Korean Sociological Image #57: Perfect Upper Bodies, But “Healthy” Legs

Normally I’d reserve something like this for the next “Korean Gender Reader” post, but then this is simply one of the most appalling things I’ve seen on Korean television in nearly 11 years here. Or, as a friend put it, it’s “totally fucking reprehensible”, and in the strange event that it’s not rapidly removed from YouTube because of the overwhelmingly negative response, then we’ll both be calling Arirang TV to complain about it.

A quick language note before you begin watching however: a mistake many Korean learners make, including myself, is to complement someone by saying “건강해 보여요”, or literally “healthy [you] look”. Unfortunately, it turns out that when “healthy” is used like this, it actually means “fat”, an already strange connotation that is nevertheless carried to absurd proportions in the video.

For further context, see Korean Sociological Image #21 also, on popular calf-reduction surgery.

(For all posts in the Korean Sociological Image series, see here)

Share


Filed under: Body Image, Cosmetic Surgery, Dieting, Exercise, Korean Media, Korean Sociological Images Tagged: Arirang, calf, Calf Reduction Surgery, Calves