South Korean men are starting to place more emphasis on their physical appearance, by spending more and more on beauty-care products. This traditional conservative society is at odds with what to make of these new "flower boys", as they're colloquially called.
韩国男性开始越来越重视自身的形象,他们将越来越多的金钱花费在购买美容护肤品上。这个传统意义上的保守国家开始与他们所崇尚的粗犷、有男子气概的风格渐行渐远。
Cho Won-hyuk stands in front of his bedroom mirror and spreads dollops of yellow-brown makeup over his forehead, his nose, his chin and cheeks, blending the cream until he's left with smooth,flawless skin. After that he goes to work with a black pencil, highlighting his eyebrows until they're thicker, bolder.
Cho Won-hyuk站在卧室里的镜子前,在自己的额头、鼻尖和脸颊轻轻涂上一层黄棕色的粉底,直至脸部皮肤看起来完美无瑕。然后,他掏出一支黑色的眉笔,把自己的眉毛描得更黑和更粗一些。
Cho Won-hyuk, college student, said, "I feel more confident after putting makeup on. When I put makeup on, it actually gets rid of my complex of having facial flushing. And I can focus more on what I do. At first, I think a few people started using makeup, and as we have such a small society, it soon became a trend."
Cho Won-hyuk是一名大学生,他说,“画妆会让我感觉更自信。当我在脸上涂上化妆品时,实际上它会遮挡掉我 所有脸部的瑕疵。这样,我就可以集中更多的精力做我的事情。起初,我认为开始使用化妆品的人会有点少,因为我们的国家不大,但是现在我想男性化妆很快会成为一种新的潮流。”
Cho's meticulous attention to skincare is not unusual here. He and millions of other men have enthusiastically joined South Korean women in a quest for the "perfect face" that advertisers suggest is the key to success in this highly competitive society.
像Cho Won-hyuk一样注重护肤的韩国男性在韩国并不少见。他和成千上万的其他韩国男性与韩国女性一同乐此不疲地追求着广告商所宣扬的成功秘诀—“完美肌肤”