Internet Trend: 얼짱

So today I'm going to rap at you about a current popular internet trend here in Korea, that trend being 얼짱 (eol-jjang). What is 얼짱 you ask? Well 얼굴 (eol-gul) is Korean for face, and 짱 (jjang) is a Korean slang word meaning "awesome", or "great," so 얼짱 could be translated as like "Great Face" or "Awesome Face." So what exactly does that mean?
In Korea digital cameras are a way of life. Every phone (made within the last two years) has one and most people will have a digital camera in addition to a webcam. Additionally photo-booths are wide spread (and insanely powerful in their capabilities). The 얼짱 craze developed out of this abundance of phototography equipment, and the extremely wired internet capabilities of South Korea. People took the technology avalible to them, and used it in a totally useless way (as is the case everywhere in the world).
얼짱 are photos (usually taken by yourself) which are uploaded to various Korean websites where people tell you how cool you look. It's the ultimate in narsicism. So here are some 얼짱 pictures for your viewing pleasure.


The Korean title proclaims "Famous Internet 'Eul-jjangs'"

Now it wouldn't have become a trend if it stayed in the small population of beautiful (or handsome) people with cameras who like to post pictures on the internet. Somewhere along the way, the general public got pulled into this whole fiasco. But if "man on the street" interviews, the surplus of "reality" TV shows, and high school yearbooks have taught us anything, it's that normal people are not pretty. So what's an average (or below average) high school girl to do? Well...that's where Photoshop comes in! With this (or other photo editing software), normal girls can make themselves, into beautiful 얼짱s.
First when taking the picture, the girl needs to be sure to open her eyes as wide as possible. She needs to do one of two things with her mouth. She can either make a slightly apathetic pout, or pucker her lips like she's about to kiss someone. Once the photo is taken, they load that bad boy into Photoshop, and that's where the magic begins. First the brightness needs to be turned up to bleach out the image covering up pimples, scars, or other skin flaws. Perhaps the eyes are too small, or the nose isn't western looking enough? Photoshop the shit out them! Perhaps your face is a little chubby...use photoshop to thin it out. If the picture is still not cute enough, draw some crazy crap on your face, and write some Korea slogans on the picture. Though results may vary, more often then not, they will look something like this:


A not so famous eul-jjang.

얼짱 is becoming such a popular and prevalent thing, that 얼짱s are moving into other realms of entertainment. One 얼짱 for example was the star of a Korean film. Others come out on Korean TV shows. So with this possibility of fame and fortune, I took it upon myself to create my own 얼짱사진 ("Awesome Face Photo"). I didn't really have to change much (since I'm already so good looking). I only added some random red dots on my cheeks (to increase cuteness), brightened my teeth, changed my eye color (to look more exotic), and added a big fuckin' cowboy mustache to increase my bad-assness 10 fold. Check it out!


Any producers, directors, or talent scouts, feel free to drop me an email if you have any projects for me...preferably one with Kim Jung-hwa or Jang Nara.