"Fly" Airport Looks

By: Jun Kyung Kim & Mari Min

Edited & published by: Neena Rouhani

For the last five years, many Korean celebrities have been increasingly using the airport due to their growing international popularity. They have been traveling to many other countries for concerts not only in Asia, but also Europe. The spread of Korean influence in worldwide media, also known as the Korean Wave, has spread to China and many other parts Asia. Pictured below, we see two members of Girls Generation, a popular Korean girl group, walking through the airport. Unlike American stars who usually strut in killer heels, the Korean celebrities prefer wearing wedge heels, sandals, or converse sneakers which present a more casual and convenient look. The males maintain their chic appearance with minimal prints and neutral colors.

Style Corner - Women's Fashion

By: Jun Kyung Kim & Mari Min

Edited & published by: Neena Rouhani

For most U.S. college students, it seems as if their daily sense of fashion consists of black leggings and university T-shirts and sweaters or sweats, with the exception of some people who wear jackets or skirts. I was very surprised when I saw some students wearing pajamas when they go to the class. Based on MSU students I have gotten the impression that students in U.S. do not tend to care about how they are perceived visually by others. In Korea, it is a different story. For many Korean students, what they are wearing is important because they view fashion as representing their identities.

While the U.S. has a society of various ethnicities, Korea has only one ethnicity so the body types are less diverse than in America. The skin tones and body shapes are quiet similar throughout youthhood. Therefore, I think that there are less styles in Korea than that of U.S. Also, according to Korean culture, people care about “community spirit” and are conscious of others’ opinions of them more than Western people. This causes them to avoid fashion which is very abnormal in their society and want to blend in with others.

Most Korean girls focus on cute and feminine style. They like to wear high-heels and short skirts. Even in coldest months of winter, there are some women wearing mini-skirts without stockings. Also, women in Korea especially love high-heels and they wear it everywhere, regardless of the occasion. Fashion in Korea involves wearing lots of layers and having lots of accessories to go with their clothing in order to complete the look.

Style Corner - Korean Men's Fashion

Written by: Jun Kyung Kim & Mari Min

Edited and published by: Neena Rouhani

Fashion style of young men in Korea tends to stick to solid colors. Also, Koreans like neutral colors. If they have a pattern, usually it is limited to one item. It looks relaxed. I felt that American fashion is louder than Korean and has more pattern on the clothes.

Recently, there are more people who prefer Hip-Hop style. I thought that in these days, music in mass media has emphasized the visionary image, so music influences fashion style a lot.