K-뷰티산업의 피부색주의

초록

While K-Beauty is globally recognized as a burgeoning industry, this study explores and analyzes the colorism of the K-Beauty industry. Colorism, or discrimination based on skin colors, can be found in the discourse of hierarchies formed by the culmination of idealized skin called ‘mibaek’ in Korean society. And K-Beauty industry which is the Korean media-beauty complex mediates this discourse to overseas audiences. As the imagery of impeccably fair skin of Korean stars is epitomized as a new beauty model in East Asia, K-Beauty produces new norms and hierarchies that require critical exploration. What cultural significance does K-beauty have in the global media-beauty scene? And what hegemonic power does it exert? In order to answer these questions, this study explored various images and texts on K-beauty online and conducted focus group interviews in Thailand and Vietnam. The findings reveal that Korea is being perceived as a ‘country of white skin’ by overseas K-Beauty consumers. In particular, K-beauty provides Southeast Asian people with an attainable beauty model or relatable ideal, replacing Westernized beauty norms. However, on the other hand, colorism is produced in the process of K-beauty being circulated as a transnational product, and this study aims to provide a critical perspective on this. K-Beauty reveals its imperial power through the exclusivity of Korean stars’ bodies, the formation of a hierarchy between Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia, and its barrier to racially otherized bodies. First of all, K-pop idols who are the main mediators of K-beauty mostly conform to a specific visuality. This implies the confined Koreanness of K-beauty, which is not free from colorism as it excludes other racial visualities. Second, several quasi-K-beauty products in Southeast Asian countries regards the Northeastern look as a beauty model, highlighting a lighter complexion. And this produces and reproduces the hierarchy between Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia. Lastly, this study pays attention to black beauty YouTubers who have tried K-beauty make-up. Their content and perceptions of some audiences reveal that the diversity and inclusivity of the K-beauty industry is highly limited or nothing more than a marketing rhetoric. As such, in the realm of K-Beauty, where the ‘K’ strongly signifies a certain power related to nationalism, it tries to secure a territory exclusive to a specific skin color. Based on all these findings, this study argues for the necessity of cultivating sensitivity to the matter of race, ethnicity, and skin color that have long been overlooked in Korean society, and suggests further inquiries for Korean media studies.

키워드