Lesson 64 : [Students Obsessed With Appearances]

[MTM 운영자]

[Students Obsessed With Appearances]

There is an old saying _ ``Don’t judge a book by its cover.’’ It sounds right. But does it also apply to the world we are living in?

Appearance may not be the only standard when eval‎!!uating someone, but it is one factor, which is not overlooked in the appraisal process of job seekers.

University students who are in their early and mid 20s already have realized that their ``cover’’ is as import!!ant as what is inside.

``First good impression is very import!!ant for job interviews,’’ said Park Dong-eun, a graduate student of Ewha Womans University (EWU). ``Since people meet face-to-face during job interviews, it is import!!ant for women jobseekers to look good.’’

Many of her friends devote their energy to losing weight before import!!ant job interviews, she said.

Many people realize there is a problem in valuing people by looks rather than their abilities. However, many companies still prefer the tall and the thin and that is why it is almost impossible for jobseekers to be ignorant about appearances.

``Koreans are forced to put our picture on our resume almost always, which is rare in other countries. Sometimes it is mandatory to write down our weight and height. I don’ t think it is necessary but that is the reality,” Park said.

Men are also not free from the pressure of looking good. After popular comedian Roh Hong-chul wore so-called the ``magic shoes,’’ which makes him look two or three centimeters taller than his actual height, it came extremely popular among Korean men.

Han Man-jeong, Yonsei University student, said that appearance also matters to men.

``Height matters more import!!antly than anything else when talking about physical appearance. The taller a man is, the more confident he is in many ways. Women also prefer taller men so they have advantages when going out on blind dates,’’ Han said.

Undergoing plastic surgery is not rare any more. Some university students spend summer vacations getting ``transformed.’’ Famous cosmetic surgery hospitals are fully booked several months ahead of summer vacation.

Yang Sung-young, a EWU student, said she feels uncomfortable with a society obsessed with good appearances, which gives credit to the Korean ``Barbie and Ken.’’ She argued it is import!!ant to see other values in themselves.

``Appearance is one’s innate quality. It is hard to change. Rather than changing my appearances, I try to give people better impression by showing my inner qualities with my cheerful looks and smiles,’’ she said.

■ Vocabulary (Find the meaning of the words below.) l eval‎!!uating l appraisal l jobseeker l ignorant l mandatory l Undergoing l innate l confident l uncomfortable
	■ Discussion Questions

1.  Do you believe that society is too much into looks?

2.  Do you feel that looks is a part of the job interview?

3.  Do you think it should be?

4.  Do you think that a picture should be provided with a resume?

5.  Do you think height and weight should be on a resume?

6.  Do you think marital status should be on a resume?

7.  Do you think religious preference should be on a resume?

8.  Do you think age should be on a resume?

9.  Do you think previous employment should be on the resume?

   10.  Do you think military service should be on the resume?