Lately on Twitter, there have been heated arguments between Brazilian and Mexican Koreaboos and Koreans, Chinese, and Japanese users. They keep posting photos of Korean soccer players whose skin was tanned from playing under the sun during the World Cup, claiming, “This is what Koreans naturally look like. Koreans should stop trying to imitate white people.”
And that’s not all. I’ve seen countless Westerners online mock fair-skinned Korean celebrities, saying they’ve been “brainwashed by white supremacy” or that their appearance is “unnatural.” Even Japanese people say they’re tired of Westerners insisting that characters like Gojo Satoru, Naruto, and Sailor Moon aren’t Japanese, but Western.
So I have three questions.
- Do they know anything about East Asian history?
More than a thousand years ago, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty adored Yang Guifei because she was celebrated as a beauty with “skin as white as jade.” Portraits of beautiful women from Japan’s Sengoku and Edo periods also depict them with clear, fair skin. In Korea, Goguryeo murals generally portray high-ranking nobles with fair complexions, the Hwarang of the Silla Kingdom were known to wear makeup that gave them a bright, clear appearance, and even the famous Joseon-era gisaeng Hwang Jini was renowned for her luminous, flawless skin. For thousands of years, East Asian beauty standards have admired a complexion that is “as white as jade or fine white porcelain.” So does that mean all of those people were white supremacists? In fact, in premodern East Asia, Anglo-Saxons were often described as having “rust-colored reddish skin” and large noses; they were not even particularly regarded as having especially white skin. When Korean celebrities wear makeup today, it isn’t because they want to become white people. It’s because they’re following a long-standing East Asian beauty ideal represented by figures such as Yang Guifei and Hwang Jini. So do these people know any of this history? Or do they not even know what Goguryeo, Silla, or Joseon were before Gangnam Style? More importantly, have they even heard of Yang Guifei, arguably the most famous beauty in Asian history?
- Why is it considered “white supremacist” or “unnatural” for Asians to avoid excessive sun exposure and tanning?
It’s common knowledge that excessive exposure to sunlight increases the risk of skin cancer and contributes to various skin conditions, as well as premature skin aging. That’s why not only Koreans, but also Japanese and Chinese people commonly wear sunscreen, use UV protection, and carry parasols during the summer.
Yet I’ve seen people portray even these practices as “rejecting Asians’ natural skin tone” or “promoting discrimination based on skin color.” So what exactly are they suggesting? That people should deliberately expose themselves to the sun and accelerate skin aging?
On the other hand, why don’t they criticize Anglo-Saxons who intentionally tan their skin by saying they’re “rejecting their natural skin color”? Why is one choice condemned while the other isn’t?
- Why do they assume that Asians can’t naturally have that skin tone? And why don’t they apply the same racial stereotypes to Chinese or Japanese people?
What I don’t understand is this: I, along with countless other Koreans I know, simply don’t have the bright yellow or particularly dark skin that many Koreaboos and Westerners seem to imagine. If someone’s skin were actually as yellow as a Simpsons character or a LEGO minifigure, they’d probably have jaundice. Yet whenever a Korean doesn’t look “yellow enough” or “dark enough” to them, they immediately assume it’s the result of plastic surgery, skin-whitening treatments, or photo editing. I’ve even seen them say this after being shown photos of Korean kindergarteners or elementary school children. And here’s another question: Chinese actresses and Japanese idols share many of the same beauty standards as Korean celebrities, and in real life many of them also have much fairer skin than Westerners seem to expect. So why do they project these stereotypes almost exclusively onto Korean idols while largely ignoring Chinese and Japanese celebrities? Why does a cultural preference that exists across East Asia so often get singled out as if it were something unique to K-pop? Could it be because weeaboos are mostly obsessed with fictional Japanese anime characters, whereas Koreaboos often treat real Korean people as if they were dolls or fictional characters created for their entertainment, and treat Korean society as though it were merely the setting of an anime?
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