By Ashlea Knickel
In the last few years there has been a dramatic shift in how Western cultures view Asian cultures, specifically Korean and Japanese. When previous Western generations think of Korea and Japan, things like war, torture, and bombings come to mind. However, if you asked a 15-year-old about Korea and Japan, they’d probably tell you about BTS and Pokémon. How have these countries managed to completely disassociate with all negativity in the span of two generations?
The answer lies in soft power. Soft power is how a country changes the world’s view of them through attraction, which they then can use to influence people to adhere to the ideals of their country. Basically, hard power is the bully that makes people to like them through force, and soft power is the pretty girl in the back of the room that everyone naturally likes. Korea has done an incredible job of making their culture attractive to young people, so much so that young people can have a hard time finding anything negative about the country.
“K” is taking over the world. There’s K-beauty, K-pop, K-dramas, K-everything! Korea’s government has implemented a plan to spread their culture to every corner of the globe, and it’s working. The government has funded beauty brands, music companies, tech giants, and (recently) language centres that are now seen as the global ideal. Western beauty influencers are using Korean beauty products and Korean food is in huge global demand.
I’ve been looking to study and live in Korea next year and researching the country made me realise how deep its Western influence is. The country almost seems like a haven when compared to the turmoil of Western politics. Everything related to Korean is cute, polite, yummy, and skinny.
K-pop groups are formed of members called “idols”, which is exactly what they become to their fans. K-pop fans often idolise their favourite member’s cuteness, charm, beauty, and thinness, pushing them to achieve similar ideals. The problem is, most of these idols are on very extreme diets that push their bodies to the edge with malnutrition. Korea’s beauty industry is also centred around thinness. Almost all beauty products aim to create a thinner figure and every commercial is delivered by a small and beautiful woman. When looking at Korean media, there’s little to no reprieve from the goal to be super skinny.
I even found myself getting wrapped up in Korea’s weight-loss trends, following exercise regimes and strict diets that never really achieve what they promise. Weight-loss isn’t a sidenote in Korea, it’s an integral part of their culture that Western bodies just can’t achieve.
While embracing every culture is incredibly important and Korea is an amazing destination, we should be vigilant about how we are being influenced and the long-term effects that diet-culture can have on young people.