have spent that time building stronger relationships, absorbing ideas, taking personal risks or trying new experiences. Instead, she whirred with obsession and ached with hunger - thoughts of food, when to eat food, what to do to burn off the food - occupied the mental space equivalent of the Pacific Ocean."
:c
funny
informative
medium-paced
Here I was thinking that I had a decent beauty regimen- until I read this book! The K-beauty industry is constantly reinventing itself with creams, serums and cutting edge plastic surgery procedures that are so exclusive that they are not available in other countries. The pressure to fit in to the beauty ideal of pale skin, large eyes, a narrow chin and a slim body can result in job loss, strained friendships and being seen as an outcast by everyone around you. The author even recalled times her body was criticized by strangers in public, and the challenge of finding clothes for her "plus-sized" (for Korean, anyway) frame. The industry started with adult women as their target audience, but have progressed to men and children, with an increase in spas and products that cater to those groups specifically. I loved how much I learned from this book and how the author added her own experiences. I felt like she did her best to be objective about the beauty culture and represented opinions from transwomen and elderly women as they also navigate this cult of beauty.
informative
reflective
slow-paced
I wanted to read this book when I was in Korea in July and the wait was so long I didn’t read it until October. No matter! It was still good, detailed, comprehensive, with personal touch as well. More feminist theory would be nice though. 4 out of 5 laser treatments.
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I wasn't sure whether this would be boring, to be honest, but the author goes far beyond an examination of K Beauty and delves into the pressures women deal with, the obsession with youth and our appearance that is encouraged by the profit hungry beauty and wellness machine. There was a lot to think about in this book and I know it will be on my mind for a while to come. Recommended!
This was a really excellent piece of journalism, and I appreciated how Elise Hu weaved both her investigative ability and personal experiences living as a correspondent in Seoul. It's an excellent entry point into looking more deeply into the popularity of K-beauty, and also seeing it's growth alongside the government sponsored hallyu wave and socioeconomic development. I also appreciated that the audiobook is narrated by Hu, which gives the book both a personal touch and one that lends further credence to her journalistic tone for how deftly she weaves her own thoughts alongside her journalism findings and interview tidbits. That being said, while Hu is clearly aware of her status as a foreigner in Seoul (albeit still an Asian woman), I personally found it a little off-putting that she repeatedly mentions her lack of learning any Korean while living in Korea while still trying to pronounce Korean names and words in her book (I actually had to pause multiple times to double check some of the phrases and names because I thought they might have been mispronounced, and I'm not Korean!) (further perturbed to know that all of the terms are romanized in the physical book and not written in hangul with romanization included on the side, which makes it hard to find the actual Korean equivalent of the phrasing since romanization spelling can vary widely)
Probably my favorite parts of her book have to do with her looking historically into Korea's past and how it impacts the development of the current beauty market (this may also be a personal bias since my college thesis focused around government sponsored socioeconomic development). It lends some further insight into why gender norms are still so distinct in South Korea, and also highlighting the pressure of visuals on both men and women (though overwhelmingly so on women) (it made me think of bell hooks and her assertion that patriarchy is a harm on both men and women) I thought that she could have delved further into the growing economic class dynamics though there is some insinuation of it, particularly with how easy it is to jumpstart brands and products through market contacts and money. But really loved the connection between Korea's past status as an IMF-borrowing state and focus on state-sponsored soft power, and the continuing impact of the hallyu wave. I did enjoy her investigation into the feminist movements in Korea, though I thought some of it was oversimplified and didn't quite convey how fringe and unpopular those movements area, despite seeing growing popularity among the younger generation. I would have been interested to see more examination of the netizen culture in South Korea, and how global social media trends have given some of these fringe movements more global support with broader feminist movements.
Something that I thought was really interesting that I didn't consider before is the very responsive relationship between consumers and the market within K-beauty, with Hu citing the impact of reviews and feedback in creating and promoting new products (an incredible tidbit that a product can be ideated and created in the span of 6 weeks in Korea, unthinkable in any other beauty market). There's a definite transparency between what people want and what they're willing to pressure companies to create and give them, and I found this to be an interesting contrast to the general acceptance of blatant social norms. I think the Korean attitude of feeling a social obligation to be "presentable" is one that's also beyond just South Korea, and I would have been interested to know if some of the k-beauty norms weren't so wholly unfamiliar since Hu is Chinese and general Asian beauty and sexist norms can be similar. While Hu does go into the many steps of a typical k-beauty routine, I did wish that she delved more into the whys. That it's partially hypercapitalistic is true - buying more means more steps - but I think it's important to also detail that the k-beauty routine has steps because each step is gentle and targeted (I felt like Hu mostly focused of her confusion at step order and the number of steps), which is largely different from Western approaches to skincare which can emphasize less steps/combo treatments and faster effects. I am admittedly part of the online k-beauty community and that's a common refrain that is repeated - add each step slowly, and consider what effects you're trying to achieve without being unrealistic. That, and YMMV (your mileage may vary, which is key to understanding that what works for someone else may not be the solution for you). Hu touches on this a bit with addressing skincare and procedures as a form of self-care, but I'd like to also suggest a friend's book as an intro into using k-beauty steps as a form of care because her and I have talked before about using our beauty routines as active measures against depressive episodes. [b:Skincare for Your Soul: Achieving Outer Beauty and Inner Peace with Korean Skincare|208926998|Skincare for Your Soul Achieving Outer Beauty and Inner Peace with Korean Skincare (Korean Skin Care Beauty Guide)|Jude Chao|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1708481303l/208926998._SX50_.jpg|89918803]
My only complaint (and maybe this is my issue with a lot of nonfiction books) is that she brings up a lot of interesting idea in her conclusion that I wish were given more space in the rest of the book. If K-beauty and South Korea functions as a microcosm of the beauty industry and its ties with capitalism, I would have wanted more development on what that means for the larger economic market and prevailing social norms. K-beauty is so interesting because it's so pervasive and impacts every area of life in Korea, from social acceptance of cosmetic procedures, weight and body image, makeup expectations of men, women, and even children, clothes, and even economic and scientific research and development. If South Korea is the embodiment of ultra-capitalism, what does that mean as the rest of the world also moves in that direction? Hu hints at it as she returns to the states and moves to California, but notices that while Western beauty standards are obviously different than South Korean ones, they are still there and they are still deeply pervasive within American culture. [I particularly enjoyed her Californian anecdote because a similar experience was such a stark example to me and continues to affect me: one day I was meeting with a group of moms shortly after I had given birth, bringing my then 6-month old to meet other babies and moms. I felt tired, obviously not looking my best, and mere survival had taken precedence. So I felt really shocked and out of place as some of the moms around me discussed the procedures that they'd need to "get back into shape" and tossing recommendations for fillers, botox, waxing clinicians, and future cosmetic procedures they were considering. No shame to anyone who chooses these things, but it was shocking to me that we were all postpartum women with children under 1 that were all feeling social pressure to return to "normal" over just getting ourselves and a literal child to survive.] She cites some counter-beauty culture movements and ways to promote body neutrality and acceptance, but I would have loved more exploration of that within the book (perhaps even connecting the "free the corset" movement to other similar movements) I did love that she cited the pandemic as proof that appearance norms can change as survival takes precedence, but a little disheartening that there was a quick return to procedures and doctors as the world "returned to normal". Even outside of this book, if the pandemic illuminated so many of the inequities and ways that norms aren't working for us, why does it feel like the world has mostly gone back to those norms? What prevents us from using that as a catalyst for change?
Overall, I found this to be a really well-executed piece of journalism that I really enjoyed listening to. Well researched and a wonderful journalistic tone that still retains some personal warmth.
Definitely also recommend [b:Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982|46041199|Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982|Cho Nam-Joo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1587128688l/46041199._SY75_.jpg|55506509] if you found this book interesting, and [b:Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men|41104077|Invisible Women Data Bias in a World Designed for Men|Caroline Criado Pérez|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1617113740l/41104077._SY75_.jpg|64218580] for a broader global look at sexist norms.
Probably my favorite parts of her book have to do with her looking historically into Korea's past and how it impacts the development of the current beauty market (this may also be a personal bias since my college thesis focused around government sponsored socioeconomic development). It lends some further insight into why gender norms are still so distinct in South Korea, and also highlighting the pressure of visuals on both men and women (though overwhelmingly so on women) (it made me think of bell hooks and her assertion that patriarchy is a harm on both men and women) I thought that she could have delved further into the growing economic class dynamics though there is some insinuation of it, particularly with how easy it is to jumpstart brands and products through market contacts and money. But really loved the connection between Korea's past status as an IMF-borrowing state and focus on state-sponsored soft power, and the continuing impact of the hallyu wave. I did enjoy her investigation into the feminist movements in Korea, though I thought some of it was oversimplified and didn't quite convey how fringe and unpopular those movements area, despite seeing growing popularity among the younger generation. I would have been interested to see more examination of the netizen culture in South Korea, and how global social media trends have given some of these fringe movements more global support with broader feminist movements.
Something that I thought was really interesting that I didn't consider before is the very responsive relationship between consumers and the market within K-beauty, with Hu citing the impact of reviews and feedback in creating and promoting new products (an incredible tidbit that a product can be ideated and created in the span of 6 weeks in Korea, unthinkable in any other beauty market). There's a definite transparency between what people want and what they're willing to pressure companies to create and give them, and I found this to be an interesting contrast to the general acceptance of blatant social norms. I think the Korean attitude of feeling a social obligation to be "presentable" is one that's also beyond just South Korea, and I would have been interested to know if some of the k-beauty norms weren't so wholly unfamiliar since Hu is Chinese and general Asian beauty and sexist norms can be similar. While Hu does go into the many steps of a typical k-beauty routine, I did wish that she delved more into the whys. That it's partially hypercapitalistic is true - buying more means more steps - but I think it's important to also detail that the k-beauty routine has steps because each step is gentle and targeted (I felt like Hu mostly focused of her confusion at step order and the number of steps), which is largely different from Western approaches to skincare which can emphasize less steps/combo treatments and faster effects. I am admittedly part of the online k-beauty community and that's a common refrain that is repeated - add each step slowly, and consider what effects you're trying to achieve without being unrealistic. That, and YMMV (your mileage may vary, which is key to understanding that what works for someone else may not be the solution for you). Hu touches on this a bit with addressing skincare and procedures as a form of self-care, but I'd like to also suggest a friend's book as an intro into using k-beauty steps as a form of care because her and I have talked before about using our beauty routines as active measures against depressive episodes. [b:Skincare for Your Soul: Achieving Outer Beauty and Inner Peace with Korean Skincare|208926998|Skincare for Your Soul Achieving Outer Beauty and Inner Peace with Korean Skincare (Korean Skin Care Beauty Guide)|Jude Chao|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1708481303l/208926998._SX50_.jpg|89918803]
My only complaint (and maybe this is my issue with a lot of nonfiction books) is that she brings up a lot of interesting idea in her conclusion that I wish were given more space in the rest of the book. If K-beauty and South Korea functions as a microcosm of the beauty industry and its ties with capitalism, I would have wanted more development on what that means for the larger economic market and prevailing social norms. K-beauty is so interesting because it's so pervasive and impacts every area of life in Korea, from social acceptance of cosmetic procedures, weight and body image, makeup expectations of men, women, and even children, clothes, and even economic and scientific research and development. If South Korea is the embodiment of ultra-capitalism, what does that mean as the rest of the world also moves in that direction? Hu hints at it as she returns to the states and moves to California, but notices that while Western beauty standards are obviously different than South Korean ones, they are still there and they are still deeply pervasive within American culture. [I particularly enjoyed her Californian anecdote because a similar experience was such a stark example to me and continues to affect me: one day I was meeting with a group of moms shortly after I had given birth, bringing my then 6-month old to meet other babies and moms. I felt tired, obviously not looking my best, and mere survival had taken precedence. So I felt really shocked and out of place as some of the moms around me discussed the procedures that they'd need to "get back into shape" and tossing recommendations for fillers, botox, waxing clinicians, and future cosmetic procedures they were considering. No shame to anyone who chooses these things, but it was shocking to me that we were all postpartum women with children under 1 that were all feeling social pressure to return to "normal" over just getting ourselves and a literal child to survive.] She cites some counter-beauty culture movements and ways to promote body neutrality and acceptance, but I would have loved more exploration of that within the book (perhaps even connecting the "free the corset" movement to other similar movements) I did love that she cited the pandemic as proof that appearance norms can change as survival takes precedence, but a little disheartening that there was a quick return to procedures and doctors as the world "returned to normal". Even outside of this book, if the pandemic illuminated so many of the inequities and ways that norms aren't working for us, why does it feel like the world has mostly gone back to those norms? What prevents us from using that as a catalyst for change?
Overall, I found this to be a really well-executed piece of journalism that I really enjoyed listening to. Well researched and a wonderful journalistic tone that still retains some personal warmth.
Definitely also recommend [b:Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982|46041199|Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982|Cho Nam-Joo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1587128688l/46041199._SY75_.jpg|55506509] if you found this book interesting, and [b:Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men|41104077|Invisible Women Data Bias in a World Designed for Men|Caroline Criado Pérez|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1617113740l/41104077._SY75_.jpg|64218580] for a broader global look at sexist norms.
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
While the beauty industry is not one I follow much, this book was super interesting from a business perspective as well as from a cultural perspective.
I worked at NPR while Elise was there and I have followed her career since. I enjoyed the family and work stories about her time in Seoul mixed in with the beauty information.
She covers the beauty industry from different angles and perspectives. Her humor helps to break up the sobering reality depicted.
Elise weaves in themes of motherhood as well as being an expat throughout the book.
informative
slow-paced
Excellent, fascinating book. I highly, highly recommend.
Elise Hu is one of my favorite NPR reporters for her ability to weave a story with educating, and “Flawless” was similar to her reporting style.
Elise Hu is one of my favorite NPR reporters for her ability to weave a story with educating, and “Flawless” was similar to her reporting style.