Korean beauty standards have undergone a drastic change. Previously, Korean women felt beautiful with pale white skin. Now many are competing to have exotic skin and do tanning.
This change in Korean beauty standards has occurred over the past two years. As reported by The Guardian, milky white skin is no longer hailed by young Korean women.
A number of celebrities have also proved that Korea's beauty standards are unfounded. Like Hyeri, SNSD Yuri, Hyolyn, and Jessi who look beautiful with their dark skin.
Korean Beauty Standard "Geongangmi"
Not only that, a number of Korean women now crave "geongangmi" aka "healthy beauty." So that Korean women no longer want a slim stomach but an athletic body with abdominal muscles.
This phenomenon is supported by the observations of personal trainer Koo Hyun Kyung for the last four years. He realized that many women who focus on building muscle rather than losing weight.
Although the pandemic devastated many sectors in 2020, exposure to the Corona virus did not interfere with his income in the gym.
Korean research firm Euromonitor also noted that the "geongangmi" phenomenon is gaining popularity among South Korean millennials and gen z. More and more women in their 20s are coming to the gym regularly. The number has doubled when compared from 2016 to 2020.
Because of that, the trend of "body profile challenge" also emerged where Korean women showed off their fit bodies from the gym. Not a few who hire professional photographers and pose in the studio wearing underwear.
The "Geongangmi" trend reaps criticism
The "geongangmi" trend has indeed shifted the previous Korean beauty standards. But some critics say the trend is still limiting women's movement. It even seems to force it to look ideal.
Because Korean women who are born with white skin and slim bodies are driven to darken their skin color and have an athletic body. Like Jella, an influencer who gained popularity in 2018 because of her dark skin tone resulting from tanning.
On the one hand, the trend of "geongangmi" is an act of rebellion by Korean women to reject the perceptions that govern their lives. This was revealed by Yun Ji Yeong, a feminist philosopher and professor of Changwon National University.
