Medical Tourism Vietnam survey on beauty culture in Japan and Vietnam.
So here’s a list of the most common beauty requirements in both countries, adapted from the Eight Standards of Japanese Beauty:
1. LIGHT/WHITE SKIN
Skin is an issue for women all over Japan & Vietnam. Pure, white, unblemished skin is extremely coveted.
Above: Ayase Haruka is seen as one of the most beautiful actresses/models in Japan. She is known for having beautiful skin.
2. THE HIGH-BRIDGED NOSE
In Japan and Vietnam, the stronger, higher, slightly bigger nose bridge makes you unique, it makes you exotic.
A small, oval-shaped face with V-line jaw is the embodiment of femininity and delicateness in both Japan & Vietnam. Pretty much all young women and sometimes even young men in Japan desire to have small faces.
4. THIN/PETITE:
They see being thin as a desirable goal. Women are feeling pressure both from the media and from their peers to maintain a weight that may not be Women seen as overweight by managers will be ‘talked to.’ Larger bodies are seen as unhealthy and lazy,”
On the Japanese & Vietnamese beauty scale, thin, slim, or petite woman trumps the one with amazing curves. Of course, there are exceptions and personal preferences. This is probably the only standard on this list that’s a bit of a toss-up
Though you may have only recently started hearing about eyelash extensions, women have been on the search for longer, fuller lashes for centuries. One of the first documented cases of lengthening eyelashes was in 1899 when a newspaper reported a procedure involving transplanting hair from the head to eyelids.
Eyelash extensions make small Asian eyes stand out. It’s the real reason why so many Asian women are so addicted to eyelash extensions.
Again, some aesthetic features are universal and eyelashes are one of them. That’s why women in the U.S., Europe and countless other countries use mascara to make thicker, fuller, curlier lashes.
The double eyelid! having a double eyelid make the eye look bigger. We assume bigger eyes are more beautiful here in Japan, Korea & Vietnam.
7. LONG LEGS
Doctors have been able to pioneer new forms of this surgery because height is so socially important in Asia. It is also listed among the criteria required on job advertisements. To get a post in the foreign ministry of some Asian countries, for instance, male applicants need not bother applying unless they are at least 5ft 7in, while women must be at least 5ft 3in. Chinese diplomats for example are expected to be tall to match the height of their foreign counterparts.
For more glamorous positions the conditions are even tougher: air stewardesses have to be over 5ft 5in. But height discrimination is evident even at ground level: in some places, people under 5ft 3in are not even eligible to take a driving test. To get into many law schools, women students need to be over 5ft 1in and men over 5ft 5in. Height requirements are also frequently mentioned in the personal ads of newspapers and magazines.
Medical Tourism Vietnam strongly advises against any surgery for leg lengthening.
8. A POLITE, QUIET PERSONALITY
Beauty can come from a woman’s personality/demeanour.
In Japanese & Vietnamese culture, from the outside looking in, it seems as though personality and mannerism play a big role in how “beautiful” you are. An extremely poised/polite/elegant woman is considered to be more beautiful than say a wild and crazy, or brash one.
So, there are your eight (8) standards of beauty.
According to Medical Tourism Vietnam, what’s attractive to us might not be attractive to you. What’s attractive to you may not be attractive to someone else. How “beautiful” someone is will be a debate that rages on until the end of time.