Holy moly. Actor Jung Seok-won (Rooftop Prince and Haeundae Lovers) makes hearts race in his latest editorial for Esquire Korea by showing off his well-sculpted body (those abs! that back!). Unfortunately the 28 year old is taken – he recently announced his upcoming marriage to singer Baek Ji-young (who’s 9 years older than him!). In any case, all we can do is appreciate his good looks (and body) from afar. More pictures after the cut!
“All Asians look alike.”
Its a phrase that I have personally disliked for as long as I can remember. In fact, many of us are upset by this. We believe that this statement is simply ignorant. We believe that this sort of stereotype comes from the same people who don’t realize that there are various types of Asians. But before we get too angry, it may be a good idea to step back and give this another look.
A beauty pageant held in Daegu, South Korea has 21 contestants competing for the title. The problem? The pageant’s slogan “One Dream, One Face” has a bit too much truth in it. The native judges literally have difficulty telling the girls apart. They claim that they constantly need to check the contestant ID numbers and choosing a winner will be difficult if the girls have such similar faces. While we cannot assume that this plays a factor for these particular contestants, it is important to note that Daegu is known for having amazing plastic surgeons who, apparently, have one set idea of what is beautiful.
This leads us to consider the bigger issue: we are upset that people think all Asians look alike, but do Asian women and Asian plastic surgeons all strive for the same “beautiful face”? Have we created one ideal type of beauty which results in such similar looks? Have we taken part in perpetuating a myth that we hate?
Tell us what you think and click on for some close up pictures of the pageant contestants:
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We live in a society which pressures its women to look beautiful. We are surrounded with images of women who set unrealistic standards of beauty and make us question every inch of our body. Its strange then to think that we may actually have it easy compared to women elsewhere. Where can the pressure to be beautiful possibly be worse? How about a country that produces flawless celebrities- Korea.
In South Korea, the need to be beautiful is alarming. With the popularity of Kpop becoming national, the pressure to be attractive has people dishing out thousands of dollars to do so. People strive to be as beautiful as their favorite celebrity and turning to surgery has become normal. In fact, many students even receive surgery as a highschool graduation gift. When asked, students say that just about everyone gets at least one surgery done and celebrities get tons of procedures to look the way that they do. Has Kpop set the standards for beauty too high? Has it become a necessity and a normality to go under the knife? Watch The Kpop Effect- South Korea below and let us know what you think.
South Korea’s Kim Yuna takes gold after her triumphant return to the ice this past weekend.
Canada’s Patrick Chan takes home gold for the third consecutive year in a row at the World Figure Skating Championships.
A pair of 22-year olds took home the gold this past weekend at the ISU World Figure SKating Championships: Yuna Kim of South Korea and Patrick Chan of Canada. Kim, who took a year off from figure skating, made her return to the rink this past season and dominated in the Womens’ group, placing first in the final night of the championships (she scored 218.31 points, more than 20 points ahead from the silver medalist, Italy’s Carolina Kostner (197.89), who was the defending world champion). Chan defended his title and is now the first male skater in 13 years who have won the gold three years in a row. The Canadian also set a world record in his short program last Wednesday, with a score of 98.37.
Other Asians who also medaled in the competition were 19-year old Denis Ten of Kazakhstan (who is of Korean descent) and 22-year old Asada Mao of Japan, who both took Silver and Bronze respectively. For ten, it was the first time for a Kazakstan competitor to stand on a World podium. Ten nearly stole the show in his crowd-pleasing free skate performance set to music from “The Artist”. Check out clips from their performances below the cut!
It’s that time of year again – Forbes Korea unveiled their power ranking for celebrities for 2013. For the last two years, the nine member Girls’ Generation topped the power ranking list. Did they maintain the top position this year? Click on to find out!
How do you celebrate your magazine’s ten year anniversary — if you’re InStyle Korea? Easy: you round up the best and brightest Korean stars of the last decade. The cover spread features actresses Kim Hee-sun, Han Hyo-joo, Lee Yeon-hee , Han Chae-young, Kim Hyo-jin, Lee Yo-won, Kim Yun-jin, and Jeon Ji-hyun who serves as the issue’s cover model. The shoot stops nothing short of making all the girls look fabulous – even if they’re surrounded by large legos (in the case with Han Hyo-joo), holding a plastic baby (Lee Yeon-hee), or fawning over a cheetah in a forest (Kim Hee-sun).
Click on for the images!
Today’s SHAG (Smoking Hot Asian Guy) is the dashing Kwon Sang-Woo. Kwon Sang-Woo never seems to disappoint – in acting —- and um, for his good looks and his abs. But really, he’s a great actor. Don’t let his abs distract you from making any other judgement.
REALLY.
WE MEAN IT.
Kwon currently stars in the SBS drama, Yawang (also known as Queen of Ambition).
SMTOWN Prize Package!
Our fourth giveaway is perfect for the big Kpop fans out there: an autographed SMTOWN t-shirt (signed by Yunho and Changmin of TVXQ) and the I AM. concert and movie blu-ray (signed by Super Junior’s Siwon). To enter (up to four ways):
1. Follow us on Instagram @audreymagazine. Instagram a picture “I <3 Audrey Magazine.” – and tag us and #smtown.
2. Follow us on Twitter @audreymagazine. Tweet “I <3 @audreymagazine” with the #smtown.
3. Like us on Facebook (Audrey Magazine). Tag us in your status “I <3 Audrey Magazine” with #smtown.
4. Follow us on tumblr: Audrey-Magazine.tumblr.com, REBLOG AND LIKE the post.
Neon outfits, hip hop and urban inspired head-to-toe looks, outrageous and daring hairstyles filled the streets of Downtown, Los Angeles on Friday night, August 24, 2012. If you didn’t know any better, you would’ve thought there was a costume party somewhere in the middle of L.A. Live. No, there wasn’t a costume party nor an early prep of Halloween that night; instead, it was 2NE1’s “New Evolution” concert at the Nokia Theatre – their first official World Tour. After wowing Newark, New Jersey, the melting pot of Los Angeles got the chance to witness South Korea’s very own piece of swag, urban, and pop: Dara, Minzy, Park Bom, and 2NE1’s leader, CL live. South Korea’s hip-hop girl group of YG Entertainment, one of South Korea’s biggest and prestigious recording label, brought together people of all ages, race, and gender that night. Strobe neon lights and urban stage props filled the stadium as 2NE1 danced and performed songs from their debut album, To Anyone, to their latest single, “I Love You.” Continue reading for more details and photos from the concert!
Courtesy of Live Nation
London 2012 – the Summer Olympics are finally here! If you have missed some of our preview posts leading up to this year’s summer games, check below for our coverage. We rounded up our picks and spoke with some of the athletes competing in this year’s games. Let us know who you’re rooting for this year in the comments below!
Sung Jin Lee (Archery) of South Korea. Image courtesy of London 2012.com.
