‘Plus-Size’ Women In South Korea Face Pressure To Lose Weight Amid Unrealistic Beauty Standard In The Country
In South Korea, most clothing stores carry a size that "fits all". Technically, there's nothing wrong with that, except that that one size is a size small.
Racked reported Tuesday that the "one size fits all" trend going about in South Korea pits a "designer sample size small" as the standard clothing size, making it difficult for women who are a U.S. size 6 to fit into the latest fashion trends.
A Korean size 66, which is equivalent to U.S. women's size 8, is already considered "plus-size". This striking local definition of "plus-size" has caused an outrage among most foreigners who are used to having extra-large lines start at a U.S. size 14.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in its June 2014 report said that South Korea has the lowest obesity rate, with only 4.2 percent of its population diagnosed as clinically obese. The United States, on the other hand, has a 34.9 percent obesity rating.
Because of this image of the ideal woman as someone who is skinny, many "plus-size" women are constantly feeling pressured to shed off the weight.
Ashley Perez, who identifies as a mix of Cuban, Filipino and Korean-American was a victim of body shaming in South Korea, having been ridiculed for being "too big" although she was only a U.S. size 8, the Daily Mail reported Jun. 4, 2013.
James Turnbull, a writer on Korean feminism and pop culture, blames the skinny movement on K-pop. "There are almost no average-sized female K-pop stars," Turnbull said.
On the bright side, women like plus-size model Vivian Kim are taking a stand against the destructive body image thriving in the country. Kim founded 66100, a Korean magazine promoting body positivity
Mary Ann Conlin, an English teacher living in South Korea, took the streets to spread the message about loving oneself, whatever size they may be.
"My experience as a full-bodied woman here in Korea has not been a positive one," Conlin recalled in an interview with Bustle. "The first work environment that I was a part of, there was a lot of harassment about my weight."
Through a social experiment, Conlin dressed up in a bikin in public and asked passersby to draw a heart if they supported the concept of "self-love." Conlin's experiment received positive response.
Vivian Kim hopes to change South Korean's perception about body image, but admits there might be challenges in doing so.
"But in Korea, they're just so old-school. It takes too much time to change."
