We live in a world of intersections. Look to any structure – be it ecological, institutional, social – and the same conclusion inevitably presents itself. Journalist and podcaster Elise Hu, author of, illustrates that fact with incisive clarity in her treatise on South Korea's chief export: beauty.
As the first-ever Korea & Japan bureau chief for NPR, serving in the role from 2014 to 2018, Hu arrived in Seoul as the blossoming market of K-beauty mushroomed into a global phenomenon. But despite the industry's immense influence and cultural omnipresence, Hu writes, English-language texts about modern-day Korea – most of them written by white men – let it remain overlooked and unquestioned.
Deference to algorithms and"simple" technological solutions to complex social issues is not isolated to Korea, but it's nevertheless hyper-pervasive in the K-beauty world. In, Hu describes a multitude of high-tech devices that scan bodies for imperfections and offer comprehensive topical and surgical ways to"upgrade." Listening to her talk, human beauty pursuits take on a dystopian, sci-fi energy. The word"cyborg" quickly comes to mind.