10 Responses for "야, Go Fug Yourself, 왜 그래?"

1. Brian February 4th, 2008 at 11:09 pm 1

   Eh, no, it’s pretty ugly. I was looking at some entertainment sites the other day—hey, it’s been a boring week—and she’s been getting mostly a free pass among Asian-Americans for being “ethnic.” But, it’s ugly. I think it’s the color combination that does it—or doesn’t do it—for me. Some gentler colors would have worked, even with that big bow.

2. Gomushin Girl February 5th, 2008 at 12:16 am 2

   Personally I like the contrast with the bright pink, but I think part of the problem may be how the colors turn out on camera ~ that’s some pretty strong flash she’s under, and I suspect it’s washing out what is a very vibrant pink into a more pepto-bismo color on film. Look at the highlights on her skirt ~ it looks grey, even though it’s obviously a black dress. Color aside, I think it was well tailored and still stands out as an elegant, wearable update of the traditional hanbok look. I wouldn’t give it a 10, but it definitely didn’t deserve the drubbing it got.

3. DiDi February 5th, 2008 at 6:28 am 3

   The giant bow is a definite turn OFF.
   Why, Sandra, why??

4. maximus February 5th, 2008 at 12:16 pm 4

   Ugly.

   Don’t even compare with the one that Lee Young-ae is showing in the picture. That one is beautiful.

   Although hanbok is still a turn-off type of clothes, anyway. Beautiful from the cultural standpoint, bad from the sex-appeal point of view.

   Compared with a kimono…yep, kimono rules!

5. Gomushin Girl February 5th, 2008 at 3:15 pm 5

   Ok, I don’t think clothes, even runway and and red carpet should always be designed with the male gaze in mind. That said, I still think this outfit has plenty, although I will concede that I would like the bow to be much, much smaller than it is, or perhaps at least sewn to the bodice. I think that without the bow, people wouldn’t have any problem with this dress. On the other hand, without the bow it’s a lot less identifiable as hanbok. . .
   Actually, I just included Lee Yeong-ae’s hanbok because it was the highest profile extra-Korea wearing of hanbok. I really didn’t like this one, both for color choice (way, way too old lady-ish! and sort of muddy. I wish she’d gone with a cool color for the jeogori, or a darker color for the skirt for a little contrast. I know there’s more than a few halmoni with that color combination) and while I like the idea of the extreme cut of the collar, I don’t think it worked. It’s a half-assed attempt at being daring, like they couldn’t commit to a bigger break with tradition. I just thought it was too sedate, with one little jab to say “I’m cool, I’m with it” like the class nerd trying to pick up on one trend and pretend to be cool.
   And anyone who thinks kimono are sexy has never tried wearing one. Lack of breath is not fun, and like corsets their attraction is mostly for men as viewers. Someday, too, I’ll bring up all the photos of truely garish, ugly kimono I’ve seen over the years. It’s very, very frightening.

6. ilikekoreangirls February 5th, 2008 at 5:21 pm 6

   Maximus, I disagree 100%.

   I like it. I think the 한복 is totally hot in general too.

   I think kimonos are really unsexy. They’re kind of like an anti-corset. Instead of accentuating a woman’s figure it does just the opposite. Makes them look like a stick.

   The 한복 on the other hand has a big gown that goes all the way up to the, umm… *clears throat* boobies, drawing attention to them. Then there’s the big long gown that both elongates the figure and at the same time adds to the womanly shape. Basically, the opposite effect of the kimono.

   But that’s just my take.

7. neonhamster February 5th, 2008 at 8:27 pm 7

   just because the dress is representing a different culture, doesn’t mean that it isn’t an ugly dress. a pretty hanbok would have gotten good comments from critics.

   to me, it just looks like a big ugly tube dress with a huge bow on it. ughh if she just pulled her dress up a bit, it would make me happier. the fit is awkward…the pink part cuts her off at a weird place and it’s sagging and looks like her chest is going to be exposed at any moment…i don’t know, it’s just…ugh, ill-fitting. plus the bright pink color paired with the black is way too 80s and kinda looks dated.

   just really really rubs me the wrong way.

   but i guess it’s just one of those things that people either love or hate, because i’ve heard both sides about this dress.

   i think hanboks are beautiful, and i’ve certainly seen better looking modern takes on them. i think sandra oh is beautiful and a wonderful actress…kudos to her for trying to bring a bit of her culture onto the red carpet, but she could’ve done better.

8. Brian February 5th, 2008 at 9:07 pm 8

   Eh, the hanbok is also ideal for hiding surprise pregnancies.

   I agree that clothing oughtn’t be judged entirely on sex appeal. (Unless we’re talking about clothing designed to be judged entirely on sex appeal).

   The hanbok isn’t my favorite piece of “ethnic” clothing, but it has merits. When done well, it can look nice. It doesn’t accentuate the body—neither does the male one, for that matter—but certain color combinations can look nice.

   Like I said, I think Oh is getting a free pass among some because she tried to be ethnic, and criticizing something ethnic is *gasp* un-PC. I think had she worn a more “traditional” hanbok, like the one in the picture for instance, it would have been a huge hit. But now, not only did she wear a dress ugly by western standards, she wore one ugly by Korean/hanbok standards, too.

9. Gomushin Girl February 6th, 2008 at 9:52 am 9

   I agree that being “ethnic” doesn’t automatically make something beautiful or give it an automatic pass (as I said, I have many an ugly hanbok, ugly kimono, ugly leiderhosen story to tell), but that said I think in modernized forms like this it does introduce another set of criteria on which it must be judged. In addition to being a dress it also seeks to stand in as a representative item of that genre . . .
   So, as an evening dress? It’s nice, I think, except for WOW! There’s a GIGANTIC BOW (which, as I’ve pointed out doesn’t look nearly so stunningly large and bow like depending on the angle)
   And as a modern hanbok, well, I’ve repeatedly said I liked it, so I guess it’s time to stop beating that horse.
   But that said, I don’t think that if we acknowledge a piece of clothing is intentionally hearkening to a traditional model that it should be knocked for (gasp) adhering to that model. And it seems not just a little un-PC but also a little silly to say that a countries traditional dress is “not sexy” and “doesn’t accentuate the body” because culture that produced that garment just may not share your personal opinion of what garments should do or how clothing should accomplish that task.

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