Korean Job Discussion Forums :: View topic - Why Are Koreans So Obsessed With Bodyweight and Looks?

Speak Korean Now!

Teach English Abroad and Get Paid to see the World!

Korean Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Teachers from Around the World!"

FAQ

Memberlist

Usergroups

Profile

Why Are Koreans So Obsessed With Bodyweight and Looks?
Goto page Previous 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Next

Korean Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> General Discussion Forum

View previous topic :: View next topic

Author

Message

maximreality

Joined: 24 Jan 2007

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 5:21 am Post subject: Re: Why Are Koreans So Obsessed With Bodyweight and Looks?

Dev wrote:

Another poster, Sody, hit the neail on the head when he / she wrote

"The problem is that in Korea they are obsessed with looks and not just plastic surgery of the face, but the whole image including body weight and clothing."

So true. I know several foreign teachers who have been called "pigs" by their students for being overweight. There seems to be no tolerance in Korea for people with different looks and body types.

There was a teacher's wanted ad talked about on a thread here on Dave's from the work 'n play website that said they would not hire overweight people.

A Korean female student back in Canada told me she'd have to lose weight before she returns to Korea because she gained 4 kg on Canadian food. She said that her mother wouldn't be happy about the extra weight.

What's fueling all this? Is it national pride? Koreans all have to be thin like toothpicks and dressed up to the 9s? What's your take on all of this?

Well, I think it tells something about a person, whether he/she is ready to invest some time and take good care of him/herself or not. Obesity is a BIG problem in the western countries and I think it's time for western people to change their attitude and learn something from Koreans. It's not normal to be fat, but this fact seems to be rather hard to understand for some who grow up with their BigMacs.

You can blame people and label all this as superficial or a national pride issue or something, but did it ever occur to you, that maybe it's you who need to change?

Same applies to the fashion. There's nothing wrong to look good.

Alyallen

Joined: 29 Mar 2004
Location: The 4th Greatest Place on Earth = Jeonju!!!

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 5:25 am Post subject:

I'm not sure who has taken cheapshots at people wanting healthy slim bodies. My problem and criticism lies with people who are lauded for being thin when in fact they don't eat healthy, have irregular eating patterns and/or diet incessantly and don't exercise. That isn't something to be impressed with. That's something to be concerned about. As far as I'm concerned those kinds of behaviors are as bad as overeating. If people view my condemnation of equally destructive behaviors as being strange then so be it. That is my opinion. Slim unhealthy people simply die faster or manage to hide their problems better. Overweight people linger and perhaps that's why people come down harder on them...

tigerbluekitty

Joined: 19 Apr 2007

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 5:37 am Post subject: Re: Why Are Koreans So Obsessed With Bodyweight and Looks?

maximreality wrote:

I think it's time for western people to change their attitude and learn something from Koreans. It's not normal to be fat, but this fact seems to be rather hard to understand for some who grow up with their BigMacs.

Again, Big Macs are not necessarily fattening. Having a Big Mac every day probably won't make you fat. Having more than one Big Mac a day is a different story.

It's like rice. Rice is for the most part fat-free. One bowl of rice a day probably isn't going to make you fat, but eating three bowls of rice a day probably will!

Sumo wrestlers get fat off healthy foods and rice!!

Jeweltone

Joined: 29 Mar 2005
Location: Seoul, S. Korea

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 5:42 am Post subject:

Thank you pharphlung. I did lose a couple of kilos when I cut RICE out of my diet, and I have always suspected the "cold climate thing." (I am half Danish...darn fat- storing genes). When I make the rice suggestion to my Korean friends who want to diet, they laugh at me, but white rice is almost pure complex carbs...One of my Korean friends who was overweight (but very very cute!) did cut out half her rice intake on doctor's orders and lost a few kilos just from that(she's still cute!). Surprisingly, sweet potatoes are acutally better for you. Those coffees are deadly; I always end up "sifting' some of the sugar out of the tubes. I have become hyperaware now of the hidden fats in Korean food. "Seoul food" is sometimes more like soul food (deep friend whole chicken anyone?). Look how much food is deep-fried...

maximreality

Joined: 24 Jan 2007

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 5:52 am Post subject: Re: Why Are Koreans So Obsessed With Bodyweight and Looks?

tigerbluekitty wrote:

maximreality wrote:

Yeah you are right. I just wanted to say that people should care what they are eating - I chose using BicMac just as an example as it's kind of universal symbol of fattening food.

caniff

Joined: 03 Feb 2004
Location: All over the map

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 5:54 am Post subject:

Alyallen wrote:

Slim unhealthy people simply die faster or manage to hide their problems better. Overweight people linger and perhaps that's why people come down harder on them...

Fat people live longer?

This would be the first time I ever heard this. Any sources?

Alyallen

Joined: 29 Mar 2004
Location: The 4th Greatest Place on Earth = Jeonju!!!

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 6:33 am Post subject:

caniff wrote:

Alyallen wrote:

Slim unhealthy people simply die faster or manage to hide their problems better. Overweight people linger and perhaps that's why people come down harder on them...

Fat people live longer?

This would be the first time I ever heard this. Any sources?

I mean that it's a lot easier to die from a lack of food than from too much.
A person who is obese can live for some time and then develop diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and whatever else obesity is a contributor for.

I had sources but closed all the tabs sojust google bulimia anorexia or eating disorder and read about the low rate of full recovery for people with these problems and how many die. I should also point out that anorexics and bulimics can hide their problems far better than an obese person, so there is no exact total for anorexics, bulimics and people with other eating disorders.

In any event the main point was that people with problems such as bulimia hide it better and are applauded for their dangerous behavior because a. they are the ideal weight and b. people don't know how they are getting to that point.

nateium

Joined: 21 Aug 2006
Location: Seoul

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 6:36 am Post subject:

nateium wrote:

Obesity may not be natural but obviously it is possible for it to occur in staggering numbers. Hmmmm....I don't think I'd be so quick to say that its unnatural. A reflection of a shift in human activity yes...unnatural...not so much.

Quote:

The majority of people rotting from the inside are overweight.

And I suppose the thin ones who are killing themselves get a free pass because they are thin? Or is it that it's a lot harder to point to figure at them than a fat person walking down the street?

Yes it is harder, but that's irrelevant, because statistically the fat ones are so much more likely to be unhealthy (develop health problems). Most skinny/fit people are not even close to bulimic or anorexic.

Very Happy

That's great. I thought about my post after and guessed maybe those Victorian women would come up. Yea they are attractive, but they are not fat exactly. They are "voluptuous." They represent an extreme reactionary manifestation of an ideal during an interesting cultural period (the same way our sickly skinny models do now) but they are still not obese/fat! Nicole is obviously diseased mind and body, but honestly, most men in the world would take her "before" picture rather than those lovely Victorian beauties.

I meant obesity is unnatural, in that historically it has statistically been very minimal relative to the exploding percentages in the modern age. There have always been obese people in every culture and human society, but in a human state of nature (the diet and level of exercise humans evolved with over a long period of time) there were very few "fat people." The human body was not designed for the modern lifestyle and diet.

This is precisely why "Koreans" are "obsessed with body image." It's also why many here are ogling and insulting foreigners (and other fat Koreans); this is a relatively new phenomenon that is obviously not normal/natural!

I completely understand "Koreans" on this one. When I try to think about it objectively, it seems very strange that it's more "ok" to be fat in western societies. It really shouldn't be. With the exception of the very few who do actually have an actual genetic disposition to obesity, being "fat" is a choice, or at least involves personal responsibility.

Why should "fat people" be more socially acceptable than drunks, heavy smokers, or drug addicts? The evidence is in (I can find plenty of sources of you like); being obese is not healthy, and being overweight is a slippery slope to obesity. All of these situations arise more often from cultural influence and personal choices than possible contributing genetic factors. All of these situations are damaging to the individuals involved, to the people who surround them, and a drain on society as a whole.

Is there something wrong with a culture that ostracizes obese people? Nothing more wrong than with a culture that creates them, that's for sure!
It's perfectly understandable how being slender is a modern Korean ideal.

Alyallen

Joined: 29 Mar 2004
Location: The 4th Greatest Place on Earth = Jeonju!!!

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 7:00 am Post subject:

nateium wrote:

Quote:

The majority of people rotting from the inside are overweight.

And I suppose the thin ones who are killing themselves get a free pass because they are thin? Or is it that it's a lot harder to point to figure at them than a fat person walking down the street?

That's great. I thought about my post after and guessed maybe those Victorian women would come up. Yea they are attractive, but they are not fat exactly. They are "voluptuous." They represent an extreme reactionary manifestation of an ideal during an interesting cultural period (the same way our sickly skinny models do now) but they are still not obese/fat! Nicole is obviously diseased mind and body, but honestly, most men in the world would take her "before" picture rather than those lovely Victorian beauties.

I meant obesity is unnatural, in that historically it has statistically been very minimal relative to the exploding percentages in the modern age. There have always been obese people in every culture and human society, but in a human state of nature (the diet and level of exercise humans evolved with over a long period of time) there were very few "fat people." The human body was not designed for the modern lifestyle and diet.

This is precisely why "Koreans" are "obsessed with body image." It's also why many here are ogling and insulting foreigners (and other fat Koreans); this is a relatively new phenomenon that is obviously not normal/natural!

I completely understand "Koreans" on this one. When I try to think about it objectively, it seems very strange that it's more "ok" to be fat in western societies. It really shouldn't be. With the exception of the very few who do actually have an action genetic disposition to obesity, being "fat" is a choice, or at least involves personal responsibility.

Why should "fat people" be more socially acceptable than drunks, heavy smokers, or drug addicts? The evidence is in (I can find plenty of sources of you like); being obese is not healthy, and being overweight is a slippery slope to obesity. All of these situations arise more often from cultural influence and personal choices than possible contributing genetic factors. All of these situations are damaging to the individuals involved, to the people who surround them, and a drain on society as a whole.

Is there something wrong with a culture that ostracizes obese people? Nothing more wrong than with a culture that creates them, that's for sure!
It's perfectly understandable how being slender is a modern ideal.

Well...what can I say. Agree to disagree, I suppose.

The Victorian women are not thin and they aren't fat, then what are they? I suppose my point is that there seems to be no happy middle ground here. Either you are rail thin or you're fat.

Korean culture is not my culture and in a lot of ways even though I am American, some facets of American culture is as foreign to me as Korean culture. Voluptuous, full figured ladies are far more alluring than a thin slim woman where my family's from. I'm grateful for that interesting quirk because it saves me from feeling fat, over analyzing every pound or feeling the need to justify every piece of food that comes across my lips.

Ultimately, someone's weight is their own business. Koreans rip on each other to keep everyone in line. That's "acceptable" because the culture is group oriented....that doesn't explain the same behavior in America, though...

JZer

Joined: 13 Jan 2005
Location: South Korea

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 7:00 am Post subject:

Quote:

Sure attraction is subjective and "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." But simply, most people all over the world would agree that it is not attractive to be fat, and that skinny people are more attractive than fat people.

Being a toothpick is not attractive. It does not matter where you are in the world. Furthermore I think a decent amount of African men like women with some meat and not a 45 kilo Korean woman.

caniff

Joined: 03 Feb 2004
Location: All over the map

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 7:05 am Post subject:

Alyallen wrote:

caniff wrote:

Alyallen wrote:

Slim unhealthy people simply die faster or manage to hide their problems better. Overweight people linger and perhaps that's why people come down harder on them...

Fat people live longer?

This would be the first time I ever heard this. Any sources?

I see your point.

I don't understand the emulation of bony models, which seems to be the modern (?) trend. They look they are going to break if they did anything physical. And under-nourishment is decidedly not hot.

Curves are good on a woman (of course). Just in the right places, and in healthy proportion.

As for fat guys, I couldn't really care less. They aren't in my field of interest, and due to their condition, would most likely not be a source of competition in the area of making a good first impression.

Unless it was a hot dog eating contest. Then I would be respectful of their competitive potential.

maximreality

Joined: 24 Jan 2007

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 7:21 am Post subject:

Alyallen wrote:

Ultimately, someone's weight is their own business. Koreans rip on each other to keep everyone in line. That's "acceptable" because the culture is group oriented....that doesn't explain the same behavior in America, though...

It's not only your business as it's been shown that obesity leads to different kinds of diseases and therefore stresses a health-care system. It's same as with smoking - why should everyone pay for your "own business"?

nateium

Joined: 21 Aug 2006
Location: Seoul

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 7:26 am Post subject:

Alyallen wrote:

Well...what can I say. Agree to disagree, I suppose.

The Victorian women are not thin and they aren't fat, then what are they?

Ultimately, someone's weight is their own business.

The Victorian would probably be considered overweight.

Yes, weight is an individual's own business, but it becomes everyones business if they choose an unhealthy and generally unattractive extreme. They will still have to go out in public, and ultimately demand health care and medical resources plus support from family and friends. There is some social logic to this Korean behavior.

Guri Guy

Joined: 07 Sep 2003
Location: Bamboo Island

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 7:27 am Post subject:

Quote:

Pretty piss poor argument I must say. How many people starve themselves to death from anorexia every year?
I'd say obesity kills far more than anorexia obviously. However the promotion of a healthy lifestyle for overweight and underweight people is the way to go. It's not that hard really. Exercise regularly building a little muscle combined with a sensible, healthy diet and you will be fine.

Here's a good take on it:

So not only are we fat but we�re getting fatter, and at an alarming rate. The majority of the people in North America are killing ourselves with the overconsumption of food and yet we worry about the roughly 1% of the population that is so thin that seeing superskinny models on TV will make them engage in dangerous behaviours?

How many people die of starvation or malnutrition in North America? One? Two? I think its possible that fewer people die from starvation each year in Canada and the USA than you have fat fingers on your two hands.

But how many people die of heart disease? How many people die of strokes? How many people die of obesity-caused cancers? Millions.

It�s ironic that the move to ban too-thin models in Spain occurred just weeks after this alarming study: �More people overweight than underweight�.

�[O]verweight people [are] outnumbering the malnourished for the first time [in the history of mankind].
�New figures reveal an alarming shift from a starving world to one of dietary excess with 1.3 billion people overweight or obese compared with about 800 million who are underweight.�

http://arisdistillery.blogspot.com/2006_09_01_archive.html

Death rate extrapolations for USA for Obesity: 300,000 per year, 25,000 per month, 5,769 per week, 821 per day, 34 per hour,

http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/o/obesity/deaths.htm

Death Rate Among Anorexia Nervosa Patients Exaggerated

By Brian Carnell

Sunday, June 8, 2003

A Mayo Clinic study that looked at mortality rates among patients with anorexia nervosa over a period of 60 years concluded that people diagnosed with the disorder die at the same rate as people who do not have the disorder. This contradicts both previous clinical studies as well as many commonly cited claims that the death rate for people with the disorder is extremely high.

The commonly repeated claim is that individuals with anorexia nervosa have a mortality rate that is an astounding 12 times higher than the general population. But, as an epidemiologist with the Mayo Clinic points out, that is because previous studies were generally conducted in hospital settings where individuals with the most advanced cases of the disorder would be overrepresented.

Searching medical records, the Mayo Clinic identified 208 patients who met the criteria for an anorexia nervosa diagnosis between 1935 and 1989. The researchers found that those patients had the same death rate as the general population.

Mayo Clinic epidemiologist Joseph Melton said that,

Although our data suggest that overall mortality is not increased among community patients with anorexia nervosa in general, these findings should not lead to complacency in clinical practice because deaths do occur.

Patrick Sullivan, a professor of psychiatry and genetics at the University of Carolina at Chapel Hill, wrote in an editorial accompanying the study that what it showed was that anorexia nervosa symptoms occurred along a spectrum. Those with the most severe cases -- such as those requiring hospitalization -- may indeed have a higher mortality rate, but it is important to make distinctions between the degree of severity of the disease rather than lumping all cases in with the most severe and claiming that anyone with the disorder has a 12 times higher mortality rate.

Source:

Death rate for eating disorder not unusual. Brad Evenson, National Post (Canada), March 12, 2003.

http://www.skepticism.net/articles/2003/000017.html

In the end, I'd worry a lot less about a few underweight people than obese people that are dying in huge numbers. It certainly isn't healthy to be underweight but it is often deadly to be obese.

Alyallen

Joined: 29 Mar 2004
Location: The 4th Greatest Place on Earth = Jeonju!!!

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 7:36 am Post subject:

maximreality wrote:

Alyallen wrote:

This is a strange reaction but So?

This argument bugs me. Why assume that you are paying for their problems anyway? The U.S. doesn't have universal healthcare, so how is it coming out of your pocket? Think about it, if there was money to be made off all these sick people, why aren't there more doctors cashing in? Insurance companies hold the purse strings and let people get sicker and sicker instead of making sure they get proper care before more serious (and costlier) complications set in. My opinion though...

Display posts from previous:

	Korean Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> General Discussion Forum	All times are GMT - 8 Hours Goto page Previous 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Next
Page 4 of 6

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum

TEFL International Supports Dave's ESL Cafe