The K-Beauty industry has us all in its clutches through music, makeup, and skincare. This book felt like a really well-done piece of journalism. I like that it's told through the author's eyes so that we see through the macrocosm in a personal lens, following her as she physically travels to Korea for conversations and research. I highly recommend if you've ever been fascinated by snail mucin or wondered how such a tiny country can rule the beauty world.

This was the perfect book to take with me as I travelled to Asia. As a 40 something Asian woman who wishes to age gracefully, but with the social constraints and an unforgiving culture to those that as much show a laugh line, I enjoyed Elise Hu’s very well done and in-depth research to the Asian beauty industry. I learned a lot and loved her insights as well as the wonderful information she shared. It’s an easy and enjoyable read.

I cannot recommend this enough to those curious about the billion dollar Asian beauty industry, the men and women caught up in the struggle to maintain glass skinned and soreness, this book is for you.

Absolutely phenomenal. Informative without being dry, thanks to Hu’s engaging style and personal narrative woven throughout. As a huge aesthetics industry nerd, I loved Flawless — but it’s a book with much wider appeal.

The South Korean beauty industry has been so big. I've gotten products from S. Korea, learned a few things about expectations of the entertainment industry and of women there. Elise Hu opens up on more of the thoughts about this beauty culture and how it can change to include others.

Interesting and well written I just personally couldn’t get into the story. Difficult to follow at times and a little slow. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I learned so much about Korean culture through the lens of skincare from Flawless. There were a couple of sections that dragged a little but, but not enough for me to stop reading. I found especially interesting the sections about products designed for men and for children. I will never look at moisturizer the same way again-- because it was never just about "good skin."

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy of this title in exchange for honest feedback

As a consumer of Korean beauty products in the past and recent fan of K-drama, FLAWLESS by Elise Hu was a fascinating analysis of Korean beauty culture woven through the narrative of Hu's own first-hand experiences while living in Seoul. The statistics and examples were at times sad, disheartening, infuriating - but not unexpected. I thoroughly enjoyed this read!

Anyone who is vaguely familiar with the beauty industry will have heard about or even purchased Korean products. The explosion of sheet masks, serums, and cutesy packaging on the market is staggering in its scope.

Hu, a Chinese-American NPR correspondent, describes the phenomenon from a fascinating perspective. She delves into the intentional marketing and exportation of Korean culture and the expansive impact it has made on an international scale. Learning more about the way South Korea's unhealthy obsession with appearance and the pressure on women and men to maintain a certain standard is illuminating and alarming. There are some advantages to these practices, such as the near eradication of skin cancer, but extremely invasive procedures are also becoming more normalized and necessary, in order to find a job and avoid public ridicule. The South Korean beauty standard serves as a warning about the dangers of fixating on an unattainable ideal and its highly dangerous and potentially lethal repercussions.

The physical and mental toll that maintaining an impossible standard of appearance for Korean women is astonishing, and I am grateful I do not live in a society where that is the norm. The information is well-researched, with a plethora of interesting statistics and firsthand accounts that tell the whole story of the Korean beauty culture. The topics she covers are expansive, and I have gleaned a great deal of insight into how Korean beauty culture has evolved and where it is going, and how that pertains to the rest of the world.

AAPI Heritage Month #22

rep: Korean

I'm an Asian American that grew up in the South during the height of poolside lounging and tanning beds. While I rarely participated in the latter, I definitely used to do plenty of the former. This logic does not hold true in Asia.

I didn't grow up submersed in Asian culture. If anything, I rebelled against it. I made my first Asian (from Asia) friend my senior year of college. She opened my eyes to an entirely new world. I started hanging out with more Asians. I began listening to k-pop. I watched my first k-drama.

It certainly wasn't my last k-drama. I've gone back and forth with how comfortable I am in my own skin, and it wasn't until very recently that I began to fully embrace being comfortable with myself. I suppose it helps that k-beauty products are everywhere. With the recent popularity of Pachinko, which I've gotten several people to read and watch, comes a new audience for these stories.

With stories come beauty standards. I don't fit the West's ideals. I don't fit the East's. But I do look a little more like the actors I see in k-dramas than in Gossip Girl or The O.C.

Ah, yes, beauty standards. What is beauty? Why do so many South Korean actors and idols look alike? By the way, I mean this in the least racist way. It's known that once a look is popularized, many people go under the knife to achieve it. And unlike in the States, they're very vocal about it. I don't know why American actors feel like they have to lie to the public. Maybe because we're more about being "natural." Not too natural, though. It's a conundrum.

If you don't prescribe to these beauty standards in South Korea, many things happen. No one will hire you. (Most jobs require a photo. Don't. I know.) No one will marry you. (Most men want women that are between 5'4" and 5'6" and weigh less than 110 lbs. Again, don't. I know.) And we complain about American dating standards. Every country has its own thing.

Those that rebel against the norm do not make it very far in society. Yes, it's hard to be a woman. But it's even harder to be a transgender woman when there are zero rights in place in South Korea. Not that there are many in place in the rest of the world. But some places are inherently safer than others.

I always wondered why the suicide rate was so high amongst South Koreans. I tend to forget that it's a collectivist society. It's hard for me to grasp, as I grew up in a very individualized one. I'll hazard a guess and say that maybe instead of dealing with consequences, many will choose the "easy" way out. I'm using the word easy very facetiously. I'm always deeply saddened when people feel they don't have an out. And this is also very heavily connected to mental health, which has a very large social stigma in Asian countries.

I'm ranting and raving, but do know that I loved this. I won't say it opened my eyes to many things, because I feel somewhat familiar with the culture, but there are many things to learn here.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

Happy to highlight this new release in “Global Becomes Local” a round-up of new and notable spring AAPI and Asian Heritage Month reads for the Books section of Zoomer magazine. (see column and mini-review at link)

- FLAWLESS is an exploration and investigation of the Korean beauty industry. Hu looks at
how the country's particular history and culture led to the norms and dominance we see today, as well as interviews with Korean women about how it has affected their lives.
- I knew that standards of beauty were high in South Korea before I read this book, but I had no idea how mandatory it is to look put together at all times. Hu really digs into how lookism permeates so many parts of life for Korean women (and men, to a lesser extent).
- There are lot of facts and figures in this book, but it isn't simply dry reporting. Hu offers her own insights and feelings throughout the book, making it a fairly easy read despite the heavy subject.

Elise Hu has written an eye opening look into the obsession with K beauty and beauty perfection in general in South Korea.I knew nothing about the K beauty cult the products ordered the steps taken each day with this system.I was amazed at times shocked a really well written revealing read.#netgalley #duttonbooks

A well-researched, deep dive into the K-beauty industry and its impact on South Korean society, and by extension through the K-Wave, the world. The author provides chapters on the popularity of skincare and beauty products, the proliferation of cosmetic surgery, the popularity of medical tourism, the insidious reach of fatphobia, and the one-size-fits-all clothing mentality. While Hu touches on more current aspects of K-Beauty, she does provide the reader with historical context to provide background to the K-Beauty world we know today, diving into how cultural and historical beauty standards grew to influence the society so strongly. What makes this book interesting and distinct is that the author doesn't just linger on how beauty standards define women, but also what it does to men and members of the trans community. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in South Korean culture, K-Beauty, global beauty standards, and how technology impacts how we see ourselves.

As a Korean scholar, I learned so much more about the country than I could have from the usual academic, textbook-like books.

Elise Hu has written an eye-opener for the Westerners of the world. I had no idea there was a thing called “K-beauty”, and I certainly had no idea how competitive and manipulative beauty can be in South Korea. The amount of plastic surgery, up to and including your “woohoo”, the multitude of steps for the perfect skin, the strictness of weight, skin tone, and perceived beauty would make Korea a horrible place for anyone with less than stellar self-esteem. Elise explains how the industry led an entire nation to this point, and what could be done to alter that concept.
This is a richly researched, well-worded study on an epidemic of sorts that is flourishing under our very nose and could quickly spread to other cultures—a wake-up call for men and women alike.
Thanks to Penguin Group-Dutton for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date is May 23, 2023.

Interesting read about the beauty standard of Korea. A lot of things I have known already because of the Hallyu wave but the new tidbits I didn't know were fascinating to read.

I probably read this too soon after Natural Beauty, but the plots were very similar and I preferred that one more. Not a bad read, just not my favorite. Will order a copy for circulation.

An absolutely fascinating book about the K-beauty industry and its impact on South Korean society. Hu does a deep dive into skincare and beauty products, cosmetic procedures (plastic surgery, injectables), medical tourism, fatphobia and one-size-fits-all clothing, how K-beauty/K-pop/K-dramas and other Korean cultural exports are funded by the government, the #EscapeTheCorset movement and subsequent backlash, social media and body image, and how children and men are participating in K-beauty as well. She also writes about the historical and cultural factors behind the modern beauty industry in South Korea and touches on how trans women are impacted by beauty standards. If that wasn't enough, she writes about the four years she lived in Seoul and the beauty culture she and her daughters experienced there. Hu skillfully packs a tremendous amount of information into several hundred pages--I was never bored or overwhelmed.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in South Korean culture, K-beauty (and all Korean cultural exports), global beauty standards, and how technology impacts how we see ourselves. But it's also just a fascinating nonfiction book to read for anyone who likes a good deep dive into a topic. Bravo, Elise!

I was fascinated by the perfection-obsessed culture of South Korea. I’m not a K-beauty fan; you don’t need to have a 9-step (or is it 12 step?!) skincare routine to appreciate one reporter’s view of the heavy beauty maintenance required of women.

Do you remember a few years ago when Korean beauty routines became all the rage? BB cream, cushion foundations, sheet masks, oil cleanser, essences, ampoules and toner - at one point or another, I’ve tried all of these products. Many of them still remain in my routine, so as one who has been wholly influenced, I was excited to read <I>Flawless</I> for an analysis of Korean beauty culture.

Welp, what a sobering read.

The export of Korean culture, which is called hallyu, can be hard to quantify when compared to traditional exports like cell phones and cars. And one of the most influential of these cultural exports has to do Korean beauty standards. In this book, Hu provides a comprehensive look at the very dark underbelly of the Korean beauty industry. And it’s not pretty.

One of the biggest themes in this book is how beauty culture is so engrained in Korean society that it has become an expectation and baseline, rather than a personal choice. Prettiness is equated to morality, and beauty can be an indicator of value, wellness and work ethic. In a society where all jobs require photos as part of the application process, it becomes an absolute necessity for one to keep up with, and maintain, beauty standards. Companies (ranging from lip balm manufacturers to plastic surgery centers) have really zoomed in on this, further convincing society that the beauty standards that these products and services provide IS what the consumer has always wanted for themselves, all along.

And while beauty is an expectation for both men and women, it is the latter, per usual, that bears the brunt of this expectation. In a society where feminism “is considered such a taboo term that a majority of men in their twenties say they would break up with their partners if they described themselves as feminist”, where women’s rights are some of the worst in the industrialized world, and where women earn $0.68 to the men’s dollar, it is women who have the most pressure to conform, pay for, spend time on, and keep up with beauty standards. It was particularly sad to read that 43% of children now wear some sort of makeup to elementary school.

There’s a lot more stuffed into <I>Flawless</I> regarding capitalism, consumerism, technology, self-help, Korean culture, and Hu’s own personal experiences living in Seoul.

A fiction book I’d pair would this would be KIM JIYOUNG, BORN 1984, which was deeply controversial when it was released in South Korea, and is meant to depict an average woman’s in Korean society, as misogyny creeps into every aspect of her life.

FLAWLESS releases May 23, 2023!