Sun Worship vs. Fear of the Sun

Now that the days are getting nicer and spring seems to finally have come to Busan, South Korea I am noticing a phenomena. Where I am from in East Coast, Canada we rarely see the sun and so when we do we worship it. In the summer we flock to the beach and try to get a good tan. We go to tanning salons to try and get an early start on our tans. And, having a tan [even in these days when we hear about and fear skin cancer] we still see getting a tan as a goal worthy of our efforts.

In fact, in the middle of a long hard winter in Atlantic Canada a tan has become something of a status symbol. If you have a tan it means that you actually have enough time and money to have had either a vacation "down south" or that you have the extra time and money to spend hours at a tanning salon achieving that golden glow.

In Korea, the exact opposite is true.

Shopping for the most essential summer accessory- a parasol in Lotte Department Store in Symyeon, Busan, South Korea. May 2006.

It sort of boggles my mind but most Korean women carry parasols when they go out in the sun. I have even seen some of them wearing white gloves. I thought parasols and white gloves belonged to the past - to those days of 18 th Century English garden parties. It seems like something I would watch in a movie like Pride and Prejudice and not something that people in this day and age actually do.

I took this picture May 21, 2006 here in Busan, South Korea. It was a warm day and sunny and sure enough the parasols started making their appearance.

So, I have spent a lot of time thinking about the situation here in Korea and contrasting it to my past experiences back in Canada. After much consideration, it seems to me that in Korea [at least for women] having white skin is a status symbol. Most women's make-up products here have the word "WHITENING" on them. And, a lot of the advertisements seem to emphasis that point in their marketing. It seems to be an important selling point.

Above are some of the women's make-up products I am talking about. They all have the word "WHITE" on them and they all claim to "whiten" skin.
This makes me think about why this could be. In Canada in the winter I get so ghostly white that people always think I am sick and ask me "How are you feeling, now?" I used to go to tanning salons for a few sessions in the middle of winter just so that I could get a little color and not look so ghastly pale and sickly.

In contrast, in Korea in the past poor people used to have to work in the fields to make a living. In fact, in China the peasants [who are sometimes called "Coolies"] who make their living working outdoors and are therefore very dark are looked down on for their low economic status which is shown by their dark skin color. I guess maybe no one in Korea wants to be mistaken for a Chinese "Coolie".

Also, it seems that since Koreans are actually quite dark skinned it is being "white" that takes work and money and is therefore a good indication of social and economic status. To have pale skin here means that you have enough money or a good enough job that you don't have to work outside and in that way you can protect your skin from the sun. Also, the "whitening" products I mentioned are usually quite expensive so in that way, too, pale skin can show social status.

Even the older ladies who sell produce in the street use either an umbrella or parasol to try and protect themselves from the sun.


This girl is at the beach but she is completely covered in towels from head to toe. Notice the girl standing beside her is wearing a hat to protect her head and face from the sun. Even the people in the background of the photo are all wearing t shirts, shorts, and hats in an attempt to protect their skin from the sun.



In case you think it is only the women who seem to cover themselves from head to toe take a look at this picture. Here is a man swimming at the beach wearing a t shirt and pants [not even shorts].



In case you need more proof that it's not just ladies who try to protect their "complexions" from the sun. I saw this fisherman with a towel on his head, a long sleeved shirt and even gloves on his hands. This was in June 2005 on a warm 22 degree Celisus day. It wasn't even especially hot or bright. For example, I with my pale [prone to fleckle skin and burn] skin wasn't even wearing sun screen.