Analyse the impact of media representation on the collective identity of one or more.

The collective identity of a group of people can be altered through different media forms in this essay Ill be addressing the change in South Koreas growing ideologies of the views on body image and the constant reminder in media of how females and males are supposed to look. The first way in which South Korea's citizens can be influenced is the rise in interest for idol groups and lifestyle.

We see through idols that the original collective identity of Korean people has been changed due to ideals from the Western culture - Idols have been on a rise since the early 2000s and have begun to sweep into the western side of the world, with groups such as Big Bang (2006) and SNSD (2007) being prominent figures when mentioning K-pop (Korean popular genre) or also known as the Hallyu wave. When considering body image, females are influenced and urged to have long noses, big (double lidded) eyes, lighter skin and slim bodies, when talking about groups like SNSD, also known as Girls Generation in their well known music video Genie (2009) we see a large emphasis on their long, slender legs through the camera work which links in with Laura Mulveys theory on the male gaze and how it is solely appealing to men. This refers back to the changing of ideals due to the images and women seen in the western culture of course not everyone is born like this, thus the idea of plastic surgery has become huge part of Korean culture and is known as the plastic surgery capital of the world. In places such as Gangnam and Itaewon surgery is highly advertised from train stations to billboards, highlighting, in comparison to the past collective identity, it has completely changed due to the representations shown through different forms of media. Journal of Counseling Psychology mentions theories such as female objectivity and the influence of media in regards to body image, it states that a sample of 562 South Korean college women indicated that media exposure had significant positive indirect relations with body shame and eating disorder symptoms through the mediating roles of internalization, body surveillance, and face surveillance. Internalization theory is the changing and altering of ones beliefs, this further depicts the thoughts and feelings of how the media is molding visual expectations for both men and women and the major part the media took in shaping the collective identity of South Korea.

Female objectivity in South Koreas media platforms is a prominent factor that alters collective identity - the standards of female and males and the way in which the look is also influenced by films such as 200 pound Beauty (2006) which shows a socially fat women with an amazing voice and in order to feel loved she undergoes intense surgery and fitness schedule in order to obtain the perfect body. Having popular actors and actresses such as Joo Jin-mo and Kim A-joong further influences society on ideals and how a women should look like, causing the perfect body image and collective identity of South Korea to maintain. The media is also bombarded with the views on how a man should look and act like. Popular magazines such as Mens Health has a huge emphasis on topless, muscular men such as members from popular idol group 2PM who are notoriously known as the beastly idols on the cover of the magazine. The images shown in magazines sets standards for Korean men, influencing them that bigger is better which could be seen as influences from the Western culture. South Korea is known to have adapted a variety of cultures and ideas from the western culture, such as clothing, music and ideals. As mentioned before, women are aiming for visuals that resemble ones of european and western features e.g. big eyes and lighter skin; this further informs us of how the media from other countries such as America and the UK can alter the collective identity of South Korea. Men also fall victim into ideals shown from the western culture, celebrity figures such as David Buckham and his well-known advert from Calvin Klein which most Korean women see as their ideal man pushes Korean men to strive to be more tall, muscular and to also reform their face using surgery in order to look and fit the collective identity. However, throughout the years we are also presented with a more flowery and girly ideal for men in the gain of men having surgery. In an article made by Beyond Hallyu they state that even though the macho views on men are still prominent, South Korea is the male make-up capital of the world which could have been enforced, again, by male idols. World known idol group EXO from on of South Koreas top company SM entertainment are a now 10 piece male group has a 2-year endorsement deal with cosmetic brand Nature Republic, having an idol group who has most likely undergone surgery as the main endorsement for the cosmetics further backs the idea of males feelings urged to fit to those ideals and buy the products, creating this ideal body image for men also.

In conclusion, the use of the media plays a key factor in the collective identity of South Korea and how the citizens are influenced by the overpowering control of body image for both gender. We are faced with a variety of elements that causes such an ideal for South Korea such as idol groups, adverts, movies and western culture that builds the ideals and creates a mass view on how a person should look.

By Nimo Hussein