[source/원본: 스포츠조선]
한국의 패션시장을 보면 한 흥미로운 것은 두더러집니다: 백인 모델 아주 많은 것. 특히 속옷, 란제리 모델은 거의 백인입니다. 일부 사람은 이 것을 세계화한 나라로 생각해도, 문화제국주의에 약한 나라로 생각하는 지적은 있습니다. 어차피, 이를 조사됐는 스포츠조선 기사는 읽을 만한 것입니다. 본 기사 링크는 이것, 또 Korea Beat에서 읽을 수 있죠.
Anyone who pays attention to fashion ads in South Korea knows that there are a lot of white models here, most especially in underwear modelling. Some see this as evidence of a globalized Korea, others see a willing acquiescence in cultural imperialism. Whatever you think, give a read to this investigation of the phenomenon by a reporter from the Sports Chosun. The original Korean article is here, and you can also discuss over at Korea Beat.
Share This! 퍼주세요!!!Lingerie shows have recently become hot topics. Every night on home shopping programs models strut their stuff, clad only in heart-pounding underwear. Women’s magazines overflow with underwear ads. But we haven’t gotten to the really interesting thing yet. Pretty much all of the models are foreigners. Foreigners dominate the market for underwear models. Why is it so difficult to find a Korean in this market? Top stars have said they were going to make forays in to it, but it seems like they’re being kept top secret. From home shopping to TV shows to interviews it seems like foreign underwear models control the world.
Underwear modelling is “the land of foreigners”. Even if you keep your eyes peeled it’s difficult to find a Korean in that land. This isn’t even to draw a comparison to foreign players in pro baseball and basketball being more important than their numbers would suggest.
A representative from one foreign modelling agency said, “right now there are over 100 foreign models active in Korea.” 40 of them are models for home shopping programs. The rest are in women’s magazines, fashion shows, and beauty modelling.
The largest number of them are from Russia. Many also come from Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Others are from eastern Europe and Germany, but none from Southeast Asian countries. Decisions are made by body shape and skin color.
Starting last year there have been big changes. The number of Brazilian models has significantly increased. They don’t have the bodies of the Russian models, but their dark and lustrous skin makes them look healthy and sexy. Their stock has been rising as they get hired during the summer bikini season. They are making tidy sums of money with 6- or 12-month tours through Korea, China, Japan, and similar countries.
21-year old Ukrainian Natalya, who came to Korea just last week, said, “this is my first time in Korea but I’ve already worked in China, India, and Japan.”
There are two big reasons for the trend towards foreign underwear models.
The main reason is the body types of foreign models. They’re tall and their skin is white and clean. Above all, they have glamorous figures which let them effectively show off the underwear. With well-developed chests and bottoms, they have a sexual magnetism that stimulates the interest of women consumers. Underwear manufacturers and home shopping programs also choose foreign models. And with no aversion to being exposed, they are willing to strike daring poses without feeling it to be too much.
On the other side are Korean models, who shun underwear modelling. Goh Gyeong-ho of the modelling agency DCM said, “Korean models have a strong tendency to avoid underwear modelling, because they see it as beneath them. As far as exposing their body, if it’s a fashion they consider it art but modelling underwear, no. So A-level models don’t get attention.” Underwear models also make less money than runway and beauty models.
Home shopping underwear models started as nude models. At the end of the 1990s S and over 10 other star nude models caused a stir by moving into underwear modelling on home shopping programs. But they were able to get a lot of work when their attractive faces and bodies came into demand. So more and more of them started showing up, and after 2000 almost all underwear models on cable TV were Korean.
Foreign models grow rich in the Korean underwear market. In short, they really rake it in.
Kim Seon-hui of 미가라인 said, “in Russia fresh university graduates can expect to make about 500,000 won a month, but if they come to Korea they can four or five times that much. It’s possible to make over $10,000 a month.” But there are cases of women returning home empty-handed. One Russian woman badly damaged her image by falling into bad company.
Foreign underwear models either sign contracts specifying their monthly salaries, or else receive guarantees about how much work they are to receive. The contract specifies everything from their vehicle to their manager to room and board. And of course when they leave the country, those costs are taken care of.
Hiring a foreign model is easy. Kim said, “every day we get dozens of requests through the internet. Go to a shoot and you’ll see candidates lined up.” The selection process is complicated. It starts with the photo and swimsuit. Next is body, spirit, and any imperfections. Recently they even check videotape.
In the domestic market a pretty body and cute face are paramount. Sexy models are not particularly popular. They can compete in TV commercials but are not chosen for advertising products
Most foreign models working in Korea are in their mid to late 20s. Most of the Russians are 18 to 23-year old college students. They once could work at 15 or 16 but today no minors are chosen to do underwear modelling on TV. At the age of 20 one is assumed to be mature enough for that work. The success rate is no more than 5%. Instead they often get part-time modelling work or appear in commercials.
The biggest hold-up for foreign models is visa trouble. 90-day working visas are issued, but it is not enough time. A model who works for just three months before going home is frowned upon in the future, so many of them go back and forth several times.
There are 30 to 40 Korean agencies for foreign models. It doesn’t take much money to start one up. But they disappear quickly, too, because it is expensive to take care of the models’ costs. Bringing one model can cost roughly two to three million won at minimum.
It’s not just in lingerie modelling where there are more foreign models than Korean ones, although it’s true that the disparity is greatest in those. As the journal article ”Content Analysis of Diet Advertisements: A Cross-National Comparison of Korean and U.S. Women’s Magazines” (Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, October 2006) in the link makes clear, advertisments for Korean women’s magazines regularly have more foreign than Korean models for ALL types of products:
http://ctr.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/24/4/345
(it’s an Adobe Acrobat file, automatic download)
Interesting:
- complaints about foreigner models (oh, the brazilians…), but koreans don’t want to appear on TV using underwear;
- they like the bodies of these models, but don’t want to have a similar body (shape and tan);
As usual, a paradoxal country. Don’t buy US beef…but go to US and eat the hamburger…jeez…
If anyone is interested in these ex-Soviet [EDITED], they may be found at Spy Bar in Itaewon most frequently…[EDITED]….
Mark — keep it nice, please. And a note to everyone: We’re trying to keep this cocktail party a nice, pleasant place for everyone to come and talk about fashion, primarily. So please keep your comments similarly nice and pleasant and related to fashion — your opinions about nationalities or mad cow or whatnot are yours, but please remember that this is a cocktail party, and we want to look and be our best. And we always want to put our best face forward, right?
[...] forget to also check out the discussion over at Feet Man Seoul. Lingerie shows have recently become hot topics. Every night on home shopping programs models strut [...]
Well, I now have a fun project: Check out *male* underwear models in Korean magazines. How many of them, comparatively, are Korean vs. western? My initial suspicion is that there will be far more male Koreans modeling underwear, proportionally, since I suspect that Korean attitudes towards “proper” work for Korean women seems to play strongly into the equation (although it’s probably not THE determining factor, after checking out The Grand Narrative’s sources . . .) Poor me, spending my spare time checking out underwear models . . .so sad, so very sad. ^.~
[...] and Korea Beat kindly translated it into English. There’s also a discussion going on over at FeetManSeoul. The Grand Narrative has also talked about this topic in great detail, and found some research that [...]
[...] actually originally found it at FeetManSeoul (it’s a crosspost), but then if I was hurriedly scrolling down the page after I saw the [...]
[...] – Explaining why Koreans believe things that are certifiably not true. – Are there too many foreign lingerie models in Korea? – Double eyelid surgery spreading to North Korea?- Some interesting thoughts about the aftermath [...]
We foreign ladies noticed this a long time ago. I believe that foreigners are more widely used in women’s underwear than in men’s although foreign male models can be seen in advertising. I suspect the main reason is modesty – Korean models don’t want to have their *sses hanging out of a thong. The preference for foreign female underwear models may also reflect the fact that those hiring them are usually male.
While we are on the subject of advertising, I also noticed while in Korea that it was not unusual to see in ads for consumer products and services a chubby, plain-looking man next to a slender, cute woman. My North American women friends and I speculated that the ad creators were probably men, who chose men who looked like themselves and women who represented their ideal partner. In other words, a lot of Korean advertising is by men for men even if the product seems targeted at both sexes.
[...] and here for my discussion of it). Since all of those were written however, it’s emerged that Korean female models do indeed have a disdain for lingerie modeling, and this reality of the Korean fashion industry may well explain the high numbers of Russian [...]
wow, very interesting..
the article is a bit ironic but very informative.
i guess foreign models are to stay until korean females feel comfortable enough to do and compete for lingerie modeling.
[...] at the very least, the recent revelations that Korean models merely disdain lingerie modeling as “beneath them” demonstrates that [...]
[...] of whom were presumably expats themselves once – have actually done the number crunching. Moreover, the recent revelation that Korean female models disdain lingerie modeling has rendered those above studies problematic [...]
[...] of the large numbers of Korean porn stars that have worked in that particular niche (as discussed here, here, here and here for starters!). Hence my choice of the cartoon above for instance, reflecting [...]
[...] against the use of foreign models in advertising was lifted in 1994, lingerie modeling in Korea was often done by pornographic actors. This gave it a negative image among Korean female models, the enduring strength of which was [...]
[...] (Any new readers wondering why Korean lingerie models are usually Caucasian, like in this example, see here) [...]