Recently I watched a Korean movie called 200 Pound Beauty. This movie is about a singer, named Hanna, who decides to get full-body plastic surgery to change how she looks, and follows the events following the procedure. This movie is a musical romantic comedy. This movie was released in 2006 so it is a fairly old movie. When it came out, it was a critical and commercial success. It was the third best-selling domestic film of 2006 and also received several awards and nominations.
Just as a brief overview of the movie, Hanna is a famous pop singer, but because she is overweight, she must sing backstage while a skinnier and prettier girl takes her place on stage. She serves as the ghost singer for a girl who just lip syncs on stage. Hanna is made fun of because of her weight, which leads to her deciding to get full-body plastic surgery.
I really enjoyed watching this movie. It was very funny, but also touched upon some more serious issues within Korean society. Although the movie was pretty dramatic and things were overexaggerated, I thought that it talked about issues in Korean society, that made it more palatable. The main issue that this movie pointed out was the beauty standards in Korea. Hanna had the talent to become a pop star, but because of the way she looked, she was forced to become a ghost singer. I think that Korea, and especially the K-pop industry, is notorious for their beauty standards. Many people feel pressured to look a certain way. I think Korea’s high beauty standards is the main reason why Korea is one of the leading countries in plastic surgery. I have heard from my Korean friends how much plastic surgery is encouraged by those around them, including friends and family. One of the most popular procedures to get done is the “double eyelid” surgery. Their high beauty standards, and cultural emphasis on looks is something that should be changed. There are many downsides to continuing these beauty standards. I think that these beauty standards and other expectations for K-pop stars can be seen in the news and how detrimental they can be. Singers like Goo Hara and Sulli have committed suicide, and the pressures of fame and the expectation for them to look or behave a certain way definitely played some role in them choosing to commit suicide. This is just a testament to how toxic these beauty standards can be and the pressures that people all over Korea, as well as Korean Americans, face. People shouldn’t be judged by the way that they look but judged by their character. Hanna should have been recognized for her singing, no matter what she looked like. I find it interesting that not only is this pressure to look a certain way felt by those living in Korea, but also Korean Americans. Despite living on the other side of the country, this aspect of Korean cultural is still very prevalent among Koreans in America. Overall, I think that Korean beauty standards, as seen in 200 Pound Beauty, is a harmful part of Korean culture and there should be efforts to change these beauty standards.
Comments
I am interested to see this movie because I did a research project on the effects of body image and weight standards on mental health. I found that these pressures often lead to depression, social anxiety, and engagement with harmful weight-loss tactics. It was also apparent that there is a huge stigma around mental health conditions as well which makes it harder to receive help. It is so sad that Goo Hara and Sulli were unable to get the help they needed despite giving obvious signs of struggle. I hope that people can take this as a message to stop judging people on how they look and more on their character like you stated in your post. Thank you for shedding some light on this issue.
I also watched this film when I was little, and at the time I only thought of it as a comical movie. However, by reflecting back on the plot of the movie now, a lot of the comedy is actually saddening. It's pretty heartbreaking with how pressured Korean females and males are to look a certain way, and I feel like as Korea is developing as a country, it is only getting worse. I hope more movies come out that can help undo this beauty stereotype.
Great post! Plastic surgery is really popular in Korean and China. I think such popularity is partially caused by the pressures caused by peers and society. Because people hold a very limited perception of beauty, girls who are regarded as beautiful have no choice but to resort to plastic surgery. However, beauty is not only about faces or outfits. It's about having a kind heart.
Hey Gavin! This movie seems like it touches upon a problem that likely goes beyond Korean society itself, but effects it in different ways. The music industry in the United States can be pretty similar to K-Pop in its beauty standards and expectations. It is a tragedy that singers in South Korea have taken their life over this issue, and it is certainly one that needs to be addressed and handled more seriously everywhere.
I also Korean this film, and very agree with your idea! There are a lot of people in Korea who go for plastic surgery, either thoughtfully or blindly in pursuit of mass aesthetic. South Korea has a really high demand for looks, and beautiful people are more likely to get jobs than ordinary people. This kind of morbid aesthetic is very unhealthy, inner beauty is more important than outer beauty in many cases. Now there are a lot of TV series shooting these contents to criticize social thought. I hope to see an improvement in this situation in the future.
Thanks for such an interesting post! I have not heard of this movie but it sounds really interesting. I do agree that beauty standards in South Korea can seem pretty extreme. I think the movie really does speak about the issue of the beauty standard culture and how it can be harmful it can be.
Interesting post! I want to go take a look at the movie as well now. I've seen some dramas about this as well, such as the "My ID is Gangnam Beauty," which talks about a girl who got plastic surgery being mocked by her classmates. People want a certain kind of beauty, but when others chose plastic surgery because of the pressure, they mock at them. I could not understand why people went for plastic surgery before, but as I grow up and start to feel the pressure of "being beautiful" from society, I start to understand them and feel sad for them. They must have been really stressed about their looks to make such a decision. I'm sad for Sulli and Goo Hara as well. I really hope to see a change in these beauty standards as well as in people's attitudes towards them.