SOUTH KOREA-FITNESS/WOMEN The next big thing in South Korean beauty: muscles

Record ID: 134170

  • Title: SOUTH KOREA-FITNESS/WOMEN The next big thing in South Korean beauty: muscles
  • Date: 24th October 2015
  • Summary: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (RECENT) (REUTERS) CELEBRITY TRAINER LAY YANG (CENTRE) AND SOUTH KOREAN FEMALE MODELS, WHO LEAD A SOUTH KOREAN TELEVISION SHOW "THE BODY SHOW, SEASON TWO", ON STAGE CAMERA CREW FILMING YANG AND SOUTH KOREAN FEMALE MODELS ON STAGE WOMEN EXERCISING ON MATS WOMAN STRETCHING WOMEN EXERCISING ON MATS YANG SMILING WOMEN DOING LUNGES ON MATS (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) CELEBRITY TRAINER AND EMCEE OF SOUTH KOREAN TELEVISION SHOW "THE BODY SHOW, SEASON TWO", LAY YANG, SAYING: "Women used to starve in order to lose weight. Now, they exercise." SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (OCTOBER 22, 2015) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF HEALTH AND BEAUTY CHAIN STORE "OLIVE YOUNG" SOUTH KOREAN WOMAN LOOKING AT EXERCISE EQUIPMENT DISPLAYED AT HEALTH AND BEAUTY CHAIN STORE WOMAN HOLDING DUMBBELLS DUMBBELLS DISPLAYED ON SHELF PROMOTED BY "THE BODY SHOW" DUMBBELLS, GYM BALLS AND LATEX BANDS DISPLAYED ON SHELF PROMOTED BY "THE BODY SHOW"
  • Embargoed: 8th November 2015 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA7XOJC5JZBRE23Y2LT8HAEF3VL
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Looks no longer centre only on the face in beauty-obsessed South Korea, where more women are hitting the gym to improve muscle tone and physical health.
    As the ideal of beauty evolves in a country that is a trendsetter in cosmetics and the pursuit of plastic surgery, women's fitness has become a growth business, say purveyors of health products, from diet supplements to dumb-bells.
    At a Reebok CrossFit Sentinel branch in Seoul, 29-year-old You Ri-seul's exercise routine was no different from that of the men in her class: barbell drills followed by a three-minute rowing machine session and dead lifts.
    "Female celebrities with a healthy image became popular in the mass media in recent years, so I think having a healthier-looking body is ultimately becoming the wannabe model," You said.
    For many fitness-conscious women, well-toned celebrities such as K-pop girl group Sistar's Hyorin and global figures like U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama are becoming role models.
    "Women used to starve in order to lose weight. Now they exercise," said Ray Yang, a celebrity trainer who leads a workout session for Season Two of The Body Show, a weekly fitness show on television, targeted mainly at women.
    In July this year, Olive Young, a health and beauty chain, began selling fitness products targeted at women, including dumbbells and a gym balls. Lotte Shopping's rival chain LOHB (Lotte Health and Beauty) said annual sales of items such as gym balls, jump ropes and dumb-bells were up 9 percent this year by Oct. 15.
    The number of registered fitness centres in South Korea has also steadily increased, growing more than 5 percent last year to 7,363, government data showed.
    As in other Asian countries, the popular depiction of Korean women has tended towards the slim, fair-skinned and demure, reinforcing gender stereotypes in a male-dominated society.
    Until recently, physical fitness was not much of a priority for Korean women, despite an emphasis on appearance that has fuelled a $5-billion plastic surgery industry, which accounts for a quarter of the global market.
    Kim Min-jeong, a professor who teaches Global Sports Science at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, said being thin was so prized that many young women and girls often avoided sports like hiking and cycling for fear that it would make their legs thicker.
    However, she said that wasn't the case anymore.
    "In the past, Women used to think having muscles will have side effects or negative effects to their body shapes and looks. However, the concept of having muscles has changed. Women now think that having muscular strength can provide several health and physical benefits. With regards to this, there is lots of media coverage on well-toned local celebrities and international figures who have muscles," she said.
    Kim said the reason for this shift in mentality could be due to a change in the role of women in the country, with the number of women in the workforce reaching a record high this year.
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