By Stephanie Yang
In “A Leveraged Playing Field: U.S. Multiculturalism and Korean Athletes,”, Rachael Miyung Joo discusses the use of Korean athletes as both a tool for Korean nationalist interests and the representation of “Americanness” to consumers in Korea and abroad. In “Playing Hard Ball: the athletic Body and Korean/American Masculinities,” Joo goes on to discuss how the shift towards exposing the male Korean body redefines Asian American masculinity within the traditional values system of hard work, while also legitimizing Korean male power. I argue that while the U.S. sports industry and the growth of exposed Korean male bodies may in parallel help challenge stereotypes of Asian masculinity, Korea’s fixation on beauty and makeup complicate the masculinity issue.
Joo asserts in “A Leveraged Playing Field” that Korean athletes and athletes of other minorities are subject to U.S. ideology when working within the U.S. sporting complex. The commodification of a minority athlete’s body, on full display in U.S. sporting events, produces a symbolism that Joo argues furthers U.S. soft power. For example, Hawaiian surfer Duke Kahanamoku’s performance demonstrated “America’s colonial beneficence” and through his “indigenous uniqueness”, symbolized the benefits of U.S. colonialism. Kahanamoku’s athletic performances, however, do little to benefit his own heritage’s interests, instead attributing his talents to individual hard work isolated from his minority status–also seen through the successes of Michael Jordan and O.J. Simpson who publicly side-stepped racially-charged rhetoric.
Additionally, in “Playing Hard Ball”, Joo analyzes the role of shifting displays of Asian masculinity through the athlete–using the exposed body to express physical power and dominance. She cites examples of soccer players taking off shirts during goal ceremonies, undressing scenes in Korean film and television, as well as shirtless idols performing on-stage. Towards the end of the chapter, Joo asks whether or not this new masculinized Asian male body results from a growing group of middle-class Asian American men “reclaiming their masculinity”, rightly so.
While Joo’s points further the conversation around the geopolitics of the U.S. sports industry and the redefining of Asian masculinity through male athletes, the attached BuzzFeed video does much to complicate the plot. In the video produced by Buzzfeed, a mainstream American media outlet, two Korean men answer commonly asked questions about themselves. Throughout the video, the discussion fixates around Korean male appearances, the use of makeup, and even wearing face masks as a fashion trend.
We see this focus through the very first question posed in the video: “Why do Korean men wear makeup?” The pair’s discussion around the prevalence of Korean men who wear makeup, alongside the growing cosmetics market targeted towards men, seem to instantly complicate the question of Asian male masculinity Joo has analyzed. As discussed in class, Hallyu has expanded beyond Korean pop music to include Korean beauty, Korean cuisine, among other “K-” culture industries. So while Korean-American athletes or shirtless K-pop idols may be shifting perceptions of Asian American masculinity, the Korean beauty industry may be starkly reversing such trends. The video continues to focus on perceptions of Korean male femininity, style, and even flirting tactics towards women. And while the video does address traditionally masculine practices such as enlisting in the Korean army or smoking cigarettes, the conversation around Korean male beauty indeed exists.
As a YouTube video with over 1.5 million views, produced by an American media giant, it is clear that interest in Korean men exists in the U.S. However, their masculinity, or lack thereof, does come into question throughout the video. In “A Leveraged Playing Field”, it is clear throughout history that minorities in the U.S. sports industry have been commodified and leveraged in order to further U.S. ideologies. And while the rise of exposed Korean male bodies may enhance the legitimacy of Asian American masculinity, the 2018 BuzzFeed video demonstrates that Korean culture may self-sabotage this effort through the growing Korean beauty industry and its own male consumers.
Video: Korean Men Answer Commonly Googled Questions About Themselves
The Politics of K-Pop 