Photogrammetric facial analysis of attractive Korean entertainers

The authors have developed a new digital photogrammetric method of facial analysis known as balanced angular and proportional analysis (BAPA). Using BAPA, the authors analyzed the faces of attractive Korean entertainers.

The BAPA approach involves 28 landmarks and 14 measurements (10 proportional and 4 angular measures). Standardized mean angular values of famous entertainers are referred to as recommended aesthetic mean angles (RAMA) and the mean proportional values as the recommended aesthetic mean proportions (RAMP). In this study, 30 frontal views of famous Korean entertainers (15 men and 15 women) were collected from Internet Web pages, and the data analyzed using V-ceph. A t test (with the significance level set at a p value of 0.05) was performed to analyze male versus female comparisons.

Significant between-group differences (p < 0.05) were found for P-lower face, P-eye height, P-lip, P-interangle, and the mandibular contour in the frontal views. Famous Korean female entertainers differ from famous male entertainers. The women have a shorter lower face, larger eyes, smaller lips, and a more slender and oval shape of the mandibular soft tissue contour.

The authors insist that facial analysis should take into consideration racial, ethnic, and gender differences. The BAPA approach is a new practical and simple method for photogrammetric facial analysis. Using the authors' method, more advanced and automated computer systems for analyzing human faces may be developed.