Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Lao Wai]

Hey,

I know this is going to sound lame but why does it seem that Korean Americans look so...different than Korean-Koreans. I was watching the latest survivor last night and there are two Korean Americans on the show. They seem to look different than the Koreans in Korea. Maybe it's because the Korean guy was well-built and both he and the girl Korean were tanned? I just find there seems to be a difference in the overall appearance of Korean Americans and Koreans who live in Korea.

Does it all just come down to hairstyles and clothes, or does diet and lifestyle come into play as well? For instance, I know some Korean Canadian girls that seem to have bigger breasts than your average Korea-raised girl, plus they have more definition and muscle tone...and again, they usually have a tan. Maybe the difference I perceive just stems from the fact that we come from the same culture, and they speak English.

Do you find there is a difference in physical appearance or am I on crack?

[RACETRAITOR]

I know what you mean, but I couldn't say how they are different. They just have a thing you can sense.

[rothkowitz]

Korean-other country combos don't cover their mouth when they laugh or bow when they feel awkward,nervous.

Guys look a little less like manpuppies,and the girls have a sturdier seeming gait.Korean-other country girls have bigger *beep*?Not so sure.Bound to have more muscle tone though.Korean girls avoid exercise,by and large.

How's that?There are things you can point to.You're not on crack.

[kigolo1881]

this might come as a shock to you op, but most humans look different than others.

just bc you watch a show that features 2 actors you think all of those korean-americans/etc look like those actors?

[ChuckECheese]

Very interesting.....

Maybe it's the water.

[thepeel]

Just a guess.

1) Diet

2) Style (both of dress and also how different cultures "hold" themselves generally).

But mostly diet.

[Lao Wai]

kigolo1881,

Sorry, I don't think I made myself very clear. When I watched Survivor and saw the Korean-Americans it reminded me of something I had thought before. I realize that all people look different, and that I can't paint everybody with same brush.

That being said, I've had this conversation with Chinese-Canadian friends of mine. We live in Hong Kong. My friends are full Chinese ethnicity, yet the locals in Hong Kong always speak to them in English before my friends even open their mouths. My friends said that 9 times out of 10, the locals can tell they're 'foreigners'. This can't be just due to the obvious things like hairstyles, because my Chinese-Canadian friends all have long, straight, black hair. I'm thinking that sometimes there are other things like the way we carry ourselves, that are somewhat intangible. This is more what I was getting at, even though I did ask
about the physical.

Anyway, chill out man. You could have just told me I smoke crack.

[Smee]

You need to develop KAdar if you want to be successful in life.

[ChuckECheese]

Also the hair style.

Koreans (men) here have one of the shittiest hair style. Most of them have long hair caked with jell or mouse and look like just got outta bed.

[billybrobby]

Nah, it's not in your mind. There's naturally going to be differences. We can point to obvious things like not holding the hand over ones mouth, but there's also subtle stuff like the way people walk, the way they hold themselves, the way they sit in a chair. Stuff that you notice subconsciously. Not to mention fashion.

It's an interesting question as to whether there are actual physical (physiological) differences. I guess the difference in diet would produce differences, especially in the older generation. I'd say SK culture is more tolerant of skinny, bird-chested dudes than NA culture, so natives are less likely to work out. And NA culture is more tolerant of fat people than SK culture, so foreign-borns are more likely to be chubby. But that's a very rough guide. I'd say overall I can't tell any difference physically.

[dulouz]

I saw K- American on the subway. She was gorgeous in a way Korea could not make her. Her tan was herself, her hair was far beyond the imaginative and technical capabilities of the Korea's best stylists. Everyone in the car knew they were wrong.

[ChuckECheese]

[crazylemongirl]

The clothes are different and so is the way they carry themselves.

The girls have more poom-poom and muscle tone.

The boys have bigger muscles.

In short they look like the spent their childhoods running around outside intsead of hunched over a desk in a hogwon. You can even see it sometimes amongst the yu-hak-seang.

[peony]

i've always been told from koreans in korea that i am obviously a korean-american that they could tell within minutes of seeing me
they say its the way i dress, my hair, the way i walk and hold myself

i guess there's bound to be some differences due to culture
but i also believe that diet does indeed play a part, i grew up drinking milk and eating loads of dairy products, i have a bigger bone structure and wider shoulders than girls in korea, longer limbs etc.

[doggyji]

Yeah, that question's what I have wondered, too.