Photos of KPop idols are so often overly filtered or
whitewashed that these idols appear to not have any natural melanin or have
poreless faces, and almost blended into the white background behind them. Yet,
many fans do not seem to notice anything wrong with these photographs; some are
even fooled into believing they look naturally this way.
Above: Examples of whitewashed photographs of Korean celebrities. (Source: Seoulbeats.com)
Above: An advertisement about the desirability of poreless Korean skin by a dermatology clinic based in Singapore. (Source: reducepores.dermasterclinic.sg)
Above: The flawless complexion of a Korean celebrity. (Source: Ulzzangstyle.com)
Entertainment
companies will almost always most certainly alter the celebrities’ photographs
somehow before releasing it to the public, without the original versions for
fans to make comparisons (Taylore, 2015). Such a trend also highlights the
issues of colorism and the stereotypical thinking that being fair is the ideal
for beauty (especially for females).
Above: Asia Pacific's top blogger Xiaxue. It is not unusual for celebrities or bloggers to filter or alter their photos excessively to get the "Korean look" (Source: Xiaxue's Twitter account)
Above: An unedited photo of local blogger Xiaxue. (Source: the-good-life.blogspot.com)
Above: A forum discussion about the skin tones of idols and their desirability
(Source: forums.soompi.com)
Above: Yubin from Wonder Girls is known for her natural dark skin tone.
(Source: www.fanpop.com)
Above: As noted by a fan, BoA is nicknamed as kkhamshi (people with dark skin) because of her skin tone. (Source: forums.soompi.com)
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