Do you remember a few years ago when Korean beauty routines became all the rage? BB cream, cushion foundations, sheet masks, oil cleanser, essences, ampoules and toner - at one point or another, I’ve tried all of these products. Many of them still remain in my routine, so as one who has been wholly influenced, I was excited to read <I>Flawless</I> for an analysis of Korean beauty culture.

Welp, what a sobering read.

The export of Korean culture, which is called hallyu, can be hard to quantify when compared to traditional exports like cell phones and cars. And one of the most influential of these cultural exports has to do Korean beauty standards. In this book, Hu provides a comprehensive look at the very dark underbelly of the Korean beauty industry. And it’s not pretty.

One of the biggest themes in this book is how beauty culture is so engrained in Korean society that it has become an expectation and baseline, rather than a personal choice. Prettiness is equated to morality, and beauty can be an indicator of value, wellness and work ethic. In a society where all jobs require photos as part of the application process, it becomes an absolute necessity for one to keep up with, and maintain, beauty standards. Companies (ranging from lip balm manufacturers to plastic surgery centers) have really zoomed in on this, further convincing society that the beauty standards that these products and services provide IS what the consumer has always wanted for themselves, all along.

And while beauty is an expectation for both men and women, it is the latter, per usual, that bears the brunt of this expectation. In a society where feminism “is considered such a taboo term that a majority of men in their twenties say they would break up with their partners if they described themselves as feminist”, where women’s rights are some of the worst in the industrialized world, and where women earn $0.68 to the men’s dollar, it is women who have the most pressure to conform, pay for, spend time on, and keep up with beauty standards. It was particularly sad to read that 43% of children now wear some sort of makeup to elementary school.

There’s a lot more stuffed into <I>Flawless</I> regarding capitalism, consumerism, technology, self-help, Korean culture, and Hu’s own personal experiences living in Seoul.

A fiction book I’d pair would this would be KIM JIYOUNG, BORN 1984, which was deeply controversial when it was released in South Korea, and is meant to depict an average woman’s in Korean society, as misogyny creeps into every aspect of her life.

FLAWLESS releases May 23, 2023!

I have been into K Beauty for decades! I remember putting together big orders every six months to be sent from Korea and now these products are everywhere. I really enjoyed the deep dive into the industry. Culture, beauty, tech, the book had it all and was very readable.