Many South Korean soldiers on guard against North Korea no longer present a rough, sunburnt face to the enemy, a report said Friday.
Some members of the largely conscript army "now rival women in the use of cosmetics, and some even order wigs to disguise their short hair for the vacation," according to the website of Chosun Ilbo newspaper.
In a report headlined "An army of beauty queens?", the paper said one 21-year-old it interviewed spends an average of 110,000 won (NT$3,900) a month on bath products and cosmetics.
Photo: AFP
Besides shampoo and conditioner, he uses toner, moisturizer, essence, sun-block and foam cleanser, it said, noting that his basic pay is only 80,000 won (NT$2,800). "I got worried that my skin would get rough and dark after I joined the army," another unidentified soldier was quoted as saying. "If I want to meet my girlfriend during the vacation, I have to take care of my appearance.
"It's not just me. Most people here use at least two or three specialised cosmetics for their skin." The report said AmorePacific, which supplies cosmetics to over 1,100 Post Exchanges (PXs) across the nation, reported that sales from January through July surged 85 percent from the same period last year. It said some in the military men worried about "Generation Y soldiers obsessed with their appearance" - but others are sanguine.
"This trend is not just taking place among young soldiers but among young men in general, so I shouldn't be too worried about it," one field officer was quoted as saying.(AFP)
一篇報導說，許多防守北韓的南韓大兵們，不再以粗獷、曬傷的臉龐來面對敵人。
根據《朝鮮日報》的網站說，一些被徵召的士兵「現在跟女性一樣使用化妝品。有些甚至還訂購假髮，以便在放假時遮蓋短髮」。
該報在標題為《愛美大兵》的報導中說，一位二十一歲的受訪者，每月平均要花十一萬韓圜（折合新台幣三千九百元）在沐浴產品和化妝品上。
除了洗髮精和潤髮乳外，他還使用化妝水、保濕品、精華液、防曬乳及泡沫潔顏露。報導還註明，他的基本薪資只有八萬韓圜（折合新台幣兩千八百元）。報導引用另一位士兵的話說：「我擔心入伍後皮膚會變得又粗又黑。如果放假時想去見女友，就得打理好自己的外表。」
「不只是我，這裡大部分的人都至少用兩、三種專門的化妝品來護膚。」該報導還說，供應化妝品給全國一千一百多個軍中福利社的「愛茉莉太平洋」公司，今年一月至七月的銷量比去年同期暴增了85％。軍中有人擔心「Ｙ世代大兵太注重外表」，但也有人持樂觀態度。
一名軍官說：「此一趨勢不只盛行於年輕的士兵中，一般年輕的男性也一樣，所以我不太擔心。」
(法新社／翻譯：張愛弟）
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