Over the last two weeks, the photos of the Miss Korea 2013 contestants had gone viral around the web, causing a stir with debates over plastic surgery and standards of beauty (“One Dream, One Face”), among some issues. However, more photos emerged on the web – and this time, the revealed photos of the contestants sans makeup. Of course, disappointment ensued from Korean netizens, with commentary ranging from polite to downright insulting. Upon closer glance, when you compare the before and after photos side-by-side, it seems like the after photos are result of photoshop and not a result of plastic surgery (although it could all be arguable).
Plastic surgery or not, I feel that the Miss Korea 2013 campaign still promotes a problematic standard of beauty: that there is only one standard for us to follow. Check the photos below the cut. What do you think, Audrey readers?
The new Miss Hawaii USA, Angela Byrd, being crowned.
This year’s Miss USA Pageant, which will air in May on NBC, is a biggie: it’s the 60th anniversary. And while we find too few Asian faces represented in the national competition, we can usually count on Hawaii to put up an Asian American contestant. Hawaii was the most recent state to join the Miss USA competition (in 1962), and four Miss Hawaii USA winners (including eventual Miss Universe winner Brook Lee) have gone on to win the national title of Miss USA, while Chinese-Filipino-Hawaiian American actress Kelly Hu went on to win the Miss Teen USA competition in 1985.
