Park, S., & Hong, S-K. (2019, December 2). Star’s skin beauty aesthetics in South Korean media: a postcolonial reading. Presented at Starring Asia Conference, Melbourne, Australia.
Starring Asia was a three-day conference where scholars from different fields gathered together to explore the varied ways through which stardom and celebrity emerges in and across Asia.
Inspired by Richard Dyer’s White, this presentation examines how stars and celebrities in South Korea present their skin in the media. Based on the observation on media images and in-depth interviews with practitioners who engage in producing stars’ media images, including a make-up artist, lighting directors, digital intermediate colorist, and fans, this study reveals how mibaek – skin-whitening practice or aesthetics in Korea – somatechnically contribute to stardom and celebrity.
The article titled Performing whiteness: skin beauty as somatechnics in South Korean stardom and celebrity, generated from this conference is published in the special issue of Celebrity Studies.
SOJEONG PARK 