Korean ‘gummy smile’?
Posted: January 3, 2014 Filed under: Korea, what's all this?, Korean! | Tags: entertainment, gummy smile, gums, hyosung, image, KPOP, media, secret, smile Leave a commentAfter reading comments on KPOP stars ‘gummy smiles’ on various forums such as ‘I can’t believe they don’t like gummy smiles…’ and ‘Oh this guy criticized Hyosung’s gummy smile too’ I was like ‘wtf is a gummy smile?’ All I could imagine were little Haribo bears under someones top lip – weird I know.
But it turns out it’s exactly what the name suggests. A ‘gummy’ smile. A smile where you show a lot of your gums. Trust Korea to come up with another name for it. Written in Hangul it’s 거미스마일 (geo-mi seu-ma-il) but apparently it can be referred to as 잇몸웃음 (meaning laughter/laughing gums) or 함박웃음 (meaning toothy smile).
Hyosung from Secret (yep again, she’s got everything baby!) has been known to have a gummy smile. And er unfortunately has been criticized for it. Not too harshly but apparently she was told that “showing your gums excessively like that can actually be a negative for advertisements’.
Hyosung’s adorable ‘gummy smile’.
Regarding Korea as a whole, I’m certain that this ‘gummy smile’ business isn’t a massive deal across the public, but in media I suppose it can be treated as a small flaw like having a crooked nose that ‘needs’ to be fixed. To be honest, who really cares about ‘gumminess’. It’s a cute asset. But since the KPOP industry most likely rolls with striving for near perfection, of which a ‘gummy smile’ is not, differences will be pointed out if they don’t fit the set image. It’s not a matter of personal opinion really when it comes to this sort of industry which can be both a good and bad thing.
Anyway HALLELUJAH! The definition of a ‘gummy smile’? Showing lots of gum when you smile, ofttt. And don’t mean the extra mint type. Laters guys! (:
Korea’s face lines!
Posted: November 15, 2013 Filed under: Korea, what's all this?, Korean! | Tags: egg line, face, face lines, Korea, KPOP, shapes, snsd, South Korea, v line, yoona Leave a comment*TO FIND A PARTICULAR LINE QUICKLY: To jump to a certain point simply press Ctrl+f and type in EGG LINE etc.*
So the last post was one Korea’s body shapes/lines and, like I said, this one will be about Korea’s face shapes/lines! In alphabetical order here we go!
The EGG LINE: This is from a front view of a face and describes an egg shaped face. An oval or rounder face shape has apparently been becoming more desirable in the past few years more than the triangular V-line shape. Both vying for dominance here! Yoona from SNSD is known to have the ‘perfect egg-line’.
The S LINE: From a profile view (side view) this is a line that is drawn from the top of the forehead down the bridge of the nose to the tip. If this results in an S shape, the face is in good proportion.
The V LINE: This is the shape of the jaw and chin and is the most popular Korean face line known overseas. A pointed chin swooping straight back in a V shape to the ears. Jenna Marbles is a good example of the V line and you’ll see many KPOP idols getting photo-shopped to achieve the V shape. Surgery is also available to achieve this specific look as well such as jaw shaving and chin and cheek bone reduction.
The 1/8 LINE: In Korean, 8 Deung-shin. This line describes a face so small it only accounts for 1/8 of the body. Whether this is attractive or not is not clear however, it is known that Korea tends to find small faces attractive.
So yep, Korean face shapes/lines! Again not everyone in Korea will know of all of these but this list contains all the ones known so far. BOOM!
Korea’s body lines!
Posted: November 2, 2013 Filed under: Korea, what's all this?, Korean! | Tags: Body shape, Clothing, Glossary of shapes with metaphorical names, Korea, Waist Leave a comment*TO FIND A PARTICULAR LINE QUICKLY: This post may be quite long so to jump to a certain point simply press Ctrl+f and type in S LINE etc. Keep in mind some may not have LINE in the title and some may not necessarily be lines as such, however they are all to do with the body*
If you’re reading this post you’re probably already aware that Korea has many names for many types of body shapes whether they are considered attractive or not! But if you didn’t already know this then WELCOME and now you know! This post is simply for BODY shapes not face shapes, simply because the post may get too long so I will definitely make a post on face shapes as well. So in alphabetical order here they are!
The B LINE- This line refers to big boobs but also a big abdomen. The letter depicts a side image of someones body and obviously the first curve of the letter B is the boobs and the second curve is the stomach. Generally concerned with more overweight women.
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The BEER BOTTLE LINE – This line refers to the front view of either a man or a woman with narrow or dropped shoulder and overall chubbiness, similar to the shape of a beer bottle.
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CHOCOLATE ABS – This phrase refers to chiseled abs on a man, imagine a chocolate bar, the little squares supposedly look similar to chiseled abs! You’ll hear a lot about male Korean celebrities showing off their chocolate abs, it’s considered very attractive.
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The D LINE- Again viewed from the side, this letter depicts an abdomen that appears to be due to pregnancy.
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HONEY THIGHS – This phrase refers to very smooth skin over the female thigh. It’s compared to honey because, well, honey is smooth! Basically the opposite of cottage cheese/cellulite.
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The JAR LINE – This line refers to lack of any sort of waist and more of a square sort of figure. Imagine a jam jar!
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The M LINE – For this line it’s better to imagine a digital m shape rather than a capitalized M shape although one may be easier to imagine than the other, takes all kinds! This line supposedly depicts a 6 pack of abdominal muscles on men.
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The O LINE – Basically this line refers to general obesity! Could be depicting an overweight body shape from the front or back.
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The S LINE– The most desired ‘line’. This body line is all about an equal balance of boob and booty, picture a side view of someone. The curve around the boobs moves to curve around the bum creating an S shape. Hyosung from Secret is known for her curves and has been noted as an idol possessing an s-line due to her hourglass figure.
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The U LINE – This line refers to the exposure of a woman’s back in low cut clothing. Think of a top where the back drapes downwards like this:
The exposure of the back forms a U shape. This line seems to be more about fashion than an actual body shape.
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The V LINE – This line refers to the shape of the cleavage of a woman’s breasts possibly seen when wearing a low cut top/shirt. However this is probably uncommon as low cut tops are not necessarily worn or accepted to be worn in public often.
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The W LINE – This line is said to be the image of a woman’s breasts from the front. Not much else to say really, could be during nudity or when wearing a low cut top/shirt!
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The X LINE – This shape is seen from the front view of someones body. Now the X LINE can either be
long arms and long legs (this is the most used definition) or big chest and wide hips
paired with a small waist.
The X line is becoming more popular than the S line nowadays as Korean fashion regarding body types is slowly becoming more interested in curves rather than stick thin. A balanced body is becoming much more popular!
(Yoona from SNSD is known for her tiny waist and lean figure)
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The 8 LINE – Similar to the S line but paired with a small waist.
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So these are all the body lines and phrases used to describe a shape or certain image. There’s a mix of what is considered attractive and not attractive and please bear in mind that not every Korean will be aware of every single one of these lines, then again some may well be! If anyone has any other legit body lines in Korea feel free to comment and let me know!
Up next later on, Korean face lines!
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