Is Males Wearing Makeup A Bad Thing
Makeup grows in popularity among men in Republic of korea
(AP) SEOUL, South Korea - Cho Won-hyuk stands in front of his sleeping accommodation mirror and spreads dollops of yellow-brown makeup over his forehead, nose, chin and cheeks until his pare is flawless. So he goes to work with a black pencil, highlighting his eyebrows until they're thicker, bolder.
"Having a clean, neat face makes yous wait sophisticated and creates an image that you tin can handle yourself well," the 24-year-old college student said. "Your appearance matters, and then when I wear makeup on special occasions, it makes me more confident."
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Cho'southward meticulous efforts to paint the perfect face are non unusual in Republic of korea. This socially conservative, male-dominated country, with a mandatory two-twelvemonth military conscription for men, has become the male person makeup capital letter of the globe.
S Korean men spent $495.5 million on skincare terminal year, bookkeeping for nearly 21 pct of global sales, according to global market research business firm Euromonitor International. That makes it the largest market for men'southward skincare in the world, fifty-fifty though there are only nigh 19 million men in South korea. Amorepacific, South korea's biggest cosmetics company, estimates the total sales of men's cosmetics in South Korea this year will be more than than $885 million.
The metamorphosis of S Korean men from macho to makeup over the final decade or so can be partly explained by trigger-happy competition for jobs, advancement and romance in a society where, as a popular catchphrase puts information technology, "appearance is ability." Women also have a growing expectation that men will take the time and effort to pamper their skin.
Show of this new direction in South Korean masculinity is easy to notice. In a crowded Seoul cafe, a young woman takes some lipstick out of her purse and casually applies it to her male companion'due south lips as they talk. At an upscale apartment building, a male security guard watches the lobby from behind a layer of makeup. Korean Air holds once-a-year makeup classes for male flight attendants.
"I can understand why girls don't similar to get outside without makeup - it makes a big difference," said Cho Gil-nam, a tall, stocky 27-yr-old insurance fraud investigator in Seoul who starts of import days by dabbing on makeup after finishing his multistep morning cleansing and moisturizing routine. He carries a multicolored cosmetics pouch so he can touch upwardly in public bathrooms throughout the day.
While U.S. cosmetics companies report growing sales in male cosmetics, American men are frequently wary of makeup. "Men Wearing Makeup a Disturbing Trend" was how American columnist Jim Shea titled a recent mail.
In South korea, however, effeminate male beauty is "a marking of social success," according to Roald Maliangkay, head of Korean studies at Australian National University.
Amorepacific Corp. offers 17 men's brands, with dozens of products to choose from, and operates 2 Manstudio stores in Seoul that are devoted to men's skincare and makeup.
South Korean men are barraged daily with messages in popular media suggesting that flawless pare is a crucial part of any programme to get ahead at piece of work and romance.
"In this society, people's first impressions are very important. A man's skin is a big part of that impression, and then I accept care of my skin," said Kim Deuk-ryong, a twenty-twelvemonth-sometime student.
It wasn't always this mode. The ideal Southward Korean man used to be crude and tough.
Things began to alter in the tardily 1990s, when the Southward Korean regime relaxed a ban on Japanese cultural appurtenances, exposing South Koreans to dissimilar ideas on male beauty, including popular comics featuring pretty, effeminate men.
James Turnbull, a writer and lecturer on Korean feminism, sexuality and pop culture, said the economical crunch that hit South Korea in 1997 and 1998 also played a role in shifting thinking. Struggling companies often fired their female person employees starting time, angering women who had already seen their push button for equal rights take a backseat to protest movements against Japanese colonizers and the autocratic governments that followed.
"The times were ripe for a sea-alter in the pop images of men in the media," Turnbull said. Women, equally a result, began questioning the kinds of men society told them they should detect attractive.
In 2002, large numbers were attracted to a hero of Republic of korea'due south World Cup soccer squad, Ahn Jung-hwan, who became a leading member of the then-called "flower men" - a grouping of exceptionally good-looking, smooth-skinned, fashionable sports stars and celebrities who found great success selling male person cosmetics. Men everywhere began striving to await like them, with the encouragement of the women around them, and a trend was born.
A decade afterward, ads featuring handsome, heavily made-up male celebrities are an unavoidable function of the urban scenery.
Kim Jong-hoon, a 27-year-old tech industry worker in Paju, said the endless media exposure to famous men with perfect skin helped steer his progression from lather and water to an elaborate regime that includes as many as eight steps, from cleanser to middle cream and lotion to a minor amount of makeup powder.
"My skin wasn't bad, merely the media constantly sends the message that pare is i of the most of import things, so I wanted to accept intendance of it," Kim said.
In one case an oddity, men using makeup is at present commonplace.
Information technology'south also a expert source of conversation, said Kim Ae-kyung, 35, a female person office worker.
"I feel like I accept more than to talk nigh with guys who use makeup - nosotros have more than in common," Kim said.
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