ABSTRACT

Most South Korean stars and celebrities show glowing flawless skin with a bright tone, which is termed mibaek and constitutes the core imagery of ‘K-beauty.’ Korean media plays a big part in validating this skin beauty norm by producing and mediating an idealised ‘televisual skin.’ While skin whitening has been interpreted in a colonial or westernised sense, this article defines mibaek as a somatechnics of constructing stardom and explicates it in a Korean media context. Based on observations on star and celebrity image in television dramas, reality TV and K-pop, and in-depth interviews with media and beauty practitioners, this article explains how Korean stars and celebrities employ skin beauty as somatechnics in five ways to: deliver romantic narratives; express a fantasy-like persona; attain extraordinariness; embody trans-Asian sensitivity; and negotiate femininity. This study reveals that mibaek allows stars and celebrities to present their bodies in particular ways, including via fan labour, to be desired by audiences. The study concludes by suggesting more areas for further inquiry on the construction of skin beauty in the Korean star industry.

摘要

大多数韩国明星和名人都表现出明亮无瑕的肤色，并拥有明亮的色调，这被称为mibaek，构成了“ K美”的核心意象。韩国媒体通过产生和调解理想化的“电视皮肤”，在验证这一皮肤美容规范方面发挥了重要作用。虽然皮肤美白已被解释为具有殖民或西方意义，但本文定义了mibaek作为构建明星的一种体态技术，并在韩国媒体的语境中加以阐释。基于对电视剧，真人秀和K-pop中明星和名人形象的观察以及对媒体和美容从业者的深入采访，本文解释了韩国明星和名人如何通过五种方式将皮肤美作为人体制造技术，以：实现浪漫叙述 表达幻想般的角色；获得非凡 体现泛亚的敏感性；并谈判女性气质。这项研究表明，mibaek可以让明星和名人以特殊的方式展示自己的身体，包括通过迷迷来满足观众的需求。该研究的结论是建议更多领域，以进一步研究韩国明星产业中皮肤美容的构造。