The Number One Ulzzang

Ulzzang is best defined as a Korean word meaning "best face" or "good-looking", and refers to a style of makeup and self portrait photography that accentuates the eyes and slims the face. Many images and videos posted online demonstrate the transformation from an ordinary asian girl with ordinary facial features into an anime character-like Internet celebrity with fair skin, a small nose and thin small lips.

Ulzzang Slim Face Big Eyes Image Source

Note: These are not photos of me, nor any of my friends or anyone I have ever seen in real life. I grabbed them from the Internet! Just google Ulzzang images and you will find these, before and after poses as well. I would never be caught dead in a photo without makeup on.

Ulzzang Before and After Image Source

Ulzzang has developed into a subculture and style popular among Korean girls, as well as Japanese and Chinese girls overseas and in North America. I've seen this as another trend in glamour wedding photography where the bride and groom both look like super models, and you end up with a bound hardcopy portfolio album.. There are even TV game shows featuring a competition between several rather "geeky-looking" asian girls wearing very thick glasses and they demonstrate the makeup application techniques to transform into someone very amazing, such as Goo hye sun, Nam Sang-mi, Park Han-byul, Kang Eun-bi and Kim Hye Sung.

My favorite definition I pulled from Urban Dictionary is quoted:
"Superficial, terrifying Asians who go through mountains of eyelid glue, circle lenses, makeup, trick camera angles, and photoshop to look like blank-faced aliens."

Before Ulzzang

The little miss who wrote "Attempt to be Ulzzang... FAIL" has the best description and nerdy transformation hands down, especialy with the description of the camera angles and photoshop.

After Ulzzang, same chic!

She calls herself ordinary and average. To describe average, I'd say a typical asian girl (wears glasses) probably plays piano and violin, excels in math and chess, has a tyrant Tiger Mom, and if she's not destined for Medicine, she'll end up in Electrical Engineering among other geeky asian girls. Now do all asian girls in Engineering look like this? At UBC maybe. On the Facebook profile, yes. Amazing what the web cam or cell phone camera can do.

The first Ulzzang I would have to list is not from Korea, but from the USA and that would be Wonder Woman. They already figured this out half a century ago before netizens knew about it, to lose the glasses and glam it up with loads of eyeliner and waterproof eyeliner. Lynda Carter as Leading Seaman Diana Prince in super geek mode, holding a top secret file with nuclear launch codes for missiles from attack subs...