Fermented Bean Paste & Women

I will preface the following blog entry with two statements: One, I like Korea. Two, I like pretty girls.

I can easily presume where one might think this conversation may lead to. But before any assumptions are made, the following video is of interest:

(Click here to see the animated version)

It seems difficult to make trouble with a song that encourages young children to eat fermented bean paste(된장) as an alternative to sweets and instant food. Going as far as to propagate the idea that a diet consisting of such bean paste promotes "S-lines" and "V-lines"(0:49), however, definitely raises flags; not in its validity of statement but rather in the notions it conveys to its viewers. (For those unsure of what an "S" or "V-line" is, it becomes apparent when you imagine the line created by the curve of a slender woman's body, and the outline created by a slim woman's frontal portrait; her unobtrusive jaws gradually tapering down to a delicate chin. Unless you've spent any time with Soong, who insists that the bottom portion of the S-line is created by his beer belly.)


Seriously, do children really need to hear this?

Not that it comes as much of a surprise, however. The Korean people have long lived within a society that places high value on physical beauty. Virtually every marketing ploy in Korea consists of celebrity endorsements, and the country is ranked within the top five for the most plastic surgical procedures undertaken. Portrait photos are still a legal requirement for resumes and curriculum vitae, and it's commonplace to see teachers berate their students for being anything but skinny. Additionally, the media is saturated with conveyances of fairly blatant standards for beauty(the v-line standard being clearly illustrated here, and the s-line here).


Being said, I still see a line being crossed when I see a 3-year-old girl being instructed to lean over a stool to illustrate the s-line for the 된장 song, and another having to cover her natural baby fat with her hands to achieve the coveted v-line. Granted, the makers of this particular song/video obviously did not intend to communicate that children at said age should look like such. But the implications are still there. Kids don't need to be told explicitly or implicitly that eating bean paste is going to encourage s-line bodies and v-line faces, and that those are the standards of how their bodies "should" look like in the first place.


As stated at the fore of this entry, I do love Korea despite the occasional criticism I make. Modern society is still young in this country, and I'm sure that they'll rise above these petty social qualms very soon. As was also stated, I can't deny that I'm attracted to the slender body of a woman or that my genetic makeup dictates so. *cough*


Regardless, I am firmly against the objectification of women as mere "alphabets," as was so eloquently stated in this Korea Times article.