Speaking of impressions of Koreans, foreigners noted that Koreans were a whole head taller than the Japanese, healthy, and handsome. They also mentioned they were a courageous people, resisting the Japanese for their homeland. - Mark Trollope [The Church in Corea] (1915)
In terms of precise and rapid movement, Joseon people exhibit stronger self-reliance and freer movement than the Japanese. They are similar to the Chinese in size and strength, and superior to the Japanese. Comparing good national characteristics and qualitative superiority, Joseon is distinctly superior to China. - German Ernst Oppert <Reisen nach Korea (A Trip to Korea)>
Koreans presented a fresh impression. They resemble neither the Chinese nor the Japanese, yet they are much handsomer than both peoples. The physique of Koreans is far better than that of the Japanese. Koreans are extremely brilliant and intelligent. Koreans possess a considerable degree of what the Scots call 'a sensible intelligence'—the smarts to catch the drift. Foreign teachers unanimously attest to the Koreans' proficient and agile cognitive abilities, their exceptional talent for quickly acquiring foreign languages, and the fact that Koreans speak more fluently and with a much better accent than the Chinese and Japanese. The everyday expression of Koreans is startlingly lively. Judging by the best-looking individuals, their facial features suggest sharp intelligence. They are surprisingly and markedly different from their closest neighbors, the Chinese and Japanese. There is a marked difference in facial features among the Joseon people, which is even more noticeable because their clothing is uniform. The difficulty in distinguishing people that plagues strangers traveling in Japan or China does not happen in Joseon... Though their eyes are dark, they vary from dark brown to light brown. Their cheekbones are high. The shape of the brow ridge is often noble and intellectual, as if following a trend. Ears are small and pretty. Their ordinary expression is slightly perplexed yet full of vigor. In a good sense, their appearance suggests witty intelligence rather than force or willpower. The Joseon people are clearly a handsome race. They have good physiques. The average height for men is 5 feet 4.5 inches, and the height of women is unconfirmed but disproportionately small. Their appearance is exaggeratedly stocky and baggy due to their most hideous costume. Men and women of all classes have very small, white, and handsomely formed hands. Fingernails are deeply manicured into an almond shape. The men are very strong; porters think nothing of carrying around 100 pounds of luggage. Family life is based on the extended family system and is morally extremely healthy. - British Isabella Bird Bishop <Korea and Her Neighbors>
Overall, Koreans are a handsome race. The Korean face is oval and generally long when viewed from the front, but the profile is slightly concave. - A. Henry Savage [Corea or Chosen]
I do not hesitate to assert that the Joseon people are the most handsome race in the Far East. They are tall, rugged, tough, strong, and always well-balanced, producing many outstanding athletes. When I was in Joseon, I heard the news that a young Joseon man named Sohn Kee-chung had won the gold medal in the Olympics. The Joseon people were greatly excited, and the news was the talk of the town everywhere... There are countless handsome Joseon people with sharp features. Joseon people are popular movie stars in both Japan and China. Some of them remind one of the 멋진 곱슬머리 actor Hayakawa Yukikuni (the only Joseon actor who became an idol for American audiences) from the silent film era. But the Joseon actor in Hollywood now, Philip Ahn (son of Ahn Chang-ho), is the most typical example. Kim Chan, China's most popular movie actor, is also Joseon, and he played the lead role in the movie <The Black Cicada>, which was also performed in New York. Among Joseon women, there are countless beautiful maidens, elegant and angel-hearted, like celestial beings. It feels biologically inappropriate that such a beautiful, intelligent, and superior-looking race is subjugated by the small Japanese people, who are physically unremarkable. Watching a short, bow-legged Japanese officer, armed with a long sword, swaggeringly ordering several Joseon people around, I asked the accompanying missionary how this could be. 'Perhaps an inferiority complex can actually motivate outstanding achievement?' 'But the Joseon people must be fools.' 'No. They are much smarter than the Japanese. The Japanese have only recently taken the lead in modern military equipment.' - Nym Wales, Song of Arirang ----------------------------------------------------------------- In the eyes of Westerners during the late Joseon and Japanese colonial periods, Koreans were considered handsomer than the Chinese and Japanese. They were described as taller and better built than their contemporary Japanese and Chinese counterparts, and generally good-looking. The scene Westerners found bizarre during the Japanese occupation was the sight of large, tall, handsome Koreans being bossed around by short, tiny, ugly Japanese officers. They thought, 'How can this be?' Conclusion: Koreans were originally handsome. If you are ugly and short, you are not Korean.
"Confirmed: Koreans are tall, smart, and handsome. Too bad history decided we had to be the Elves captured by the Orcs, while one of the writers was busy trying to dig up historical tombs."
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