Oh I would’ve liked to see more analysis on why eating disorders are villianized. My theory is that the films view it as choosing vanity over health, and that “hateful people likely hate themselves even more”. But while they villianize vanity, they also have rigid beauty standards for the protagonist they aren’t willing to give up. So rather than just being happy and healthy, she is either effortlessly pretty or she loses weight for “good” reasons like “health” or “determination” or “revenge”. Because she’s not doing it for attention, it is seen as not vain, therefore she isn’t disordered. Also, there’s the underlying idea that only “truly sick” people need therapy. “Sick” as in “crazy”. Since the protagonist isn’t crazy, she doesn’t need anything more than encouragement. Villains who are irredeemable are sent to therapy. Ultimately this mindset stems from a society that over values slimness and beauty, that also villianizes vanity, and doesn’t understand the nature of disordered eating. Almost all of them have “just eat more lol” as a solution to anorexia, although their unhealthy mindset around weight is viewed with a bit more nuance.
Your analysis is so spot on, I think you absolutely hit the nail on the head! This is the difference between a hero with an eating disorder and a villain with an eating disorder. I could not have worded it better!
seriously they literally all encourage the main character to get better (eating one snack) but i feel like the whole time there energy also is so condiscending like "dont gain it back though you wouldnt want to be like betty that was hot but is not" its so disingenuous.
@@dolliemollly yeah, literally. don't be fat, but also don't be skinny, have some confidence, but not too much. Be pretty but in a natural way where you don't know you are pretty. You need to eat with love and eat a lot, but also don't be fat and don't have an eating disorder!
Ah, yeah. Their approach to gaining weight is so unhealthy too. When people were harping on Sunmi for being too skinny, some of her fans defense was that she felt like shit when she was gaining weight. Which she did by forcing herself to eat burgers and junk food to gain weight. ANYONE would feel like shit trying to gain weight that way. And now they just say she is "naturally skinny" because the weight gain was bad for her.
weight lifting fairy unintentionally touched on the gross standards in terms of diet and weight classes in competitive sport. As someone that did very competitive sports at points in my life I do know the reality of high level sport and competition culture. It lead many people, guys and girls, to have body dysmorphia and disorded eating habits. It's too bad the writers and producers didn't care enough to not condone that culture and those standards set for athletes. (This has to do with sports that base pools about weight classes and stress importance on muscle mass ie. boxing, mma, rugby).
Yeah I feel like they wanted to handle this topic, but also didn't comment on it. They clearly showed what kind of expectations various competitive sports have and how they are constantly weighed, but the writers didn't come to any conclusions about it and only one character got real consequences from it, like it's ok that everyone else's body get surveilled this way. The first person who ever commented on my body was my gymnastics trainer, I still have quite a vivid memory of it.
@@mannikka through years of having gymnast friends I've definitely heard some horror stories about the behaviours and environments that surround it, especially when it came to the aesthetics of the athletes. But I'm glad to hear you got out before things became really bad for you. My personal experience and the experience I saw firsthand was in rugby and various kinds of contact sports like wrestling. Wrestling in particular was rampant with teenage boys cutting down excessively on weight in order to be the biggest in a pool of guys smaller than you, instead of being the smallest in a pool of athletes with more mass comparatively. Lots of water "cleanses" and fasting was promoted to many of the guys I knew that were in lower weight classes despite them having to train for hours on end. Both during practice and in their own time. I watched dudes create an incredibly warped sense of self because of coaches that couldn't care less about their athletes mental or physical health. Seeing weight lifting fairy kinda just wave a carrot in front of the audience and then immediately throw it in the trash was annoying but not surprising.
Doesn’t even have to be competitive level 😂 - lots of TikTok’s about body dysmorphia from just going to the gym - never seen so many guys body checking themselves so hard….
@@icingcake High standards about what kind of body we should have is everywhere. Going to the gym or not is not going to change much of it about body dysmorphia, except if the person can better themselve throught the weight training.
@@icingcake ohmygod yeah, we are in such an awful era of how people use the gym. It is still very misunderstood by many people that are convinced their incredibly high standards for themselves are healthy. I remember coming across some really good videos about how many guys refuse to see their unhealthy workout regimen as genuinely harmful or even a form of self harm, because they are so convinced their motivations of having to look perfect are helping them.
I love My ID is Gangnam Beauty in the way they portrayed Sua. They showed both layers of bulimia; the desirability, the pretty privilege, the better treatment, but then the other side: the desperate, despairing loneliness.
yes i think the slight juxtaposition between the two characters was really interesting, thats why i always really enjoyed the show, because both characters were going through similar issues and how regardless about how they look they couldnt be completely happy without the issues they put themselves through!
Yes exactly. I love how they don't demonize sua. Even tho the things she did were wrong they humanize her. And show the protagonists flaws as well. For example how mirae used to rate others.
because being thin is the beauty standard in korea and a lot of people in korea going on terrible diets and consume diet pills to get to their ideal weight (usually around 40 kg) which is really sad :(.. these shows know they will profit from promoting them
@@bubblegum-cf4zo its honestly so frustrating and irritating when a show covers a serious issue then adds a random product placement that is the complete opposite their message? liike its actually so awful
Im absolutely stunned that soo ah taking diet pills was ad placement Thats absolutely sinister. Shes basically participating in self harm when she consumes them.
No for real, when I saw that I was so taken aback, like how are you advertising weight loss pills that an eating disordered person is taking?? That's like showing a character with a drinking and driving problem and advertising the bottle they use to drink while doing it. Sick.
I watched Oh My Venus, having no idea what it was about and honestly? Till this day is the one show I don't recommend people to watch and I regret wasting my time on it. It's shocking that everyone behaved like she was obese and that scene in the end where she tells her husband she's pregnant and he basically cares about her looks made me so upset that I couldn't even be like "ohhh, happy ending"
Actually, in the end I was on hubby's side. It wasn't "omg, you looks awful now when you gain you weight back", it was about health and risks during pregnancy. She gained in two months more that women usually gain throughout pregnancy (and even more). Everyone is individual but gaining like 20 kg in two months is dangerous, just as losing them in short time. I know many women who gained about 15-20 kg closer to 9th month and could barely walk, and what she'll be like? Saying it was because of babies is just an excuse, her babies were less than 500 g then I'm saying it as a woman who isn't obsessed with weight and diets
@@ОльгаАнохина-щ6ц Yeah, but she also first lost this amount of weight in around 2-3 months. My point is the weightless was unhealthy and unsustainable, which is why she gained it all back in such a short time, her body just went back to where it was as soon as she went off her extreme diet.
@@kdramaresearchinstitute yes, I agree. People should lose this weight during years to keep result Still, it doesn't make her situation healthy in the end. I only saw people disgusted with his reaction and no one who thinks that he could be right. Though he sounded rude, he had a point. But viewers just labeled him a fatshamer and used her pregnancy as an excuse without thinking about the reasons
Sooah is so fucking relatable. Reducing a person to their appearance has horrible consequences, I really think she was a well written villainess that shows a level of awareness of how Korean beauty standards can create a “Marylin and Jackie” kind of misogyny that realizes itself in both men and women.
I think I've spent a lot of time looking through Western and Eastern popular media, and unfortunately as an Asian I have to say that Asians still have a pretty toxic relationship with weight. Not that it's so much better in the West, but I've definitely seen more widespread acceptance and normalization of different body types in Western entertainers and more awareness of what should and shouldn't be said when it comes to weight. A lot of Eastern popular media will proudly promote harmful eating habits and unrealistic expectations without realising or, quite frankly, caring about the harm that they are doing.
Ive heard, especially in korea dieting culture is huge. It’s impossible to go a day without hearing someone talking about dieting, or how they’re gaining weight. Or taking weight loss supplements
The fat culture in the west is a problem. It just pisses me off that you'll only refer to underweight eating habits as harmful but never the overweight ones.
@@foofung9961 we do. But we also dont call people who aren’t overweight, (aka a lot of the “fatsuits” in these shows) fat. Eating a lot, or being chubby arent bad things. When people are obese of course we talk about it.
@@foofung9961 because this is commenting on a video talking about problematic diet culture in k-drama. There are lots of videos talking about weight problems in western countries, and I haven't seen any comment talking about diet problem in eastern countries under those. I don't see any problem with that. So why should it be a problem vise versa? Because the west is more important than the east and that's why you can ignore the east but never ever the west? Idk. You make your own case
"that she probably cannot even digest" - YES! You are the first person to get this particular thing right! I was bulimic (well, anorexia binge-purge type) for many years and eventually I found that I couldn't digest food even if I wanted to. Like even if I tried to eat something small and light, it would sit heavy in my stomach and I'd vomit against my will (like when you're sick with food poisoning or something) and it would up up completely undigested, sometimes more than 24 hours after I'd eaten it. I had to be an inpatient and start with Ensure drinks and then very liquidy clear soups etc and gradually build my diet up to being able eat normal foods again.
Yes, none of these ED movies and TV shows ever mention the side effects and what it does to your body. Makes me think that the writers don't have any experience with an ED or didn't do that much research. I hope you are doing better now!
@@joseabey3455 cheesecake is very rich and heavy. Even a few bites would probably be enough to make her (involuntarily) throw up. The inability to digest is complete as in nothing solid even in teeny amounts can be digested.
The suddenly-better-with-3-days-in hospital/therapy reminds me of the WESTERN trope in movies and books where the main character always make a friend who is much worse than they are, then their friends died from their ED and main character immediately completely recovers
I'm so glad you brought up the weight loss pill product placement in My ID is Gangnam Beauty. The original webtoon obviously didn't have that, and I can't imagine the horror the author must have experienced to find out this product placement was a thing in the adaptation of this work. It's ridiculous. They should have just shown some generic diet pills to get their point across instead of advertising.
I lived in Korea for a few years and it was shocking to me how normalized disorderd eating was.. 1 meal a day.. skipping meals/eating 500 kcal during the week and then BAM chicken and beer, lots of alcohol and `bad food´ on the weekends, then again diet pills etc. and low calorie foods for a few days... I know this also happens in other countries but there you might encounter genuine concern for your wellbeinng whereas in Korea you will be told that you lack mental stength, that you don´t try hard enough..
I haven't even watched the video but I just want to say thank you for not showing any throwing up scenes, I have emetophobia and I really appreciate you being considerate. Most people don't understand so I get jumpscared, thank you!
Yeah, same, I hate seeing it. Some of these k-dramas do have these scenes, but I don't think it is necessary to show them. I didn't make this video to trigger viewers, I wanted this channel to be a safe and chill space where we can critically discuss these topics in a non stressful way :)
honestly, what ive noticed with kdramas is that they only show them chewing the food and not swallowing it. Ive only started to notice that in weightlifting fairy. And in true beauty, they'll just get a few small bites and show them preparing more the food than eating it and talking more than eating the food. I remember French eating culture being lowkey glorified (or at least by my mom and sister) because of how amazed we are that they talk more and eat less over a meal that they're supposed to have being one of their "secrets" of staying skinny.
They also have to film the takes like 10 times, and the actors definitely have to spit everything out. You know in comparison to American media, I was actually surprised at how often people are shown eating in k-dramas. I am super used to scenes with a fully set table and the actors dont touch the food at all, just talk and then leave. K-dramas are a foodie heaven compared to that
What is interesting is that bulimics are consistently shown to be skinny and pretty, but that's not real, I have bulimia, and it causes me to be so bloated; my legs, arms, stomach, and face are much more bloated than ever...
This 100%! They kinda glamorize EDs that way, as if it was a lifehack to look thin and pretty, when in reality it is self harm with grave consequences! I hope you are kind to your body today
To everyone who has EDs, anorexia, orthodoxia, bulimia etc... i hope you will recover and you will becoming your best self ❤ you deserve to be healthy, love yourself and be happy
Honestly I really do like how Tomorrow handled the topic, but since they only have one episode per person, I guess they had to wrap it up somehow, which is sad because the rest of the episode was really good! AMAZING video btw!!!
Honestly I hated how they portrayed rarely portrayed the suicidal people getting therapy. It was just the main lead sweet talking to them and done! Suddenly the people aren't suicidal! Lol Plus how they portrayed the concept of hell and how people who took their own lives will go to "hell" and stuff. It was a weird ride for me
In the Catholic religion as they do practice it in Korea, killing yourself is one of the biggest sins. Though I believe it is removed from the Roman Catholic, practicing Catholics still see it as your are condemned. Some shamans also believe they become an evil spirit out for revenage. Other shows have talked about it throughout the practicing religions in korea.
I feel like in tomorrow kdrama,the eating disorder that his sister was added because it wants to highlight it can be in different situation and more encouraging when people around you are supportive and loving towards you .The girl that has ed currently didn't have anyone around her to talk about or vent as his siter has heartwarming family around her.Yep that is my opinion.I do respect yours too.
I think that was mainly the point of the whole series: to show people in many situations that they aren't alone and can find help if they reach out. And to teach people what can be signs of someone struggling.
I avoided this video cause I was scared of getting triggered but I'm so happy I watched this. Watching K-drama definitely affected my mental health even though I was just watching it to destress. I was so mad but I didn't even understand why.
Also when you're doing intense exercising, you want to make sure you eat a bunch of good carbs about 1 to 2 hours before you workout. Carbs are the fuel your body needs to fuel your workout! After you're done working out, you want to eat a snack loaded with proteins! Proteins are what your body needs rebuild your muscles after you're done working out!
I think for kdramas to start depicting ED's realistically, they'd have to first stop forcing them on their stars. These stars (men included) are literally starving for years. The reason "healthy" food is depicted as being a starvation diet is because that's exactly what it is and what the industry idealizes. Honestly, I think the "foodie" dramas are more insidious because of how they depict the characters' relationships with food despite the fact that there were most definitely spit-takes for every bite. One of my absolute favorite dramas was My Lovely Sam Soon, but I've been super nervous about revisiting it because I remember that the main lead was depicted as overweight. She definitely wasn't, she's just a "korean midsize" (meaning she undoubtedly would still wear a size small in American clothing brands). I remember really enjoying the story and the romance, and I don't want to rewatch it and be faced with more double standards about food and weight and the morality these dramas often assign to those two things.
I watched the first three dramas years ago and I did not understand that they both had eating disorders (main lead and side character). Especially in WFKBJ, I think Bok joo's disordered eating is written to seem as normal which is why I did not catch that when I watched it.
Oh my God, this was excellent - I always hated these stories, but could never articulate what exactly was wrong. Among everything else, it's the double standards! Excuse me while I go share this everywhere---
I think the drama Tomorrow mentions therapy but not directly. The scene with prison and hospital, for me, is the representation of therapy and the pain that someone needs to go through while recovering from ED. During the scenes, the main character shifts through different emotions. Initially, she feels angry and then she lets go of it and seems that she is taking responsibility for her recovery. Potentially the scene with prison and hospital it is the demonstration of the process that a person needs to go through when dealing with an eating disorder. Obviously, in real life, this can take months and years in the movie it takes 2min. Additionally, the angel potentially represents the therapist because of his compassionate, understanding and accepting stance.
As someone who used to practice gymnastics. It is very true how eating disorders are pushed on the girls even the weighing. In Margarita Mamuns documentary she talks about it and its very sad
As someone who is very health conscious, here is a tip for those trying to lose weight. Do NOT starve yourself. Cutting off calories will only make your body want to hang onto fat even more. Will you lose weight? Yes, but your body will also try to gain back the weight at any chance because it's preparing for your next time "calories are scarce." Also, if you really are hungry, eat! The trick is to stop eating when you're full. Whenever ever you are hungry, try to focus on eating slower, smaller portion sizes, and eating healthier foods.
Agreed! i used to eat only one proper meal during the day which resulted in snacking and weight gain. When i started eating more proper meals durring the day i automatically stopped snacking and lost weight
Calorie deficit is the only way to lose weight tho. Either someone has to increase their physical activity or to reduce the amount of calories they take in. But calorie deficit doesn't necessarily means unhealthy.
The problem is: the kpop body and the 2000s model body is not a natural average level of skinny it is always slightly underweight. A very small percentage of people can actually weigh this little healthily, we are made to have a certain shape, and healthy shape is not always slim hourglass... Poeple with ED are often poeple who weren't even overweight or chubby when they started do diet. And don't think we are that delusional to not know many of the implications poeple mentions but it such a strong urge, such unexplainable disgust at our own body meat... The hole is so much deeper and more complex than that... Another that I believe leads to disconfort with weigh that is not often mentioned is the over vigilance over womans body, combined with our adoration for it ,(we, like humans, don't love the male as much) and puberty. A combination, woman's body tender to go through bigger differences we are more flacid, we stretch more during puberty, envolve less muscles, tend to envolve more hips body fat, ass, are more prone to hormonal issues and there is pregnancy, so is way to easy to say goodbye to whatever shape we are used to be comfortable in. Than there is over sexualization, many woman with curvy bodies have this complain, whatever they is Automatically perceived as more sensual, even if they wear simples cloths their body shape will be more prominent, and the problem isn't the sexualization itself, is not being able to turn it of, almost never, whether is desired or not. And there's puberty, about the time our body starts to gain more fat, I believe is not spoken enough how puberty, especially how the reaction to tenage girls puberty affects their mental health.
I should have added more to my comment. You’re right! Everyone’s body will naturally want to be a different weight and shape. What is considered a healthy “weight” for person A will not necessarily be the same be the same for person B. The goal should NEVER to be “skinny” or to be a certain size. The goal should ALWAYS to be healthy!
As i only have experience with these two i will only comment on these: My mom has that condition from Oh my venus (i am not sure how to write it) And it is completely normal to exercise a lot and do extremely restrictivr diet and loose weight quickly and binge after, iam not sure how i vould explain but in some way it is realistic. From the 2 drama i can tell you that recovery from eds at least for me, it was like a switch from 2-3 days, i just snapped and ate all i wanted and stopped my bad habits. I know for most people it is not like that at all but a really lucky case, i just wanted to share my personal experience with anorexia (wich was mild)
@@kdramaresearchinstitutefor me recovery took several years even though the peak of my ed only lasted a couple months (because i was being threatened to be taken to the hospital). it took me more than a year to even be able to eat half of a small sized meal, so i guess it is just different for everybody
Also in angel's last mission love. The side character had bullimia and she was also at potrayed more like a bad character but changed like sua at the end.
Someone already mentioned angel's last mission, but Heartstrings also has the antagonist being bulimic. 8n the end she becomes nive and "recovers", bit then it's pushed onto her sister (her condition is caused by her mom micromanaging her life, including diet). Yeah, antagonist with eds have been a thing in kdramas for a very long time
I always had a problem with Weightlifting fairy bcs, as a weightlifter myself i couldnt see Bok Jo as an overweight girl, i couldnt even see her as the strongest of them. It scares me that people actually think that a professional weightlifter could look like that (the best, wtf)
Thank you for raising this topic. Not everyone may agree, but this issue MUST be changed in Korea and other countries. Or it should be focused with the mental health of person in mind.
I actually really liked weightlifting fairy because it showed two different portrayals of eating disorders. The social pressure placed on athletes is so sad. The antagonist in the hospital scene was her being relieved she didn't have to torture herself anymore after her mom was mote concerned about her vs her being a gymnast.
I'm just waiting for a show (especially american) to actually say that eating healthy food in even large proportions is fine, not eating the bad food in large proportions and eating a tiny salad and most of the problems will go away. I think thats what weight loss is evolving into these days. Eating the best type of food for the human body and never getting guilt because you eat good food anyway. Just speaking from personal experience.
this is just so sad. the whole diet culture in south korea is so very toxic too. well, not just in south korea, of course. I wish that can change, even if very slowly.
Gymnasts being forced to be skinny? Ive never heard of that before... you want to eat and workout so you have energy to to a routine with power. How will you do that without food?
I think for gymnasts there is a specific weight range that gives you the best amount of force distribution when your doing flips and stuff. Especially a bunch in a row. Kind of like a seesaw?
there's this one documentary about eating disorders in the climbing scene that has quite a lot of views. i thought professional athletes would have a balanced diet (that may be leaning into an ed because you have to watch it so much, esp. with nutrients and stuff) that isn't as restrictive and focused or obsessed on nutritional value but turns out that's not what it is. it's like that in ballet too and i imagine it's the same with gymnasts
Unfortunately, it’s seen as having power without being “overweight.” Rhythmic gymnastics, which is the type in WLFKBJ, is also more about dance/less focused on power than “regular” gymnastics so there’s even more pressure to be skinny and lose weight. Hope that helps!
I dunno if they're forced to be skinny but I reckon they probably are pressured to avoid being too "thick" in terms of body fat. So while they may be encouraged to eat well, getting too much fat over the muscles may be considered poor form, like in bodybuilding.
This video was really well made ! I didn't my ED triggered. I grew up with anime and drama later on life and it made me hate my body even when I wasn't overweight like now. Standards in Japan and Korea are so bad for women...
For me, there were cute moments in Weightlifting Fairy with the romance, although it was a little strained on her part, but I couldn't fully get into it or enjoy it because of how ridiculous the idea was of Bok Joo really being this tiny girl with almost no muscle. It was just so unrealistic and I couldn't take the story seriously because of it, especially since it's loosely based off of a real person and her body is absolutely nothing like the actress that plays her.
OMG, yes, I have seen the woman who the story is based is. Visually Lee Sung Kyung was a weird casting choice for that role, as if there are no actresses in a bigger body who could portray a funny weightlifter. She did play that role well though, she is great actress. But the dissonance between how the actress looks and how everyone around her describes her body is weird!
You should watch Hello, My twenties or Age of Youth. One of the characters at the first has eating disorders. At first shows how outside of the house she doesn´t eat but inside eat a lot. She cares her appearence too much. Even when at the end of the season two shows when she is with her boyfriend eat too much and later she tried to do excersie weighing herself on the scale every so often. It's very subtle. And she one of the famale lead, no a villain, just sometimes a bratz. But I think many woman in Korea can identify with her.
Sometimes when I watch chinese dramas (the modern ones not old ) they bring up weight dieting and stuff casually emphasising that being over 45 kg is bad and stuff I personally didn’t experience much insecurities abt my weight so I shouldn’t be the judge here but I still find it very uncomfortable
Thanks for sharing this wonderful analysis video. TBH, Oh my venus, is one of my fav drama during my early stage of started watching kdrama. I never had this perspective for this drama. All i thought was, this is the first drama which promotes exercise for weight loss rather than surgery. I really thought it's green flag. Never thought about the other side. Thinking about it now, yes the main lead never loved the actress the way she was. He got attracted to her after she lost weights, he was always hesitant even though he liked her personality. I was just blown away by so ji sub and shin min ah's beauty. WRT, Gangam beauty, it's one of my favorite series even now. They had a good arc for the antogonist. For the lead actress, i felt it very relatable to me. Someone who is insecured about herself every minute. She always self sabotage herself. She thought, she would be happy if she reduce her weight but she wasn't, she thought she would be happy, if she do plastic surgery but she wasn't. She slowly starts to accept, she deserves love and open ups to the lead. Even cha eun woo, always gave her space and time to make her comfortable and always made sure, she will be loved whatever she do. Whenever she has to stand for herself, he always stood by her side and supported. Burger scene also, she was insecured how she looked in front of cha eun woo, and he gave her space and time for her to come out. Yeah, I'd also agree even she was shown getting some healthy treatment.
What I like about Gangnam Beauty is how complex the discussion of beauty standards is, there are different characters who have different experiences with their weight and they all have a character arc and seriously think about these things - the villain, the female lead, Eunwoos character with his relationship to pretty privilege, then there was a side character who was accused of being not pretty and thin enough but she just realizes that she like herself, then all the guys who were into the villain also changed their perspective on what it is they are attracted to. So many complex topics interwoven together. Great show!
Thank God I was not the only person who felt uncomfortable when watching all these dramas. Like there are so many dramas where an overweight female lead gets attention after losing a lot of weight in a month😭
I'll talk about it, cause I think its important to mention it: From someone who suffered from ED for more than 10 years, I must say: shows have the duty to portrait this issues with lots of care, not showing "how to do it" and giving emphasis on the consequences. *I've learnt in tv shows how to "pretend" eating and to how to cover it up* . It's been 7/8 years since I've got better. But even tho, yesterday after "eating more than I should", I've thought about it. It's like some evil little voice saying " _do it, just today, its okay_ ". I'm stronger now, and told to myself: its okay, its just fries. Just don't overdue it next time. I still have severe gastric problems today, also super sensitive (and weak) teeth and more... Consequences don't easily go away. I've done psychological therapy and also have a diet plan (made by a doctor), I've learnt that its okay to eat fries, but I can't eat it everyday. Its not okay to eat everything in my fridge when no one is around, but I must eat something even when no one is around. Its complicated, but its not impossible. Oh, and leave tiktok/insta. Ain't no good for you 😂
It SO dangerous when shows portray bulimia as being an effective but unhealthy method. In reality, it doesn’t work. Your body absorbs calories too quickly. You can’t stop a mentally ill person by telling them they’re unhealthy. You have to use their logic against them if you truly want to save them. I developed bulimia from watching shows like this and others in my life. I stopped immediately after I found out it does nothing but destroy your teeth and your stomach. Not once did I question myself when I thought it was working. I know anecdotal evidence isn’t evidence but I’m really, very passionate about better depictions of this in media that show how damaging it is to your body. That not only is it unhealthy, but it’s ineffective. The easiest sustainable way to lose weight is the healthy way.
It absolutely can be effective. Yes, it's unhealthy and bad for you but to lie and say it doesn't work doesn't help anyone. If you get like most(or all) of it up within like 30 minutes there's no way you body is absorbing that because the food literally hasn't been in your body long enough for that process to take place. For me my bulimia was highly addicting BECAUSE it worked. People spread this lie and I understand why but it's just not true scientifically. Your second paragraph also doesn't make any sense. "Telling someone with bulimia that they should stop because it's unhealthy doesn't work" and then at the bottom of that same paragraph you're listing negative health effects from purging....like that's the same thing
@@brandylarsson978 Some people gain weight while bulimic. You can’t possibly isolate all the factors that went into how you were living your life that caused weight loss. My point was that it’s easier to just do consistent weight training or get on blood sugar meds than throw up within 20 minutes of every meal. The stress from that can literally cause weight gain. And that absolutely is not anecdotal. Telling someone they’re unhealthy can encourage EDs in some people. It lets them know it’s working. Telling someone it doesn’t work and then telling them the warnings is completely different.
@@ratking927 @ratking927 Never said you were lying just that you're wrong and I have nothing against you I just don't like it when people spread misinformation. You can't absorb calories you haven't digested. And yes you CAN gain weight while bulimic but that doesn't mean that it's guaranteed. "You can't possibly isolate all the factors[...] that caused weightloss" CICO babbbbyyy, I was burning more than I took in, so yes it was the bulimia because when I stopped I gained. That's why it was so hard to stop. Bulimia is bad enough as is, I don't see why lying to people is necessary
about weightlifting fairy.. I'll admit that some of the diet advice the coaches give her isnt completely accurate but forcing her to eat makes sense considering she's a weightlifter.. I've been in situations like that myself where I've had to eat even though I was full to be able to put on muscle.. and in the context of the show she was trying to move to a higher weight class so she needed to put on weight fast.. it can be quite difficult to put on weight since she has a lot of muscle and her metabolism will be higher from that muscle mass and all her exercise.. so her eating habits aren't really "questionable".. as for the ex girlfriend yes she does display dangerous habits but the whole point of her character was to comment on the danger of these habits and how they can be life threatening... also i never thought that the male lead calling her chubbs was particularly a problem.. it didn't seem to come from a bad place and bok joo's feelings didn't seem to be genuinely hurt.. rather she seemed to recognise the nickname as just teasing.. i don't think this show intended to promote ideal eating habits from the beginning since all the characters are atheletes and their habits and diets *will* be shaped by the sport they play and how they train...
I have a thyroid issue and you can't fix it in a few months, it takes years. It's so dangerous to tell people that there's a magic way to lose weight when you have a thyroid or any other hormone issues. Your body is already doing its best to keep you alive, and chronic illness is no simple matter.
I don't know though, I had a less severe eating disorder and ended up losing weight without health complications and after some time I gradually started to get myself to stop caring about how much and what I eat, to instead eat as much as I want to, without medical intervention or psychiatric help and I'm still rather thin. So I kind of related a bit with Kangnam Beauty's female lead.
In eccentric chef moon the fl has anorexia to the extent that she is admitted to the hospital for malnutrition cus she passed out on the street and it is shown that she just uses an iv bag through the picture where there's like several holes in her veins and it is just resolved when she eats the ml's cooking because somehow it's good enough that she can even eat food from ppl other than him with no problem in like 2 episodes
I heard about this one when I was researchign this video, but haven't watched this k-drama because the synopsis wasn't that interesting, so thank you for commenting this! Sounds exactly how a k-drama would resolve an anorexia plotline. Whoever wrote this has no idea what eating disorders are, I hate then they do that!
Спасибо за интересное видео. Но я думаю, что на самом деле даже если в корейских дорамах и меняется слегка отношение к диетам ,булемии, анорексии и т.д., то общественное мнение всё равно считает, что все, а особенно девушки должны быть очень - очень худенькими . А если недостаточно худенький, то - неудачник. Очень показательно, что в двух из перечисленных дорам ,главные мужские роли исполняют айдолы Cha Eun woo (Astro) и Rowoon (SF9),вижуалы из популярных мужских групп, оба очень высокие и худенькие, которые со времени стажировки и после дебюта строго контролируются со стороны своих фирм ( что и сколько едят ,сколько весят), точно также как гимнастки из дорамы Фея тяжёлой атлетики.... А есть дорамы, где поднимаются проблемы питания парней?
Я думаю что меняется отношение к психическим заболеваниям и психотерапии а не к стандартам красоты. За последние несколько лет появилось больше дорам в которых главные герои ходят к психиатру (к примеру Mad for each other). Главный герой в сериале должен рассказывать о том что диета не нужна и внешность не главное, но играть этого героя должен вижуал айдол. А "толстую" героиню должна играть высокая актриса с модельной фигурой. Продюсеры дорамы могут себя по плечу похлопать за то что смело заявили что диеты это зло, при этом не меняя стандарты красоты в индустрии. Они могли бы могли не заставлять актрис худеть или давать роли более крупным актрисам, но они боятся потерять деньги и получить критику. Актеров мужчин которые толстые (по стандартам индустрии, в реальности это обычный вес) есть несколько. Их вес в сериалах упоминается, но им никто не рассказывает о диетах (такие герои есть в All of us are dead, Save me, Fight for my way). Есть короткий фильм об анорексии с Lee Dong Hwi под названием Method acting, но я вообще не смогла его нигде найти и не уверена что он существует. Я еще не видела ни одной дорамы в которой парень сбрасывал бы вес кроме Blueming.
I absolutely disagree with oh my venus. This show is really depiction of society and how we assume weight gain equals to eating a lot and not taking of yourself, rather than so many things causing it. Also love the main lead guy, he is absolutely right, he notices what's wrong with her almost immediately and he also tells her and himself that sexy is on the inside, which is correct. He himself deals with pain, chronics illness like cancer and psychological pain that comes from illness. This show was powerful and made me cry along side them. Also discuses before and after of weight loss for both actresses. I am in the medical field and the strict eating of certain foods and healing with more holistic ways of auto immune diseases like hypothyroidism should be normalized and is normal. Just because you want to indulge and have food fantasies doesn't mean you should indulge, self discipline is important. Another important thing discussed in this show that you missed is how they talk about sleeping on the couch instead of in the bedroom and basically her bad habits which may have lead to her hypothyroidism. It can be caused by lifestyle and he is kinda right when he says she kinda her a hand in the cause. Autoimmune diseases can be triggered by our lifestyle. Anyways so many good things to talk about with this drama from weight loss to weight gain to chronic pain to someone training for boxing championships. It's one of my all time faves. This show was more than weight loss. It was about health and ways it can go wrong. For once it wasn't just about the typical talked about issues of bulimia and aneroxia. Oh my Venus rules
i agree completely, I also find it interesting the point of the ed is usually brought across with bulimia- I feel like it simplifies what an eating disorder is into something very physical and surface level. While almost always making it in regards to vanity rather than any other outside issues. I find it a bit disturbing that the eating disorder is used in a benifical way such as losing weight- until it goes 'too far' and there are then major health issues which are shown to be easily overcomeable. In my ID is gangnam beauty where it shows the main character having issues eating in front of her boyfriend I feel again is also only going somewhat surface level and I would have liked to see maybe the boyfriend helping work through the issues with her- or better- her going to a therapist to get into the deeper psychological reasonings. I like though that they did include the idea of not being able to properly eat in front of her boyfriend because it's the beginnings into an uncovery of the different impacts of an ed and not reducing it to one symptom only. Very interesting video- thank you! :))
Yes, it is always so oversimplified, as if it was a just a diet that women do because they want to be more pretty. No mention of side effects for the body and how long and complicated the recovery is!
With ID kdrama- i used to trow out in school for 1-2 months maybe and just decided to stop! And never did this in next 10 years and would not do ever. I used to chow food and spit it. idk that it was so i can excuse this line "with i used it and then stoped" but i am thinking is not common.
Agree, but given South Korea’s beauty standards, I doubt they’ll ever tackle the subject 100% honestly and convey more satisfying/realistic resolutions. That would mean addressing a larger societal issue they don’t want to change, so we’ll probably keep getting these mixed messages about health until they do. Just look at how kpop artists constantly preach about self-love while thriving in an industry where plastic surgery and extreme diets are not just standard, but required. It’s dishonest and patronizing, and yet it’s nowhere near changing. What they could change are the extremes always presented in these shows. There’s rarely a character that starts from a typical thin/fat body type who becomes mid-sized after improving their lifestyle choices, eats healthily but not strictly and lives somewhere in the middle. It’s only ever obese vs anorexic, massive amounts of food vs a spoonful of salad, militant exercise vs spending every free moment watching TV and eating takeout. Even the “masculine” weightlifters vs the “feminine” gymnasts have to be separated into these stereotypical extremes. But what makes me laugh, especially about OMV and WFKBJ (IU's character in Dream High also comes to mind), is how in some of these shows, the male leads like the female leads as they are aka "overweight". So some of the weight shaming and loss doesn't even make any sense, like SK really be confusing themselves sometimes
Any society can change. My country, the US, wasn't so different even 50 years ago. Lots of different factors lead us to our health culture we have today and it's far from perfect in practice and theory. There are lots of different movements and scientific breakthroughs that can attribute to progress, and Korea is in a different place from most of the western world in both of these areas.
I understand your point but I wouldn't say it's patronizing. In my eyes (and personal experience of having things required of me and no one else) it's more of a "take care of yourself in a way I wish I could" situation not a "do as I say not as I do" ordeal
@@aliquid2430 I wish I agreed with this. But given how well acquainted with their fans most popular artists are, they definitely give them specific instructions relating to their own actions and push the "I'm trying to love myself, so you should try to ly as well" and "If even someone as big as me has normal issues and can overcome them, you can to" narrative. We're talking about an industry where brand ambassadorship and being "sold out kings/queens" is huge. If just them wearing clothes gets that entire clothing line or single item to sell out worldwide, then how much more impact do their actual songs and messaging have? A lot more, and they know this
@@T_Cup I'm not sure if I'm reading this correctly but what I'm getting is that they're using their fame to justify their issues so to speak? As in the faux-humble behavior most celebrities have. So basically this reads like you're saying they're slowly redpilling their audience to be okay with their issues? Again I could be reading this entirely wrong or I didn't convey my own point correctly
@@aliquid2430 I'm saying their messaging is contradictory because they don't often practice what they preach - far from it even - and they're not honest about themselves to be preaching in the first place. What are fans supposed to take away from someone who constantly sings about being perfect as they are while greatly profitting off of their image, which is due in large part to plastic surgery, extreme dieting and designer clothes and makeup, while they deny ever getting plastic surgery or starving? "I'm perfect as I am, except for my body and face and nose and jawline and hair and personality, and I should love myself regardless, but also I should change everything about myself because being over size zero is basically being obese and wearing anything other than luxury isn't cute"?
I love those drama's especially the Glory (bullying) but I feel that such drama's should have a warning watching it and also at the end there should be a helpline for people who are suffering from this.
'Oh My Venus' is one of my favourite KDramas. I am fat myself but have been doing martial arts a lot when I was younger. I think you are misunderstanding them as characters as well as how they are with each other in a relationship. Their initial relationship was him being a martial arts coach turning into a personal trainer for her due to her health and personal issues and desires. He saw potential in her and cared enough about her life to want to help her. This was not him forcing a life on her. She wanted to get healthier herself. Her goals were her own but she lacked guidance and persistence due to other factors in her life. And she really just likes all kinds of tasty food (can relate lol). He does what a personal trainer does and realised she wasn't talking out of her ass when he sees her slimmed down face for the first time. While that is partially superficial which I do not like, it's not entirely superficial because in that moment he also realises that all kinds of things she talked about before which he just could't see being true now suddenly ringing true to him which changed his whole image in his head about her. So it was understandable why he suddenly felt a lot more for her even though it was júst her face that had lost weight, something you left out. He fell in love with her while she still was fat. And now he wanted to help her even more but as a personal trainer you are naturally curious what the end result will be and look like. So the latter on top of being in love with her fueled for a whole lot of curiosity and excitement. Not saying that focussing on that is great for someone who is supposedly in love with you but seeing his background and who he is as a person, it is at least understandable and not necessarily toxic or anything. As for the baby thing, I think the directors/writers actually took a good shot here. The vision for it seemed to be that she is still herself and he doesn't love her less for it. His response was not in disappointment of her as you can see. It's more in stress of all their hard work having gone down the drain in such a short amount of time hahaha which I found really funny because as a fat person who has gone up and down, can relate lol. It was meant to be a funny haha moment. Anyway, great that you're doing an analysis but I hope both you as well as everyone else knows that this is your own perspective. Would be nice if you put that as a disclaimer. We all perceive things differently due to how life has formed us along with the experiences we have. I get your perspective, I personally cannot relate to it though. That doesn't mean it's wrong or right. It's just different due to most likely different life experiences and such. As for the topic of eating disorders, some characters in your named KDramas definitely had them and I am glad actually that characters like these are shown in KDramas. It needs awareness. Korean culture is tóó concerned about looking perfect. Both for men and women. It leads to SO MANY people dealing with all kinds of mental and physical health issues. There's a reason why I abruptly distanced myself from my overindulgence in Korean culture and entertainment years ago. I wasn't fat back then. I was just appalled with these nonsensical standards that have such high negative consequences and for what? Really for what? Is looking pretty to others worth ruining yourself over? It is not. And this is also why so many people started standing up against these unnecessary standards. Now people live more as their authentic selves. This even showed in skin colours (a lot of people used pale foundation colours even when it didn't colour match them), nowadays Korean people even tan to rebel against the ridiculousness. I remember when Hyuna made songs about how people called her dark-skinned and I as a brown person kept wondering ??? Who what where? Dark-skinned? She was 80 shades lighter than I am and I am considered medium to light brown lol. This ridiculousness also showed in how people talked about weight. If you weren't between the magical numbers of 40 and 55, you were fat according to many. Korean women shamed themselves when they fell outside of those ranges. I remember women of my height (178cm) wanting to be 40kg???? I would be non-existent if I were 40kg. Freaking Paper Mario esque. But nowadays (I saw a rise in this when globalisation started to rapidly increase due to the international rise of KPOP) I see more Korean people thinking "Fuck it." and I take my hat off for them. That's brave because still a large majority will talk down on you when they see you being supposedly 'fat'. But their braveness and courage will help in changing society's mentality for the better. A lot of respect towards them for carrying a large burden for the sake of being able to live the way they want to.
Oh My Venus..... Oh My Gosh!!!!!! That is not a boyfriend or a personal trainer! That is not any kind of fitness professional! What you call something like that is 'psychopath'! But OMG....when people are talking about 2015 as being nostalgic! I am soooooo old!!!!
another good-intentions-shitty-execution example of eating disorders in kdrama is Love is for Suckers. they show a fat character being cast in a dating show despite producer's protests and being treated like 'awwwww how brave for you to want to find love with that disgusting body of yours'. she reveals being sexually abused as a child causing her eating, which is a questionable writing choice as if not being skinny could only be caused by something horrible. then, they expose her trauma to the public for ratings and make her stand opposite a bulimic character fighting for the attention of the same man. said man is a chef and he is horrified when the pretty, skinny character throws up his food but the overweight girl eats it with gusto and he never contemplates WHY THIS IS. zero self reflection on the part of the show. he ends up with the fat girl and we're supposed to be impressed they were so modern to allow this to happen. i could talk more and i hope you make a second part of this thoughtful analysis
I know that there is a lot of make up involved in daily-life in Asian countries, but I know a girl with an eating disorder (knew about 3-4 in my life) and all of them looked exceptionally unhealthy. And with that, I mean, broken skin, acne, dark circles around their eyes, caved in cheeks, unhealthy edges on their hair, hair falling out, wounds that don't heal and crusts on them, infected bodyparts, smelly breath, yellow teeth, redness and swelling, allergic-like reactions in the skin, dry lips, flakey skin, etc. And those women in the drama's are "just" skinny with slightly caved in cheeks. That's not a realistic depiction of someone that is on the verge of death, you don't look like that if you're nearly dead. Especially if you're in bed without make up.
Yes, there is never any mention or any visual representation of the actual side effects of eating disorders. K-dramas make it look like it will just make you dainty and smol, and don't show the diarrhea, the swollen cheeks an the bad skin!
I have major issues with the fact that Korea as a whole focuses so much on weight, I am now thinner (US 2) than I ever have been in my life and weigh 61kg at 169cm - people I know that work out even more than me and have more muscle mass even have 66kg at the same height. Weight does not say much and I wish they'd stop saying that girls should ALWAYS weigh less than 50kg, that's just bizarre.
I can suggest "Lost"/ "Human Disqualification", in my opinion that's the best drama about depression that I've ever seen. In "Our Blues" one of the characters struggles with depression. There are also "My Liberation Notes" and "My Mister", where the characters are clearly depressed, but no one really points it out as an illness🤷🏻♀️ I think that's all I can think about for now:))
kim bok joo does not have an eating disorder or disordered eating habits... she eats a lot but its not binge eating disorder. shes not the average person but is a strength athlete. she has to eat a lot to maintain her strength. and if you actually watched the drama you would notice that she was never ashamed of her body, she was proud of her physique even. her "questionable eating habits" u mentioned were just because she had to move up a weight class for the upcoming competition. it was almost like she was being force fed, which is hard to watch but not at all indicative of an eating disorder as it had nothing to do with her trying to cope with something or her body image.
I don't necessarily disagree with you on kim bok joo, but there is something to be said about eating disorders being normalized when they are for the sake of a sport despite it being just as unhealthy/psychologically damaging in many cases. Is it really OK to purposefully starve or over-eat just because it's for a non-body-image-related reason? What does it say about sports culture that we tolerate, encourage, and often expect athletes to put their health at risk for what is essentially a game? Weightlifters frequently engage in what we would easily call yo-yo dieting (which has demonstrably bad effects on the body), if it weren't taking place in the context of a sport. And kim bok joo clearly does have disordered eating in the sense that she overeats-- visibly in pain-- on account of trying to up her weight class, and I think it is too quick to dismiss this as harmless just because her motivation is her sport. We may not think she has an eating disorder per se, but that doesn't mean there isn't something pretty unhealthy going on with her eating that we don't really have a name for. (You can have disordered eating without having an eating disorder). I also think it's really important to remember that eating disorders are NOT necessarily connected to negative body image, although they often are and that is the depiction we are almost exclusively shown in popular media. Eating disorders are complex and variable, but the common denominator is problems with a sense of control (or lack thereof), which can absolutely be present without negative body image. People struggling with EDs use disordered eating to cope with a feeling of not being in control. That is why many experts liken the condition to OCD. Our collective lack of understanding of these aspects of the nature of eating disorders is a big reason why they typically go unnoticed in men. So while kim bok joo doesn't display body image problems, we should keep in mind that that doesn't conclusively mean she doesn't have an eating disorder. Ultimately, she doesn't appear to have control issues or other ED indicators, so I agree with you that she probably doesn't have one, but I just wanted to bring these two thoughts into the conversation.
Yet I am glad I watched " oh my Venus" because It helped me lose weight and stop eating such big proportions. And FYI I am 4'11 with a healthy weight and BMI now AND I am not starving myself with salads. It's all about interpretation. They also mentioned that with starving yourself and extreme weight loss comes infertility. But people usually want to talk about all the negative things that comes from dramas
It's these kdramas that have literally triggered my eds including bulimia anorexia and others; these shows really villainize eds and it would recommend watching them without tws
I mean, I do think it is kind of darkly comedic that Sua is used to advertise the diet pill. The character with an eating disorder is advertising your diet product? edit: The fact that my weight, especially as a young woman, is constantly brought up, is frustrating. Recently, I've been losing weight because of stress and a new job. And I keep getting compliments and told how good it is that I've lost weight. I was never overweight, I am nearing being underweight. There is no genuine concern when I point out it's not on purpose. I get so stressed out that I feel sick when I try to eat on days I work. I struggled with ED's when I was younger, but now I've basically had to adopt disorded eating behaviours so I'm not constantly losing weight.
I was a bit torn on the product placement first - are they taking the money and mocking the sponsor and they used product placement ironically or are they using ED discussions to promote diet products? I think I skew more to the "this is predatory advertising" side now, that product placement was not cool, even though it feels so ironic. I am sorry you have to listen to these comments! People need to stop commenting on bodies, that's so rude. And don't always assume that weightless is a good thing, when they don't know what they are talking about. I hope you nourish your body with tasty food today :)
This is similar to others environments around with industries in both cases. Entertainment includes Music showing wrongdoing with advice to self-esteem both men and women togetherness. Just need more Oh where in surroundings.
OhMyVenus was not as fatphobic as others I've seen. Its more about the importance of taking care of yourself. She at first wants to lose weight because she thinks that will solve her problems, we see that type of negative thinking can lead to in her former friends story. He takes her to get a physical in the beginning of their training where it is discovered she has thyroid issues, which he apologizes for pushing her to hard and after developes a workout plan that will work for her. He also keeps her accountable regarding her sleeping, eating, and workout habits which is what she asked him to do as a trainer, as well as reminder her to take her medication. He also takes her to train jujitsu to build her confidence after her stalker issue. He falls in love with her personality not her physical appearance. Her weight goals are no longer about others treat her but how she treats her self. Also, the scene where she makes the guys have a "lazy, no workout, junk food day" also shows you don't have to always be strict on yourself The drama i do have a bone to pick with is in She was pretty, Park Seo Joon's character's eating disorder is never addressed. As will as Eccentric Chef Moon's female leads eating disorder is not seen as a big deal, didn't finish watching it so i dont know if it was ever dealt with.
I do believe media companies have a responsibility to make sure the things they produce send out healthy ideas especially when it comes to topics about health .. Not only does it present the writers and companies as stupid and not educated but it also aids in supporting and aiding inappropriate and just unhealthy ideas
does anyone have a kdrama or Korean film (i'll even take jdorama recs) that has a main character with an ED (that is explicitly framed as an ED)? I want to see the difference of openly portraying a protag with an ED for once
Someone in a different comment said "Eccentric Chef Moon" has an FL with anorexia, but it's not well done, she is healed quickly by eating ML's cooking. The American movie "To the bone" is all about EDs and about the main character trying to heal. I fell like Korean media is still struggling with making the main character go through this. IN terms of mental health issues "Mad for each other" did a pretty good job making the two main characters go to therapy and heal, making their depression and ptsd more relatable, I hope we get a show with a similar tone about EDs in the future.
Developing a healthy relationship with nutrient dense foods that nourish your body and mind is what is a good long term goal for overall health and fitness. You can be fit and healthy and still have some abdominal fat. That shouldn't be something we are ashamed of. Its completely normal for woman to carry some fat on their lower bellies and sometimes around their hips and thighs. People need to stop body shaming and scrutinizing appearances. If someone doesn't appreciate that you are happy and healthy where you are at then they are not someone to have around in your life.
I am still searching for a kdrama with an actual fat women in it being the protagonist, not losing weight, resolving her issues around her body and finding love not despite her looks. There isn't any western shows like this if you know any please tell me, with actual fat women though not a skinny girl with chubby cheeks
Can you discuss why so many videos eg female camping videos, on RUclips spend most of their time cooking and eating? But the emphasis is not on the recipe, but with her actually eating it. It's like people are obsessed with watching these girls eat, with close ups of chewing, etc.
I feel like it is the same as all the "what i eat in a day" videos or the "girls eating carbs" instagram accounts or Bella Hadid posting pictures of food she definitely didn't eat. The Korean equivalent of this are mukbang videos or the whole culture of idols saying "i like it when women eat well" - all these have in common is that they are thin conventionally attractive women. Everyone wants to eat tasty foods, but it is only socially acceptable to eat if you look like you barely eat. If we look at thin women eating it makes eating tasty meals look like an ok thing to do. If anyone in a larger body would post the same type of videos or photos people would hate it and cry about PrOMotInG oBesITy. We as a society love looking at thin people eating big meals, because it validates out feeling that if a thin person can eat a lot and be thin, that means that anyone who is larger is just lazy and horrible, so we don't need to stop fatshaming or question our narrow beauty standards as a society...
this might be ironic for some ppl but here in my culture women are supposed to be curvy and somehow chubby to consider beautiful or worthy of getting married you will find ppl are willing to eat pills just to gain weight, especially girls before their wedding its so sad to see that because most of them aren't from a doctor any sort of medical experts I am considered underweight just because of my fair weight tbh I'm just flat back when I was younger I was really insecure about that I remember everyone was telling me to eat more and that silly joke do u even eat? that made me hate food more because I hate being pressured to do anything in life now im so comfortable with myself stilIi get some comments omg you are so flat it took me so long to accept myself in an environment where I couldn't fit in the beauty standers it depends where you live but self-acceptance will be hard if you don't fit in when I was younger watching kdramas I was happy bcz I fit in with them I never stopped eating on perpuse or eat a lot and not gain weight I jusr have small appetite and in the last few months I have issues so I don't go out that often while not stressing over academic validation a gained few kgs just bcz I stopped my daily walks to uni
Honestly I wish people would just stop commenting on other people's bodies and let everyone live! Everybody has such a different level of natural hunger and a different body shape, but we as a societiy come up with some random number and decide that this is desirable now, and everyone needs to either starve or stuff themselves to achieve it!
wait but the women from tomorrow wasn't framed as a villain, she was actually really likable as they went deeper into her story. i personally believe that besides the ending tomorrows depiction on eating disorders and body positivity was really well done.
Yes, she wasn't a villain, that's why she doesn't go to therapy. Only villains go to therapy or seek medical help in all of these examples. But yes, I think Tomorrow handled this topic pretty well and had a good body positivity message and handles the eating disorder with a lot of compassion.
Yeah, both are k-dramas with high production value and talented actors! My favorite k-dramas have some problematic tropes, doesn't mean I can't enjoy them. I am not advocating that we need to stop watching these :)
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Oh I would’ve liked to see more analysis on why eating disorders are villianized. My theory is that the films view it as choosing vanity over health, and that “hateful people likely hate themselves even more”. But while they villianize vanity, they also have rigid beauty standards for the protagonist they aren’t willing to give up. So rather than just being happy and healthy, she is either effortlessly pretty or she loses weight for “good” reasons like “health” or “determination” or “revenge”. Because she’s not doing it for attention, it is seen as not vain, therefore she isn’t disordered. Also, there’s the underlying idea that only “truly sick” people need therapy. “Sick” as in “crazy”. Since the protagonist isn’t crazy, she doesn’t need anything more than encouragement. Villains who are irredeemable are sent to therapy.
Ultimately this mindset stems from a society that over values slimness and beauty, that also villianizes vanity, and doesn’t understand the nature of disordered eating. Almost all of them have “just eat more lol” as a solution to anorexia, although their unhealthy mindset around weight is viewed with a bit more nuance.
Your analysis is so spot on, I think you absolutely hit the nail on the head! This is the difference between a hero with an eating disorder and a villain with an eating disorder. I could not have worded it better!
seriously they literally all encourage the main character to get better (eating one snack) but i feel like the whole time there energy also is so condiscending like "dont gain it back though you wouldnt want to be like betty that was hot but is not" its so disingenuous.
@@dolliemollly yeah, literally. don't be fat, but also don't be skinny, have some confidence, but not too much. Be pretty but in a natural way where you don't know you are pretty. You need to eat with love and eat a lot, but also don't be fat and don't have an eating disorder!
Ah, yeah. Their approach to gaining weight is so unhealthy too. When people were harping on Sunmi for being too skinny, some of her fans defense was that she felt like shit when she was gaining weight. Which she did by forcing herself to eat burgers and junk food to gain weight. ANYONE would feel like shit trying to gain weight that way. And now they just say she is "naturally skinny" because the weight gain was bad for her.
@@TuningAnApple omg, ppl can only think in extremes. i beg someone to introduce tdee to korean dieters
weight lifting fairy unintentionally touched on the gross standards in terms of diet and weight classes in competitive sport. As someone that did very competitive sports at points in my life I do know the reality of high level sport and competition culture. It lead many people, guys and girls, to have body dysmorphia and disorded eating habits. It's too bad the writers and producers didn't care enough to not condone that culture and those standards set for athletes. (This has to do with sports that base pools about weight classes and stress importance on muscle mass ie. boxing, mma, rugby).
Yeah I feel like they wanted to handle this topic, but also didn't comment on it. They clearly showed what kind of expectations various competitive sports have and how they are constantly weighed, but the writers didn't come to any conclusions about it and only one character got real consequences from it, like it's ok that everyone else's body get surveilled this way. The first person who ever commented on my body was my gymnastics trainer, I still have quite a vivid memory of it.
@@mannikka
through years of having gymnast friends I've definitely heard some horror stories about the behaviours and environments that surround it, especially when it came to the aesthetics of the athletes. But I'm glad to hear you got out before things became really bad for you.
My personal experience and the experience I saw firsthand was in rugby and various kinds of contact sports like wrestling. Wrestling in particular was rampant with teenage boys cutting down excessively on weight in order to be the biggest in a pool of guys smaller than you, instead of being the smallest in a pool of athletes with more mass comparatively. Lots of water "cleanses" and fasting was promoted to many of the guys I knew that were in lower weight classes despite them having to train for hours on end. Both during practice and in their own time. I watched dudes create an incredibly warped sense of self because of coaches that couldn't care less about their athletes mental or physical health.
Seeing weight lifting fairy kinda just wave a carrot in front of the audience and then immediately throw it in the trash was annoying but not surprising.
Doesn’t even have to be competitive level 😂 - lots of TikTok’s about body dysmorphia from just going to the gym - never seen so many guys body checking themselves so hard….
@@icingcake High standards about what kind of body we should have is everywhere. Going to the gym or not is not going to change much of it about body dysmorphia, except if the person can better themselve throught the weight training.
@@icingcake ohmygod yeah, we are in such an awful era of how people use the gym. It is still very misunderstood by many people that are convinced their incredibly high standards for themselves are healthy. I remember coming across some really good videos about how many guys refuse to see their unhealthy workout regimen as genuinely harmful or even a form of self harm, because they are so convinced their motivations of having to look perfect are helping them.
I love My ID is Gangnam Beauty in the way they portrayed Sua. They showed both layers of bulimia; the desirability, the pretty privilege, the better treatment, but then the other side: the desperate, despairing loneliness.
Yes! By far the most nuanced portrayal of EDs, quite complex!
yes i think the slight juxtaposition between the two characters was really interesting, thats why i always really enjoyed the show, because both characters were going through similar issues and how regardless about how they look they couldnt be completely happy without the issues they put themselves through!
Yes, I didn’t really like the kdrama but the story revolving around Sua, the “villain” was top tier.
@@RH-xp7ju Yeah, even the acting of the leads made it hard to watch, but I kept watching because of Sua
Yes exactly. I love how they don't demonize sua. Even tho the things she did were wrong they humanize her. And show the protagonists flaws as well. For example how mirae used to rate others.
Omg, why is there so much weigh loss product placement in the k-dramas? Really good video, thank you for making it!
Very unethical!
because being thin is the beauty standard in korea and a lot of people in korea going on terrible diets and consume diet pills to get to their ideal weight (usually around 40 kg) which is really sad :(.. these shows know they will profit from promoting them
There's a lot that kind of weight loss product sponsorships by idols and random korean youtubers
@@bubblegum-cf4zo its honestly so frustrating and irritating when a show covers a serious issue then adds a random product placement that is the complete opposite their message? liike its actually so awful
Coz being fat is ugly
Im absolutely stunned that soo ah taking diet pills was ad placement Thats absolutely sinister. Shes basically participating in self harm when she consumes them.
No for real, when I saw that I was so taken aback, like how are you advertising weight loss pills that an eating disordered person is taking?? That's like showing a character with a drinking and driving problem and advertising the bottle they use to drink while doing it. Sick.
I watched Oh My Venus, having no idea what it was about and honestly? Till this day is the one show I don't recommend people to watch and I regret wasting my time on it. It's shocking that everyone behaved like she was obese and that scene in the end where she tells her husband she's pregnant and he basically cares about her looks made me so upset that I couldn't even be like "ohhh, happy ending"
Yes, people keep talking about how cute the romance is, but it really isnt! Oh my Venus did not age well, there is so much fatphobia!
Ikr especially the your body is for me line like the hell that's her body and you have no control or entitlement over it.
Actually, in the end I was on hubby's side. It wasn't "omg, you looks awful now when you gain you weight back", it was about health and risks during pregnancy. She gained in two months more that women usually gain throughout pregnancy (and even more). Everyone is individual but gaining like 20 kg in two months is dangerous, just as losing them in short time. I know many women who gained about 15-20 kg closer to 9th month and could barely walk, and what she'll be like?
Saying it was because of babies is just an excuse, her babies were less than 500 g then
I'm saying it as a woman who isn't obsessed with weight and diets
@@ОльгаАнохина-щ6ц Yeah, but she also first lost this amount of weight in around 2-3 months. My point is the weightless was unhealthy and unsustainable, which is why she gained it all back in such a short time, her body just went back to where it was as soon as she went off her extreme diet.
@@kdramaresearchinstitute yes, I agree. People should lose this weight during years to keep result
Still, it doesn't make her situation healthy in the end. I only saw people disgusted with his reaction and no one who thinks that he could be right. Though he sounded rude, he had a point. But viewers just labeled him a fatshamer and used her pregnancy as an excuse without thinking about the reasons
Sooah is so fucking relatable. Reducing a person to their appearance has horrible consequences, I really think she was a well written villainess that shows a level of awareness of how Korean beauty standards can create a “Marylin and Jackie” kind of misogyny that realizes itself in both men and women.
I think I've spent a lot of time looking through Western and Eastern popular media, and unfortunately as an Asian I have to say that Asians still have a pretty toxic relationship with weight. Not that it's so much better in the West, but I've definitely seen more widespread acceptance and normalization of different body types in Western entertainers and more awareness of what should and shouldn't be said when it comes to weight. A lot of Eastern popular media will proudly promote harmful eating habits and unrealistic expectations without realising or, quite frankly, caring about the harm that they are doing.
Ive heard, especially in korea dieting culture is huge. It’s impossible to go a day without hearing someone talking about dieting, or how they’re gaining weight. Or taking weight loss supplements
The fat culture in the west is a problem. It just pisses me off that you'll only refer to underweight eating habits as harmful but never the overweight ones.
@@foofung9961 we do. But we also dont call people who aren’t overweight, (aka a lot of the “fatsuits” in these shows) fat. Eating a lot, or being chubby arent bad things. When people are obese of course we talk about it.
@@beelzemobabbity right
@@foofung9961 because this is commenting on a video talking about problematic diet culture in k-drama.
There are lots of videos talking about weight problems in western countries, and I haven't seen any comment talking about diet problem in eastern countries under those. I don't see any problem with that. So why should it be a problem vise versa? Because the west is more important than the east and that's why you can ignore the east but never ever the west? Idk. You make your own case
"that she probably cannot even digest" - YES! You are the first person to get this particular thing right! I was bulimic (well, anorexia binge-purge type) for many years and eventually I found that I couldn't digest food even if I wanted to. Like even if I tried to eat something small and light, it would sit heavy in my stomach and I'd vomit against my will (like when you're sick with food poisoning or something) and it would up up completely undigested, sometimes more than 24 hours after I'd eaten it. I had to be an inpatient and start with Ensure drinks and then very liquidy clear soups etc and gradually build my diet up to being able eat normal foods again.
Yes, none of these ED movies and TV shows ever mention the side effects and what it does to your body. Makes me think that the writers don't have any experience with an ED or didn't do that much research. I hope you are doing better now!
@@kdramaresearchinstitute I am doing better, thanks! A little of 4 years ED free 😁
but speak for yourself na
also the girl took a tiny bit of a cheescake
@@joseabey3455 cheesecake is very rich and heavy. Even a few bites would probably be enough to make her (involuntarily) throw up. The inability to digest is complete as in nothing solid even in teeny amounts can be digested.
But without fibre a person would become constipated
The suddenly-better-with-3-days-in hospital/therapy reminds me of the WESTERN trope in movies and books where the main character always make a friend who is much worse than they are, then their friends died from their ED and main character immediately completely recovers
I'm so glad you brought up the weight loss pill product placement in My ID is Gangnam Beauty. The original webtoon obviously didn't have that, and I can't imagine the horror the author must have experienced to find out this product placement was a thing in the adaptation of this work. It's ridiculous. They should have just shown some generic diet pills to get their point across instead of advertising.
I lived in Korea for a few years and it was shocking to me how normalized disorderd eating was.. 1 meal a day.. skipping meals/eating 500 kcal during the week and then BAM chicken and beer, lots of alcohol and `bad food´ on the weekends, then again diet pills etc. and low calorie foods for a few days... I know this also happens in other countries but there you might encounter genuine concern for your wellbeinng whereas in Korea you will be told that you lack mental stength, that you don´t try hard enough..
If binge eating was a country:
I didnt even realize it was a real product placement. Disgusting
I haven't even watched the video but I just want to say thank you for not showing any throwing up scenes, I have emetophobia and I really appreciate you being considerate. Most people don't understand so I get jumpscared, thank you!
Yeah, same, I hate seeing it. Some of these k-dramas do have these scenes, but I don't think it is necessary to show them. I didn't make this video to trigger viewers, I wanted this channel to be a safe and chill space where we can critically discuss these topics in a non stressful way :)
honestly, what ive noticed with kdramas is that they only show them chewing the food and not swallowing it. Ive only started to notice that in weightlifting fairy. And in true beauty, they'll just get a few small bites and show them preparing more the food than eating it and talking more than eating the food. I remember French eating culture being lowkey glorified (or at least by my mom and sister) because of how amazed we are that they talk more and eat less over a meal that they're supposed to have being one of their "secrets" of staying skinny.
They also have to film the takes like 10 times, and the actors definitely have to spit everything out. You know in comparison to American media, I was actually surprised at how often people are shown eating in k-dramas. I am super used to scenes with a fully set table and the actors dont touch the food at all, just talk and then leave. K-dramas are a foodie heaven compared to that
What is interesting is that bulimics are consistently shown to be skinny and pretty, but that's not real, I have bulimia, and it causes me to be so bloated; my legs, arms, stomach, and face are much more bloated than ever...
This 100%! They kinda glamorize EDs that way, as if it was a lifehack to look thin and pretty, when in reality it is self harm with grave consequences! I hope you are kind to your body today
For weightlifiting fairy is pretty accurate in both the « dirty-bulking » obsession with over eating and the gymnast binge cycles
To everyone who has EDs, anorexia, orthodoxia, bulimia etc... i hope you will recover and you will becoming your best self ❤ you deserve to be healthy, love yourself and be happy
Honestly I really do like how Tomorrow handled the topic, but since they only have one episode per person, I guess they had to wrap it up somehow, which is sad because the rest of the episode was really good! AMAZING video btw!!!
Honestly I hated how they portrayed rarely portrayed the suicidal people getting therapy. It was just the main lead sweet talking to them and done! Suddenly the people aren't suicidal! Lol
Plus how they portrayed the concept of hell and how people who took their own lives will go to "hell" and stuff. It was a weird ride for me
In the Catholic religion as they do practice it in Korea, killing yourself is one of the biggest sins. Though I believe it is removed from the Roman Catholic, practicing Catholics still see it as your are condemned.
Some shamans also believe they become an evil spirit out for revenage.
Other shows have talked about it throughout the practicing religions in korea.
I feel like in tomorrow kdrama,the eating disorder that his sister was added because it wants to highlight it can be in different situation and more encouraging when people around you are supportive and loving towards you .The girl that has ed currently didn't have anyone around her to talk about or vent as his siter has heartwarming family around her.Yep that is my opinion.I do respect yours too.
That is a really good point, it makes sense :)
I think that was mainly the point of the whole series: to show people in many situations that they aren't alone and can find help if they reach out. And to teach people what can be signs of someone struggling.
The drama Angel’s last mission: love also talks about EDs, and it even shows the scar! Not many people talk about it though
That one is still on my to-watch list!
If eating disorders where solved as easy as in tomorrow then no-one would die from it
I avoided this video cause I was scared of getting triggered but I'm so happy I watched this. Watching K-drama definitely affected my mental health even though I was just watching it to destress. I was so mad but I didn't even understand why.
Also when you're doing intense exercising, you want to make sure you eat a bunch of good carbs about 1 to 2 hours before you workout. Carbs are the fuel your body needs to fuel your workout! After you're done working out, you want to eat a snack loaded with proteins! Proteins are what your body needs rebuild your muscles after you're done working out!
I think for kdramas to start depicting ED's realistically, they'd have to first stop forcing them on their stars. These stars (men included) are literally starving for years. The reason "healthy" food is depicted as being a starvation diet is because that's exactly what it is and what the industry idealizes. Honestly, I think the "foodie" dramas are more insidious because of how they depict the characters' relationships with food despite the fact that there were most definitely spit-takes for every bite. One of my absolute favorite dramas was My Lovely Sam Soon, but I've been super nervous about revisiting it because I remember that the main lead was depicted as overweight. She definitely wasn't, she's just a "korean midsize" (meaning she undoubtedly would still wear a size small in American clothing brands). I remember really enjoying the story and the romance, and I don't want to rewatch it and be faced with more double standards about food and weight and the morality these dramas often assign to those two things.
I watched the first three dramas years ago and I did not understand that they both had eating disorders (main lead and side character). Especially in WFKBJ, I think Bok joo's disordered eating is written to seem as normal which is why I did not catch that when I watched it.
Yeah, its like everyone expects women to always be losing weight, so it isn't even noticable unless the disordered eating is extreme!
Oh my God, this was excellent - I always hated these stories, but could never articulate what exactly was wrong. Among everything else, it's the double standards! Excuse me while I go share this everywhere---
I think the drama Tomorrow mentions therapy but not directly. The scene with prison and hospital, for me, is the representation of therapy and the pain that someone needs to go through while recovering from ED. During the scenes, the main character shifts through different emotions. Initially, she feels angry and then she lets go of it and seems that she is taking responsibility for her recovery. Potentially the scene with prison and hospital it is the demonstration of the process that a person needs to go through when dealing with an eating disorder. Obviously, in real life, this can take months and years in the movie it takes 2min. Additionally, the angel potentially represents the therapist because of his compassionate, understanding and accepting stance.
As someone who used to practice gymnastics. It is very true how eating disorders are pushed on the girls even the weighing. In Margarita Mamuns documentary she talks about it and its very sad
As someone who is very health conscious, here is a tip for those trying to lose weight.
Do NOT starve yourself. Cutting off calories will only make your body want to hang onto fat even more. Will you lose weight? Yes, but your body will also try to gain back the weight at any chance because it's preparing for your next time "calories are scarce." Also, if you really are hungry, eat! The trick is to stop eating when you're full. Whenever ever you are hungry, try to focus on eating slower, smaller portion sizes, and eating healthier foods.
Agreed! i used to eat only one proper meal during the day which resulted in snacking and weight gain. When i started eating more proper meals durring the day i automatically stopped snacking and lost weight
Calorie deficit is the only way to lose weight tho. Either someone has to increase their physical activity or to reduce the amount of calories they take in. But calorie deficit doesn't necessarily means unhealthy.
The problem is: the kpop body and the 2000s model body is not a natural average level of skinny it is always slightly underweight.
A very small percentage of people can actually weigh this little healthily, we are made to have a certain shape, and healthy shape is not always slim hourglass... Poeple with ED are often poeple who weren't even overweight or chubby when they started do diet. And don't think we are that delusional to not know many of the implications poeple mentions but it such a strong urge, such unexplainable disgust at our own body meat...
The hole is so much deeper and more complex than that...
Another that I believe leads to disconfort with weigh that is not often mentioned is the over vigilance over womans body, combined with our adoration for it ,(we, like humans, don't love the male as much) and puberty.
A combination, woman's body tender to go through bigger differences we are more flacid, we stretch more during puberty, envolve less muscles, tend to envolve more hips body fat, ass, are more prone to hormonal issues and there is pregnancy, so is way to easy to say goodbye to whatever shape we are used to be comfortable in.
Than there is over sexualization, many woman with curvy bodies have this complain, whatever they is Automatically perceived as more sensual, even if they wear simples cloths their body shape will be more prominent, and the problem isn't the sexualization itself, is not being able to turn it of, almost never, whether is desired or not.
And there's puberty, about the time our body starts to gain more fat, I believe is not spoken enough how puberty, especially how the reaction to tenage girls puberty affects their mental health.
I should have added more to my comment. You’re right! Everyone’s body will naturally want to be a different weight and shape. What is considered a healthy “weight” for person A will not necessarily be the same be the same for person B. The goal should NEVER to be “skinny” or to be a certain size. The goal should ALWAYS to be healthy!
My anorexia vanished completely after your amazing tips, thank you very much.
As i only have experience with these two i will only comment on these: My mom has that condition from Oh my venus (i am not sure how to write it) And it is completely normal to exercise a lot and do extremely restrictivr diet and loose weight quickly and binge after, iam not sure how i vould explain but in some way it is realistic.
From the 2 drama i can tell you that recovery from eds at least for me, it was like a switch from 2-3 days, i just snapped and ate all i wanted and stopped my bad habits.
I know for most people it is not like that at all but a really lucky case, i just wanted to share my personal experience with anorexia (wich was mild)
I am really glad you were able to recover quickly! Thank you for your comment, I guess these can be realistic depictions that people can relate to :)
@@kdramaresearchinstitutefor me recovery took several years even though the peak of my ed only lasted a couple months (because i was being threatened to be taken to the hospital). it took me more than a year to even be able to eat half of a small sized meal, so i guess it is just different for everybody
@@alisyathahira6675 It is sooo different for everyone! Sending you love, hope you are better now
@@kdramaresearchinstitute Thank you for understanding my point of view. I apreciate it.
Also in angel's last mission love. The side character had bullimia and she was also at potrayed more like a bad character but changed like sua at the end.
Oh i haven't watched that one yet, gonna check it out!
@@kdramaresearchinstitute 👍
Someone already mentioned angel's last mission, but Heartstrings also has the antagonist being bulimic. 8n the end she becomes nive and "recovers", bit then it's pushed onto her sister (her condition is caused by her mom micromanaging her life, including diet). Yeah, antagonist with eds have been a thing in kdramas for a very long time
I always had a problem with Weightlifting fairy bcs, as a weightlifter myself i couldnt see Bok Jo as an overweight girl, i couldnt even see her as the strongest of them. It scares me that people actually think that a professional weightlifter could look like that (the best, wtf)
Thank you for raising this topic. Not everyone may agree, but this issue MUST be changed in Korea and other countries. Or it should be focused with the mental health of person in mind.
I actually really liked weightlifting fairy because it showed two different portrayals of eating disorders. The social pressure placed on athletes is so sad.
The antagonist in the hospital scene was her being relieved she didn't have to torture herself anymore after her mom was mote concerned about her vs her being a gymnast.
I'm just waiting for a show (especially american) to actually say that eating healthy food in even large proportions is fine, not eating the bad food in large proportions and eating a tiny salad and most of the problems will go away. I think thats what weight loss is evolving into these days. Eating the best type of food for the human body and never getting guilt because you eat good food anyway. Just speaking from personal experience.
this is just so sad. the whole diet culture in south korea is so very toxic too. well, not just in south korea, of course. I wish that can change, even if very slowly.
Gymnasts being forced to be skinny? Ive never heard of that before... you want to eat and workout so you have energy to to a routine with power. How will you do that without food?
I think for gymnasts there is a specific weight range that gives you the best amount of force distribution when your doing flips and stuff. Especially a bunch in a row. Kind of like a seesaw?
there's this one documentary about eating disorders in the climbing scene that has quite a lot of views. i thought professional athletes would have a balanced diet (that may be leaning into an ed because you have to watch it so much, esp. with nutrients and stuff) that isn't as restrictive and focused or obsessed on nutritional value but turns out that's not what it is. it's like that in ballet too and i imagine it's the same with gymnasts
Unfortunately, it’s seen as having power without being “overweight.” Rhythmic gymnastics, which is the type in WLFKBJ, is also more about dance/less focused on power than “regular” gymnastics so there’s even more pressure to be skinny and lose weight. Hope that helps!
I dunno if they're forced to be skinny but I reckon they probably are pressured to avoid being too "thick" in terms of body fat. So while they may be encouraged to eat well, getting too much fat over the muscles may be considered poor form, like in bodybuilding.
I love how they potrayed Sua, as I am currently alao taking a break from university for eating disorder treatment
Hope you are getting better ❤
@@kdramaresearchinstituteI am! Thanks for caring ~ have a great meal plan and psych help and right combination of meds finally
This video was really well made ! I didn't my ED triggered. I grew up with anime and drama later on life and it made me hate my body even when I wasn't overweight like now. Standards in Japan and Korea are so bad for women...
For me, there were cute moments in Weightlifting Fairy with the romance, although it was a little strained on her part, but I couldn't fully get into it or enjoy it because of how ridiculous the idea was of Bok Joo really being this tiny girl with almost no muscle. It was just so unrealistic and I couldn't take the story seriously because of it, especially since it's loosely based off of a real person and her body is absolutely nothing like the actress that plays her.
OMG, yes, I have seen the woman who the story is based is. Visually Lee Sung Kyung was a weird casting choice for that role, as if there are no actresses in a bigger body who could portray a funny weightlifter. She did play that role well though, she is great actress. But the dissonance between how the actress looks and how everyone around her describes her body is weird!
You should watch Hello, My twenties or Age of Youth. One of the characters at the first has eating disorders. At first shows how outside of the house she doesn´t eat but inside eat a lot. She cares her appearence too much. Even when at the end of the season two shows when she is with her boyfriend eat too much and later she tried to do excersie weighing herself on the scale every so often. It's very subtle. And she one of the famale lead, no a villain, just sometimes a bratz. But I think many woman in Korea can identify with her.
Oh, I haven't watched these yet, but I will put them on my to-watch-list :)
Amazing video nice to see some video essays analyzing kdrama and their tropes for an English speaking audience 👏👏👏
13:00 lmao when two friends hold the manager down so that the other can slap him
Sometimes when I watch chinese dramas (the modern ones not old ) they bring up weight dieting and stuff casually emphasising that being over 45 kg is bad and stuff I personally didn’t experience much insecurities abt my weight so I shouldn’t be the judge here but I still find it very uncomfortable
And it's always 45 for some reason, regardless of height!
@@kdramaresearchinstitute Yeah it’s crazy
Thanks for sharing this wonderful analysis video. TBH, Oh my venus, is one of my fav drama during my early stage of started watching kdrama. I never had this perspective for this drama. All i thought was, this is the first drama which promotes exercise for weight loss rather than surgery. I really thought it's green flag. Never thought about the other side. Thinking about it now, yes the main lead never loved the actress the way she was. He got attracted to her after she lost weights, he was always hesitant even though he liked her personality. I was just blown away by so ji sub and shin min ah's beauty.
WRT, Gangam beauty, it's one of my favorite series even now. They had a good arc for the antogonist. For the lead actress, i felt it very relatable to me. Someone who is insecured about herself every minute. She always self sabotage herself. She thought, she would be happy if she reduce her weight but she wasn't, she thought she would be happy, if she do plastic surgery but she wasn't. She slowly starts to accept, she deserves love and open ups to the lead. Even cha eun woo, always gave her space and time to make her comfortable and always made sure, she will be loved whatever she do. Whenever she has to stand for herself, he always stood by her side and supported. Burger scene also, she was insecured how she looked in front of cha eun woo, and he gave her space and time for her to come out. Yeah, I'd also agree even she was shown getting some healthy treatment.
What I like about Gangnam Beauty is how complex the discussion of beauty standards is, there are different characters who have different experiences with their weight and they all have a character arc and seriously think about these things - the villain, the female lead, Eunwoos character with his relationship to pretty privilege, then there was a side character who was accused of being not pretty and thin enough but she just realizes that she like herself, then all the guys who were into the villain also changed their perspective on what it is they are attracted to. So many complex topics interwoven together. Great show!
Thank God I was not the only person who felt uncomfortable when watching all these dramas. Like there are so many dramas where an overweight female lead gets attention after losing a lot of weight in a month😭
I'll talk about it, cause I think its important to mention it:
From someone who suffered from ED for more than 10 years, I must say: shows have the duty to portrait this issues with lots of care, not showing "how to do it" and giving emphasis on the consequences.
*I've learnt in tv shows how to "pretend" eating and to how to cover it up* .
It's been 7/8 years since I've got better. But even tho, yesterday after "eating more than I should", I've thought about it. It's like some evil little voice saying " _do it, just today, its okay_ ".
I'm stronger now, and told to myself: its okay, its just fries. Just don't overdue it next time.
I still have severe gastric problems today, also super sensitive (and weak) teeth and more...
Consequences don't easily go away.
I've done psychological therapy and also have a diet plan (made by a doctor), I've learnt that its okay to eat fries, but I can't eat it everyday. Its not okay to eat everything in my fridge when no one is around, but I must eat something even when no one is around.
Its complicated, but its not impossible.
Oh, and leave tiktok/insta. Ain't no good for you 😂
I am glad you are doing better now, stay strong!
@@kdramaresearchinstitute tks I appreciate 🙏 ❤
It SO dangerous when shows portray bulimia as being an effective but unhealthy method. In reality, it doesn’t work. Your body absorbs calories too quickly.
You can’t stop a mentally ill person by telling them they’re unhealthy. You have to use their logic against them if you truly want to save them. I developed bulimia from watching shows like this and others in my life. I stopped immediately after I found out it does nothing but destroy your teeth and your stomach. Not once did I question myself when I thought it was working.
I know anecdotal evidence isn’t evidence but I’m really, very passionate about better depictions of this in media that show how damaging it is to your body. That not only is it unhealthy, but it’s ineffective. The easiest sustainable way to lose weight is the healthy way.
It absolutely can be effective. Yes, it's unhealthy and bad for you but to lie and say it doesn't work doesn't help anyone. If you get like most(or all) of it up within like 30 minutes there's no way you body is absorbing that because the food literally hasn't been in your body long enough for that process to take place.
For me my bulimia was highly addicting BECAUSE it worked. People spread this lie and I understand why but it's just not true scientifically.
Your second paragraph also doesn't make any sense. "Telling someone with bulimia that they should stop because it's unhealthy doesn't work" and then at the bottom of that same paragraph you're listing negative health effects from purging....like that's the same thing
@@brandylarsson978 Some people gain weight while bulimic. You can’t possibly isolate all the factors that went into how you were living your life that caused weight loss. My point was that it’s easier to just do consistent weight training or get on blood sugar meds than throw up within 20 minutes of every meal. The stress from that can literally cause weight gain. And that absolutely is not anecdotal.
Telling someone they’re unhealthy can encourage EDs in some people. It lets them know it’s working. Telling someone it doesn’t work and then telling them the warnings is completely different.
@@ratking927 @ratking927 Never said you were lying just that you're wrong and I have nothing against you I just don't like it when people spread misinformation. You can't absorb calories you haven't digested.
And yes you CAN gain weight while bulimic but that doesn't mean that it's guaranteed.
"You can't possibly isolate all the factors[...] that caused weightloss" CICO babbbbyyy, I was burning more than I took in, so yes it was the bulimia because when I stopped I gained. That's why it was so hard to stop.
Bulimia is bad enough as is, I don't see why lying to people is necessary
Telling someone with bullimia that they look terrible and that it won’t work isn’t going to help
about weightlifting fairy.. I'll admit that some of the diet advice the coaches give her isnt completely accurate but forcing her to eat makes sense considering she's a weightlifter.. I've been in situations like that myself where I've had to eat even though I was full to be able to put on muscle.. and in the context of the show she was trying to move to a higher weight class so she needed to put on weight fast.. it can be quite difficult to put on weight since she has a lot of muscle and her metabolism will be higher from that muscle mass and all her exercise.. so her eating habits aren't really "questionable".. as for the ex girlfriend yes she does display dangerous habits but the whole point of her character was to comment on the danger of these habits and how they can be life threatening... also i never thought that the male lead calling her chubbs was particularly a problem.. it didn't seem to come from a bad place and bok joo's feelings didn't seem to be genuinely hurt.. rather she seemed to recognise the nickname as just teasing.. i don't think this show intended to promote ideal eating habits from the beginning since all the characters are atheletes and their habits and diets *will* be shaped by the sport they play and how they train...
i remember when an idol came forward about anorexia and people got frustrated when she wasn't gaining weight fast enough to her liking
I have a thyroid issue and you can't fix it in a few months, it takes years. It's so dangerous to tell people that there's a magic way to lose weight when you have a thyroid or any other hormone issues. Your body is already doing its best to keep you alive, and chronic illness is no simple matter.
Oh my venus was testing my patience every episode and the ending just pmo so much the male lead is a freak
I don't know though, I had a less severe eating disorder and ended up losing weight without health complications and after some time I gradually started to get myself to stop caring about how much and what I eat, to instead eat as much as I want to, without medical intervention or psychiatric help and I'm still rather thin. So I kind of related a bit with Kangnam Beauty's female lead.
In eccentric chef moon the fl has anorexia to the extent that she is admitted to the hospital for malnutrition cus she passed out on the street and it is shown that she just uses an iv bag through the picture where there's like several holes in her veins and it is just resolved when she eats the ml's cooking because somehow it's good enough that she can even eat food from ppl other than him with no problem in like 2 episodes
I heard about this one when I was researchign this video, but haven't watched this k-drama because the synopsis wasn't that interesting, so thank you for commenting this! Sounds exactly how a k-drama would resolve an anorexia plotline. Whoever wrote this has no idea what eating disorders are, I hate then they do that!
Спасибо за интересное видео. Но я думаю, что на самом деле даже если в корейских дорамах и меняется слегка отношение к диетам ,булемии, анорексии и т.д., то общественное мнение всё равно считает, что все, а особенно девушки должны быть очень - очень худенькими . А если недостаточно худенький, то - неудачник. Очень показательно, что в двух из перечисленных дорам ,главные мужские роли исполняют айдолы Cha Eun woo (Astro) и Rowoon (SF9),вижуалы из популярных мужских групп, оба очень высокие и худенькие, которые со времени стажировки и после дебюта строго контролируются со стороны своих фирм ( что и сколько едят ,сколько весят), точно также как гимнастки из дорамы Фея тяжёлой атлетики.... А есть дорамы, где поднимаются проблемы питания парней?
Я думаю что меняется отношение к психическим заболеваниям и психотерапии а не к стандартам красоты. За последние несколько лет появилось больше дорам в которых главные герои ходят к психиатру (к примеру Mad for each other). Главный герой в сериале должен рассказывать о том что диета не нужна и внешность не главное, но играть этого героя должен вижуал айдол. А "толстую" героиню должна играть высокая актриса с модельной фигурой. Продюсеры дорамы могут себя по плечу похлопать за то что смело заявили что диеты это зло, при этом не меняя стандарты красоты в индустрии. Они могли бы могли не заставлять актрис худеть или давать роли более крупным актрисам, но они боятся потерять деньги и получить критику.
Актеров мужчин которые толстые (по стандартам индустрии, в реальности это обычный вес) есть несколько. Их вес в сериалах упоминается, но им никто не рассказывает о диетах (такие герои есть в All of us are dead, Save me, Fight for my way). Есть короткий фильм об анорексии с Lee Dong Hwi под названием Method acting, но я вообще не смогла его нигде найти и не уверена что он существует. Я еще не видела ни одной дорамы в которой парень сбрасывал бы вес кроме Blueming.
@@kdramaresearchinstitute в фильме "Мужик во мне" худеет главный герой (странное название из-за сюжета про обмен телами)
I watched my ID is gangnm beauty. In the plot main girl really help that mean girl , after knowing her problems. They came out as healthy friendship
I absolutely disagree with oh my venus. This show is really depiction of society and how we assume weight gain equals to eating a lot and not taking of yourself, rather than so many things causing it. Also love the main lead guy, he is absolutely right, he notices what's wrong with her almost immediately and he also tells her and himself that sexy is on the inside, which is correct.
He himself deals with pain, chronics illness like cancer and psychological pain that comes from illness. This show was powerful and made me cry along side them. Also discuses before and after of weight loss for both actresses. I am in the medical field and the strict eating of certain foods and healing with more holistic ways of auto immune diseases like hypothyroidism should be normalized and is normal. Just because you want to indulge and have food fantasies doesn't mean you should indulge, self discipline is important. Another important thing discussed in this show that you missed is how they talk about sleeping on the couch instead of in the bedroom and basically her bad habits which may have lead to her hypothyroidism. It can be caused by lifestyle and he is kinda right when he says she kinda her a hand in the cause. Autoimmune diseases can be triggered by our lifestyle. Anyways so many good things to talk about with this drama from weight loss to weight gain to chronic pain to someone training for boxing championships. It's one of my all time faves. This show was more than weight loss. It was about health and ways it can go wrong. For once it wasn't just about the typical talked about issues of bulimia and aneroxia. Oh my Venus rules
i agree completely, I also find it interesting the point of the ed is usually brought across with bulimia- I feel like it simplifies what an eating disorder is into something very physical and surface level. While almost always making it in regards to vanity rather than any other outside issues. I find it a bit disturbing that the eating disorder is used in a benifical way such as losing weight- until it goes 'too far' and there are then major health issues which are shown to be easily overcomeable.
In my ID is gangnam beauty where it shows the main character having issues eating in front of her boyfriend I feel again is also only going somewhat surface level and I would have liked to see maybe the boyfriend helping work through the issues with her- or better- her going to a therapist to get into the deeper psychological reasonings. I like though that they did include the idea of not being able to properly eat in front of her boyfriend because it's the beginnings into an uncovery of the different impacts of an ed and not reducing it to one symptom only.
Very interesting video- thank you! :))
Yes, it is always so oversimplified, as if it was a just a diet that women do because they want to be more pretty. No mention of side effects for the body and how long and complicated the recovery is!
@@kdramaresearchinstitute that's exactly it!! I hope in the future topics like this can be explored more thoroughly!
hi I wanted to tell you that in Angel's last mission:love we also see the scar and it talks about ED sometimes
Thank you, I haven't seen that one yet, I am putting it on my to watch list!
With ID kdrama- i used to trow out in school for 1-2 months maybe and just decided to stop! And never did this in next 10 years and would not do ever. I used to chow food and spit it. idk that it was so i can excuse this line "with i used it and then stoped" but i am thinking is not common.
I am so glad you were able to stop! The healing process is so different for everyone.
Agree, but given South Korea’s beauty standards, I doubt they’ll ever tackle the subject 100% honestly and convey more satisfying/realistic resolutions. That would mean addressing a larger societal issue they don’t want to change, so we’ll probably keep getting these mixed messages about health until they do. Just look at how kpop artists constantly preach about self-love while thriving in an industry where plastic surgery and extreme diets are not just standard, but required. It’s dishonest and patronizing, and yet it’s nowhere near changing.
What they could change are the extremes always presented in these shows. There’s rarely a character that starts from a typical thin/fat body type who becomes mid-sized after improving their lifestyle choices, eats healthily but not strictly and lives somewhere in the middle. It’s only ever obese vs anorexic, massive amounts of food vs a spoonful of salad, militant exercise vs spending every free moment watching TV and eating takeout. Even the “masculine” weightlifters vs the “feminine” gymnasts have to be separated into these stereotypical extremes.
But what makes me laugh, especially about OMV and WFKBJ (IU's character in Dream High also comes to mind), is how in some of these shows, the male leads like the female leads as they are aka "overweight". So some of the weight shaming and loss doesn't even make any sense, like SK really be confusing themselves sometimes
Any society can change. My country, the US, wasn't so different even 50 years ago. Lots of different factors lead us to our health culture we have today and it's far from perfect in practice and theory. There are lots of different movements and scientific breakthroughs that can attribute to progress, and Korea is in a different place from most of the western world in both of these areas.
I understand your point but I wouldn't say it's patronizing. In my eyes (and personal experience of having things required of me and no one else) it's more of a "take care of yourself in a way I wish I could" situation not a "do as I say not as I do" ordeal
@@aliquid2430 I wish I agreed with this. But given how well acquainted with their fans most popular artists are, they definitely give them specific instructions relating to their own actions and push the "I'm trying to love myself, so you should try to ly as well" and "If even someone as big as me has normal issues and can overcome them, you can to" narrative. We're talking about an industry where brand ambassadorship and being "sold out kings/queens" is huge. If just them wearing clothes gets that entire clothing line or single item to sell out worldwide, then how much more impact do their actual songs and messaging have? A lot more, and they know this
@@T_Cup I'm not sure if I'm reading this correctly but what I'm getting is that they're using their fame to justify their issues so to speak? As in the faux-humble behavior most celebrities have. So basically this reads like you're saying they're slowly redpilling their audience to be okay with their issues? Again I could be reading this entirely wrong or I didn't convey my own point correctly
@@aliquid2430 I'm saying their messaging is contradictory because they don't often practice what they preach - far from it even - and they're not honest about themselves to be preaching in the first place. What are fans supposed to take away from someone who constantly sings about being perfect as they are while greatly profitting off of their image, which is due in large part to plastic surgery, extreme dieting and designer clothes and makeup, while they deny ever getting plastic surgery or starving? "I'm perfect as I am, except for my body and face and nose and jawline and hair and personality, and I should love myself regardless, but also I should change everything about myself because being over size zero is basically being obese and wearing anything other than luxury isn't cute"?
I love those drama's especially the Glory (bullying) but I feel that such drama's should have a warning watching it and also at the end there should be a helpline for people who are suffering from this.
I am not sure I have ever seen a content warning on a k-drama actually
no there is none. unfortunately. 😞 no helpline for those suffering too.
'Oh My Venus' is one of my favourite KDramas. I am fat myself but have been doing martial arts a lot when I was younger. I think you are misunderstanding them as characters as well as how they are with each other in a relationship. Their initial relationship was him being a martial arts coach turning into a personal trainer for her due to her health and personal issues and desires. He saw potential in her and cared enough about her life to want to help her. This was not him forcing a life on her. She wanted to get healthier herself. Her goals were her own but she lacked guidance and persistence due to other factors in her life. And she really just likes all kinds of tasty food (can relate lol).
He does what a personal trainer does and realised she wasn't talking out of her ass when he sees her slimmed down face for the first time. While that is partially superficial which I do not like, it's not entirely superficial because in that moment he also realises that all kinds of things she talked about before which he just could't see being true now suddenly ringing true to him which changed his whole image in his head about her. So it was understandable why he suddenly felt a lot more for her even though it was júst her face that had lost weight, something you left out. He fell in love with her while she still was fat. And now he wanted to help her even more but as a personal trainer you are naturally curious what the end result will be and look like. So the latter on top of being in love with her fueled for a whole lot of curiosity and excitement. Not saying that focussing on that is great for someone who is supposedly in love with you but seeing his background and who he is as a person, it is at least understandable and not necessarily toxic or anything.
As for the baby thing, I think the directors/writers actually took a good shot here. The vision for it seemed to be that she is still herself and he doesn't love her less for it. His response was not in disappointment of her as you can see. It's more in stress of all their hard work having gone down the drain in such a short amount of time hahaha which I found really funny because as a fat person who has gone up and down, can relate lol. It was meant to be a funny haha moment.
Anyway, great that you're doing an analysis but I hope both you as well as everyone else knows that this is your own perspective. Would be nice if you put that as a disclaimer. We all perceive things differently due to how life has formed us along with the experiences we have. I get your perspective, I personally cannot relate to it though. That doesn't mean it's wrong or right. It's just different due to most likely different life experiences and such.
As for the topic of eating disorders, some characters in your named KDramas definitely had them and I am glad actually that characters like these are shown in KDramas. It needs awareness. Korean culture is tóó concerned about looking perfect. Both for men and women. It leads to SO MANY people dealing with all kinds of mental and physical health issues. There's a reason why I abruptly distanced myself from my overindulgence in Korean culture and entertainment years ago. I wasn't fat back then. I was just appalled with these nonsensical standards that have such high negative consequences and for what? Really for what? Is looking pretty to others worth ruining yourself over? It is not. And this is also why so many people started standing up against these unnecessary standards. Now people live more as their authentic selves. This even showed in skin colours (a lot of people used pale foundation colours even when it didn't colour match them), nowadays Korean people even tan to rebel against the ridiculousness. I remember when Hyuna made songs about how people called her dark-skinned and I as a brown person kept wondering ??? Who what where? Dark-skinned? She was 80 shades lighter than I am and I am considered medium to light brown lol. This ridiculousness also showed in how people talked about weight. If you weren't between the magical numbers of 40 and 55, you were fat according to many. Korean women shamed themselves when they fell outside of those ranges. I remember women of my height (178cm) wanting to be 40kg???? I would be non-existent if I were 40kg. Freaking Paper Mario esque. But nowadays (I saw a rise in this when globalisation started to rapidly increase due to the international rise of KPOP) I see more Korean people thinking "Fuck it." and I take my hat off for them. That's brave because still a large majority will talk down on you when they see you being supposedly 'fat'. But their braveness and courage will help in changing society's mentality for the better. A lot of respect towards them for carrying a large burden for the sake of being able to live the way they want to.
Oh My Venus.....
Oh My Gosh!!!!!!
That is not a boyfriend or a personal trainer! That is not any kind of fitness professional! What you call something like that is 'psychopath'!
But OMG....when people are talking about 2015 as being nostalgic! I am soooooo old!!!!
lol, get you a man who can do all of the above!
That's the dream!@@kdramaresearchinstitute
another good-intentions-shitty-execution example of eating disorders in kdrama is Love is for Suckers. they show a fat character being cast in a dating show despite producer's protests and being treated like 'awwwww how brave for you to want to find love with that disgusting body of yours'. she reveals being sexually abused as a child causing her eating, which is a questionable writing choice as if not being skinny could only be caused by something horrible. then, they expose her trauma to the public for ratings and make her stand opposite a bulimic character fighting for the attention of the same man. said man is a chef and he is horrified when the pretty, skinny character throws up his food but the overweight girl eats it with gusto and he never contemplates WHY THIS IS. zero self reflection on the part of the show. he ends up with the fat girl and we're supposed to be impressed they were so modern to allow this to happen. i could talk more and i hope you make a second part of this thoughtful analysis
Omg, that sounds super messy!
@@kdramaresearchinstitute and it's a 2023 kdrama!
I know that there is a lot of make up involved in daily-life in Asian countries, but I know a girl with an eating disorder (knew about 3-4 in my life) and all of them looked exceptionally unhealthy.
And with that, I mean, broken skin, acne, dark circles around their eyes, caved in cheeks, unhealthy edges on their hair, hair falling out, wounds that don't heal and crusts on them, infected bodyparts, smelly breath, yellow teeth, redness and swelling, allergic-like reactions in the skin, dry lips, flakey skin, etc.
And those women in the drama's are "just" skinny with slightly caved in cheeks. That's not a realistic depiction of someone that is on the verge of death, you don't look like that if you're nearly dead. Especially if you're in bed without make up.
Yes, there is never any mention or any visual representation of the actual side effects of eating disorders. K-dramas make it look like it will just make you dainty and smol, and don't show the diarrhea, the swollen cheeks an the bad skin!
I have major issues with the fact that Korea as a whole focuses so much on weight, I am now thinner (US 2) than I ever have been in my life and weigh 61kg at 169cm - people I know that work out even more than me and have more muscle mass even have 66kg at the same height. Weight does not say much and I wish they'd stop saying that girls should ALWAYS weigh less than 50kg, that's just bizarre.
Amen!
love your channel
I really enjoyed your video! Great job:)) Are you planning similiar analysis about depression? I think that it would be also an interesting topic:)
I have been thinking about this, might come in the future. If you are thinking of specific k-dramas for this topic let me know :)
I can suggest "Lost"/ "Human Disqualification", in my opinion that's the best drama about depression that I've ever seen. In "Our Blues" one of the characters struggles with depression. There are also "My Liberation Notes" and "My Mister", where the characters are clearly depressed, but no one really points it out as an illness🤷🏻♀️
I think that's all I can think about for now:))
kim bok joo does not have an eating disorder or disordered eating habits... she eats a lot but its not binge eating disorder. shes not the average person but is a strength athlete. she has to eat a lot to maintain her strength. and if you actually watched the drama you would notice that she was never ashamed of her body, she was proud of her physique even. her "questionable eating habits" u mentioned were just because she had to move up a weight class for the upcoming competition. it was almost like she was being force fed, which is hard to watch but not at all indicative of an eating disorder as it had nothing to do with her trying to cope with something or her body image.
I don't necessarily disagree with you on kim bok joo, but there is something to be said about eating disorders being normalized when they are for the sake of a sport despite it being just as unhealthy/psychologically damaging in many cases. Is it really OK to purposefully starve or over-eat just because it's for a non-body-image-related reason? What does it say about sports culture that we tolerate, encourage, and often expect athletes to put their health at risk for what is essentially a game? Weightlifters frequently engage in what we would easily call yo-yo dieting (which has demonstrably bad effects on the body), if it weren't taking place in the context of a sport. And kim bok joo clearly does have disordered eating in the sense that she overeats-- visibly in pain-- on account of trying to up her weight class, and I think it is too quick to dismiss this as harmless just because her motivation is her sport. We may not think she has an eating disorder per se, but that doesn't mean there isn't something pretty unhealthy going on with her eating that we don't really have a name for. (You can have disordered eating without having an eating disorder).
I also think it's really important to remember that eating disorders are NOT necessarily connected to negative body image, although they often are and that is the depiction we are almost exclusively shown in popular media. Eating disorders are complex and variable, but the common denominator is problems with a sense of control (or lack thereof), which can absolutely be present without negative body image. People struggling with EDs use disordered eating to cope with a feeling of not being in control. That is why many experts liken the condition to OCD. Our collective lack of understanding of these aspects of the nature of eating disorders is a big reason why they typically go unnoticed in men. So while kim bok joo doesn't display body image problems, we should keep in mind that that doesn't conclusively mean she doesn't have an eating disorder. Ultimately, she doesn't appear to have control issues or other ED indicators, so I agree with you that she probably doesn't have one, but I just wanted to bring these two thoughts into the conversation.
Yet I am glad I watched " oh my Venus" because It helped me lose weight and stop eating such big proportions. And FYI I am 4'11 with a healthy weight and BMI now AND I am not starving myself with salads. It's all about interpretation. They also mentioned that with starving yourself and extreme weight loss comes infertility. But people usually want to talk about all the negative things that comes from dramas
Glad you took all the right ideas and not the bad ones from it :)
That show is absolutely awful though, not sure where you got those ideas
I was not ready for the problematic oh my Venus. I’m never watching that, I would get triggered.
SO many women in kdramas have disordered eating habits its crazy
It's these kdramas that have literally triggered my eds including bulimia anorexia and others; these shows really villainize eds and it would recommend watching them without tws
I mean, I do think it is kind of darkly comedic that Sua is used to advertise the diet pill. The character with an eating disorder is advertising your diet product?
edit: The fact that my weight, especially as a young woman, is constantly brought up, is frustrating. Recently, I've been losing weight because of stress and a new job. And I keep getting compliments and told how good it is that I've lost weight. I was never overweight, I am nearing being underweight. There is no genuine concern when I point out it's not on purpose. I get so stressed out that I feel sick when I try to eat on days I work. I struggled with ED's when I was younger, but now I've basically had to adopt disorded eating behaviours so I'm not constantly losing weight.
I was a bit torn on the product placement first - are they taking the money and mocking the sponsor and they used product placement ironically or are they using ED discussions to promote diet products? I think I skew more to the "this is predatory advertising" side now, that product placement was not cool, even though it feels so ironic.
I am sorry you have to listen to these comments! People need to stop commenting on bodies, that's so rude. And don't always assume that weightless is a good thing, when they don't know what they are talking about. I hope you nourish your body with tasty food today :)
On Oh my Venus her pads were way to exaggerate 😂
great video essay!
This is similar to others environments around with industries in both cases. Entertainment includes Music showing wrongdoing with advice to self-esteem both men and women togetherness. Just need more Oh where in surroundings.
I've never watched Oh My Venus and it's because of everything you've outlined in this video. I will never watch it. Ever.
You're not misssing much ;)
Man darf nie vergessen: dünn heißt nicht automatisch gesund!
Völlig richtig, sehe ich genauso!
@@kdramaresearchinstitute 👍🏻
OhMyVenus was not as fatphobic as others I've seen. Its more about the importance of taking care of yourself. She at first wants to lose weight because she thinks that will solve her problems, we see that type of negative thinking can lead to in her former friends story. He takes her to get a physical in the beginning of their training where it is discovered she has thyroid issues, which he apologizes for pushing her to hard and after developes a workout plan that will work for her. He also keeps her accountable regarding her sleeping, eating, and workout habits which is what she asked him to do as a trainer, as well as reminder her to take her medication. He also takes her to train jujitsu to build her confidence after her stalker issue. He falls in love with her personality not her physical appearance. Her weight goals are no longer about others treat her but how she treats her self.
Also, the scene where she makes the guys have a "lazy, no workout, junk food day" also shows you don't have to always be strict on yourself
The drama i do have a bone to pick with is in She was pretty, Park Seo Joon's character's eating disorder is never addressed. As will as Eccentric Chef Moon's female leads eating disorder is not seen as a big deal, didn't finish watching it so i dont know if it was ever dealt with.
This was a great video 😮 very interesting topic
I do believe media companies have a responsibility to make sure the things they produce send out healthy ideas especially when it comes to topics about health ..
Not only does it present the writers and companies as stupid and not educated but it also aids in supporting and aiding inappropriate and just unhealthy ideas
You can actually develop Hypothyroidism through undereating. I developed it as a result of anorexia. It can be reversed though.
does anyone have a kdrama or Korean film (i'll even take jdorama recs) that has a main character with an ED (that is explicitly framed as an ED)? I want to see the difference of openly portraying a protag with an ED for once
Someone in a different comment said "Eccentric Chef Moon" has an FL with anorexia, but it's not well done, she is healed quickly by eating ML's cooking. The American movie "To the bone" is all about EDs and about the main character trying to heal. I fell like Korean media is still struggling with making the main character go through this. IN terms of mental health issues "Mad for each other" did a pretty good job making the two main characters go to therapy and heal, making their depression and ptsd more relatable, I hope we get a show with a similar tone about EDs in the future.
Oh My Venus tramatized me 😭😭😭
Same
Developing a healthy relationship with nutrient dense foods that nourish your body and mind is what is a good long term goal for overall health and fitness. You can be fit and healthy and still have some abdominal fat. That shouldn't be something we are ashamed of. Its completely normal for woman to carry some fat on their lower bellies and sometimes around their hips and thighs. People need to stop body shaming and scrutinizing appearances. If someone doesn't appreciate that you are happy and healthy where you are at then they are not someone to have around in your life.
Amen!
I am still searching for a kdrama with an actual fat women in it being the protagonist, not losing weight, resolving her issues around her body and finding love not despite her looks. There isn't any western shows like this if you know any please tell me, with actual fat women though not a skinny girl with chubby cheeks
You and me both. I am not sure this is going to happen anytime soon in k-dramas!
Can you discuss why so many videos eg female camping videos, on RUclips spend most of their time cooking and eating? But the emphasis is not on the recipe, but with her actually eating it. It's like people are obsessed with watching these girls eat, with close ups of chewing, etc.
I feel like it is the same as all the "what i eat in a day" videos or the "girls eating carbs" instagram accounts or Bella Hadid posting pictures of food she definitely didn't eat. The Korean equivalent of this are mukbang videos or the whole culture of idols saying "i like it when women eat well" - all these have in common is that they are thin conventionally attractive women. Everyone wants to eat tasty foods, but it is only socially acceptable to eat if you look like you barely eat. If we look at thin women eating it makes eating tasty meals look like an ok thing to do. If anyone in a larger body would post the same type of videos or photos people would hate it and cry about PrOMotInG oBesITy. We as a society love looking at thin people eating big meals, because it validates out feeling that if a thin person can eat a lot and be thin, that means that anyone who is larger is just lazy and horrible, so we don't need to stop fatshaming or question our narrow beauty standards as a society...
Honestly, these highlight why i hate most k dramas and can never watch them again.
Misery and loneliness are two emotions I know well.
I remember oh my venus more sweetly......
There is a lot of misinformation when it comes to the plot of Oh My Venus. Just wow!
this might be ironic for some ppl but here in my culture women are supposed to be curvy and somehow chubby to consider beautiful or worthy of getting married you will find ppl are willing to eat pills just to gain weight, especially girls before their wedding its so sad to see that because most of them aren't from a doctor any sort of medical experts
I am considered underweight just because of my fair weight tbh I'm just flat back when I was younger I was really insecure about that I remember everyone was telling me to eat more and that silly joke do u even eat? that made me hate food more because I hate being pressured to do anything in life now im so comfortable with myself stilIi get some comments omg you are so flat it took me so long to accept myself in an environment where I couldn't fit in the beauty standers it depends where you live but self-acceptance will be hard if you don't fit in
when I was younger watching kdramas I was happy bcz I fit in with them I never stopped eating on perpuse or eat a lot and not gain weight I jusr have small appetite and in the last few months I have issues so I don't go out that often while not stressing over academic validation a gained few kgs just bcz I stopped my daily walks to uni
Honestly I wish people would just stop commenting on other people's bodies and let everyone live! Everybody has such a different level of natural hunger and a different body shape, but we as a societiy come up with some random number and decide that this is desirable now, and everyone needs to either starve or stuff themselves to achieve it!
wait but the women from tomorrow wasn't framed as a villain, she was actually really likable as they went deeper into her story. i personally believe that besides the ending tomorrows depiction on eating disorders and body positivity was really well done.
Yes, she wasn't a villain, that's why she doesn't go to therapy. Only villains go to therapy or seek medical help in all of these examples. But yes, I think Tomorrow handled this topic pretty well and had a good body positivity message and handles the eating disorder with a lot of compassion.
as a person with an ed i still watch weightlifting fairy and oh my venus religiously. I dont care they're too good and easily my top 10 rewatch lists.
Yeah, both are k-dramas with high production value and talented actors! My favorite k-dramas have some problematic tropes, doesn't mean I can't enjoy them. I am not advocating that we need to stop watching these :)
i swear you made hello venus sound way worse than it was
I never liked weightlifting fairy because of the male lead and him calling her fat