by MICHELLE WOO
There’s an obscene amount of skin whitening creams, tonics and even pills out there, glorifying Western beauty standards in subtle and not-so-subtle ways.
But this ad just comes out and says what they all imply.
“Do you wanna be white?” reads a poster displayed in a department store window in, no, not Seoul, but Flushing, New York.
The ad, spotted by Noonchi, is for a CC cream from ElishaCoy, a “European styled organic skincare cosmetics brand” known for its herb-based products. Korea’s beauty industry is basically invading the globe with cosmetics exports hitting a record high of $1.04 billion last year.
It’s no secret that Koreans prize pale skin (exhibit No 1: The Visor), and we can probably assume that “white” was meant as “light in color,” but the underlying issue remains. Wanna be white? Maybe not, but consumers sure don’t want to be who they naturally are.
Photo via Noonchi
