Performance of a Korean masculinity in Taiwanese men’s fashionbaby-face, perfect blemish-free skin, and hairless arms. Dressed in jeans and a leather jacket, Choi
looks like the boy next door. In a subsequent photograph, Choi’s captivating eyes look into the
distance while the interviewer asks, “Why are you so perfect?” Choi replies,
In the end, it all comes down to self-discipline. That is the key to maintaining your body
in good shape. But I think the discipline may lie more in what you take in, and less in
exercising daily. I must say that I am [blessed] even though I am often tempted—I will
sometimes have a bowl of Korean spicy instant noodles at midnight when I get hungry.Eating instant noodles in the middle of the night is common among male college students in
Asia, who often find themselves hungry but lack the skills or resources to cook something fan-
cier. The line demonstrates that as much as Choi appears to be above the rest of humanity, he, in
fact authentically inhabits the same terrain as us. Veritably, God exists among us.
asian masculinities and the Korean wave as a contested site
The above vignette epitomizes the typical way a Korean celebrity is featured in Men’s UNO, the
most popular men’s fashion magazine in Taiwan. Since the turn of the millennium, Korean popu-
lar cultural products, such as television drama series, pop music, films, and associated celebrities
and merchandise, have been popular in East Asia (Ravina 2009). This phenomenon whereby
Korean popular culture exerts strong appeal throughout East Asia has been dubbed hanliu (hallyu
or hanryu in Korean), literally meaning “Korean Wave,” a term widely adopted by news media
throughout Greater China (Rawnsley 2014). As a focus on ideal bodies has increasingly per-
meated popular discourse surrounding the Korean Wave, the emphasis on bodily perfection has
come to epitomize Korean masculinity and supposedly become the dominant representation of
Korean male celebrities in the global men’s fashion scene (Epstein and Joo 2012). The circula-
tion of imagery via the Korean culture industries is fostering new ideals surrounding the Korean
male physique (Jung 2011). The global success of the Korean Wave has witnessed the ubiquitous
representation of Korean males baring their torsos in various media venues, including partially
nude scenes in films and TV dramas, promotional pin-ups, and advertisements. Over the past
decade the focus on bodily perfection that has accompanied the Korean Wave has also contri-
buted to encouraging this look as an aspirational model for its devout followers across Asia.
Much of what has been written about the Korean Wave has considered the transcultural
hybridity, or “mukokuseki,” that has accompanied South Korean popular culture as it has crossed
national borders. In his book Recentering Globalization, Koichi Iwabuchi (2002a) explored in depth
this notion, which emphasized the “culturally odorless” aspects of Japanese consumer products.
While the concept of mukokuseki has a Korean equivalent in mugukjeok, the latter, considered as a
form of cultural interpenetration, incorporates traditional transcultural hybridity. Drawing atten-
tion to the complex dynamics of the Korean Wave and global cultural circulation, Jung explicates
how the Korean masculinity that has circulated globally could be better explained through the
notion of the transformation and reconstruction of Koreanness, a site where Korean traditional
masculinities and global masculinities negotiate. In part due to the non-nationalistic appeal,
Korean masculinities have enjoyed dramatic influence in pan-Asian popular culture. While in
East Asia where the influence of Confucianism prevails, exemplary manhood is epitomized by
a culturally refined gentleman/scholar ideal, which is shared in traditional South Korean seonbi
and Chinese Confucian wen masculinity (cultural attainment) (Jung 2011). Korea historically has
been ruled by strong Confucian ideals, of which a number of attributes comparable to feminine