Young Men, Not Women, Increasingly Perceived as Sex Symbol
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Gone are the days when young attractive women were the sex symbol of society in a mainly male-led society. Now, even a heavily Confucius-indoctrinated Korean society is not an exception.
Women in South Korea today enjoy watching the young male celebrities with six-pack abdomens on the popular series such as "The Slave Hunters". Switch the channel and there you see young, handsome male cooks on another TV hit, Pasta.
That's not all. There is now a new term, "honey thigh", popular among women to described the well-sculpted muscular body of Song ll-gook in yet another TV hit, "A Man Called God".
So, men, how do you feel all about this, Donga Ilbo's editorial writer, Chung Sung-hee, poses this question Saturday in a column. Chung is, yes, a woman.
"The popular equation `women's beauty, men's money', may have been invalid now", said Chung.
"After all, women, just like men, are primarily attracted to men's good looks", she said.
Women in the past attached a great importance to men's economic ability as they mainly had to bear the responsibility of raising children and therefore needed a man who could bring bread and milk back home.
"But things have changed", said Chung. "Now, with the elevated women's economic status women can also focus on men's good looks and youthfulness", she said.
Korean women in the past have suppressed their sexual fantasy, "but now they no longer feel shameful about revealing their desire", Chung said, arguing that the recent trend of Korean movies and dramas that increasingly show nude men is a new marketing strategy aimed at the social shift.
"A husband therefore shouldn't be jealous of his wife who praises the sexy male celebrity's six-pack abdomen while they watch TV together", she said.
Women in South Korea today enjoy watching the young male celebrities with six-pack abdomens on the popular series such as "The Slave Hunters". Switch the channel and there you see young, handsome male cooks on another TV hit, Pasta.
That's not all. There is now a new term, "honey thigh", popular among women to described the well-sculpted muscular body of Song ll-gook in yet another TV hit, "A Man Called God".
So, men, how do you feel all about this, Donga Ilbo's editorial writer, Chung Sung-hee, poses this question Saturday in a column. Chung is, yes, a woman.
"The popular equation `women's beauty, men's money', may have been invalid now", said Chung.
"After all, women, just like men, are primarily attracted to men's good looks", she said.
Women in the past attached a great importance to men's economic ability as they mainly had to bear the responsibility of raising children and therefore needed a man who could bring bread and milk back home.
"But things have changed", said Chung. "Now, with the elevated women's economic status women can also focus on men's good looks and youthfulness", she said.
Korean women in the past have suppressed their sexual fantasy, "but now they no longer feel shameful about revealing their desire", Chung said, arguing that the recent trend of Korean movies and dramas that increasingly show nude men is a new marketing strategy aimed at the social shift.
"A husband therefore shouldn't be jealous of his wife who praises the sexy male celebrity's six-pack abdomen while they watch TV together", she said.
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