Performance of a Korean masculinity in Taiwanese men’s fashionwere frequently financial, and most importantly, inflicted by significant others. The forgot-
ten past of featured celebrities is thus uncovered, and readers learn what their lives were like
before they achieved their current stardom. Although celebrity rags-to-riches stories are
common, in Men’s UNO they have an Asian flavor, such as undergoing hardship to become
the indispensable breadwinner for their family. For instance, Ji Jin-hee took a position as a
fashion industry photographer before securing a part in Dae Jang Geum. Constantly bullied
and humiliated, his pursuit of a career in artistic photography had to be sacrificed to take
responsibility for family debts. Ji thus traveled a long road before gaining a starring role in
a Korean historical drama. Having become the breadwinner in his family, he commented
that performing this important role has made him overly protective of his family because
he does not want them to experience what he has been through. Growing up in a family
that was not well off, Kwon Sang-Woo dreamed of learning piano but could not afford a
tutor. Daniel Phillip Henney, as an immigrant to the United States with a Korean mother
and British father, was ridiculed for his “outlandish look” and bullied by his classmates at an
elementary school in a predominantly white neighborhood. Daniel’s look, as a 6’3” mixed
Caucasian-Asian, would make it difficult for most readers to see him as suffering low
self-esteem and self-hatred, or to imagine he was traumatized and experienced “difficulty
meeting girls” during high school and college. Daniel remained extremely shy until he
made an impulsive decision to enter a model competition for a well-known international
fashion brand. Lee Byung-hun started working because his father suffered bankruptcy
when he was very young, and he juggled three jobs until eventually settling on acting.4 Deriving enjoyment from male bonding homosocial activities
This theme is saliently exploited in much of the media coverage of boy band members,
such as Jung Yun Ho, Choi Si-won, Lee, Min-ho and Hyun Bin. Although feminized mas-
culinity is a worldwide phenomenon, the Korean Wave has increased the propagation of
this soft masculinity (Sung 2010). Known as the “flower men phenomenon,” from the late
1990s young male actors and singers, especially members of boy bands, began to assume the
look of Japanese and Korean manga and anime characters. They were specifically inspired
by shōjo manga (girls’ comics) in which a beautiful boy (bishonen) is the ideal male image
(Deen 2011; Lee 2009). The flower men phenomenon gained its name more recently,
from the TV drama Boys Over Flowers (2009), a drama adapted from a Japanese manga
and anime about F4, a group comprising the four richest, most handsome boys in school.
Lee Min-ho, who played a member of F4 in Boys Over Flowers, exemplified the flower
men in this manga, who often look like elves or fairies, and furthermore are soft, sweet,
and sensitive (Lee 2009). His membership in F4 is probably the most obvious reference to
the importance of male friendship in defining masculine behavior in Men’s UNO. While
the notion of flower men might look subversive compared to conventional representations
of men, it is simplistic to assume such representation has moved beyond the boundaries
of currently dominant constructions of gender roles based on compulsory heterosexuality
(Darling-Wolf 2003, 2004). Constructed in the global media as a close-knit group, most
flower men celebrities emerged as members of Korean boy bands, and adamantly referred
to their fellow members as their brothers rather than their friends. Imagery of Lee Min-ho
and Jung Yun Ho bluntly displays feminine codes, with patterns of pink blossoms and lavish
embellishment of lace embroidery serving as a persistent reminder that their stardom rests
on their flower man status. However, the textual codes that juxtaposition these flowery
codes operate to compensate their manhood by reaffirming their interest in homosocial
activities: Lee claims to have long been a big fan of Chow Yun Fat and Chinese martial art