Beauty Pageants in the Japanese Colonial Era of Korea (1931 and 1940)

The aim of this study was to analyze the beauty pageants that were held in Korea during the Japanese colonial era (1931, 1940). Through searches of www.google.com and www.naver.com , 3 pageants were found: (1) 1931, Miss Korea, organized by Samchunli (a magazine): Any Korean woman, with the exception of Korean geishas, could apply by submitting her photographs. The number of candidates was 326. Nine Korean judges evaluated the photos of the candidates. Among them, the victor was an 18-year-old Korean woman. (2) 1931 (Oct), Miss Joseon, organized by Osaka Mainichi Shimbun: The candidates were categorized into 2 groups: 10 "internals" (Japanese) and 10 Koreans. Their heights and weights, along with their photographs, were provided for the readers' reference. The winners were determined based on the readers' votes. The Japanese victor was a 21-year-old student with a height of 150 cm and a weight of 52 kg (body mass index [BMI] 23.11 kg/m 2 ). The Korean winner was a 19-year-old student standing at 157 cm and weighing 53 kg (BMI 21.50 kg/m 2 ). (3) 1940, Venus of the Peninsula, organized by Modern Japan (a magazine): The candidates were Korean women residing in Japan or Korea. The panel of judges evaluated the photographs of the candidates. The victor was a 20-year-old Korean geisha. Her winning photograph was featured in the Korean edition of the magazine Modern Japan. She stood at 157 cm in height and weighed 45 kg (BMI 18.25 kg/m 2 ). As beauty standards evolved over time, the beauty standards of the 1930s were markedly different from those of today.