Performing whiteness: skin beauty as somatechnics in South Korean stardom and celebrity

Abstract

ABSTRACT Most South Korean stars and celebrities show glowing flawless skin with a bright tone, which is termed mibaek and constitutes the core imagery of ‘K-beauty.’ Korean media plays a big part in validating this skin beauty norm by producing and mediating an idealised ‘televisual skin.’ While skin whitening has been interpreted in a colonial or westernised sense, this article defines mibaek as a somatechnics of constructing stardom and explicates it in a Korean media context. Based on observations on star and celebrity image in television dramas, reality TV and K-pop, and in-depth interviews with media and beauty practitioners, this article explains how Korean stars and celebrities employ skin beauty as somatechnics in five ways to: deliver romantic narratives; express a fantasy-like persona; attain extraordinariness; embody trans-Asian sensitivity; and negotiate femininity. This study reveals that mibaek allows stars and celebrities to present their bodies in particular ways, including via fan labour, to be desired by audiences. The study concludes by suggesting more areas for further inquiry on the construction of skin beauty in the Korean star industry.