On another thread, someone wrote that Japanese soldiers in movies about WW2 often look Korean. When Memoirs of a Geisha made it to the silver screen, I recall that there was a controversy in Japan about casting Chinese actress Gong Li in a leading role.
I truly mean no offense. Pardon a dumb question from a white American, but can the average Chinese - or Japanese, or Korean, or Singaporean, etc. - moviegoer tell, at a glance, what country an Asian actor or actress is from? (Obviously when the star opens his or her mouth, the accent might be a dead giveaway unless a very good vocal coach has helped out). Are there commonalities in appearance that set apart different nationalities in Asia, or do the people of some countries have such a perception?
I can generally tell. I’m also Asian so that helps a lot. I also live an area where there is a large percentage of SE asians. As far as I can tell, every asian race has a general “look”.
Chinese - round faces, most slanted eyes, and higher cheekbones. I can really tell if they smile/squint.
Japanese - Plainer faces. Noses are more “western”. Eyes are not as slantly. Thin faces and small chins.
Koreans - Simular to Chinese, but their cheekbones are wider. Can have a wide chin as well.
There are more, but I will probably start sound like a dumbass. Obviously these are subjective and do not apply to everyone. They are just what I personally see. I’ve also wondered if this same senario can be applied to Europeans or decendants of europeans. Granted in the states europeans are probably more diluted (or maybe not, I don’t know). Is there a difference in general apperance from the Germans and the French?
Ever try taking the quiz at this site? I tried it a few years ago, and my score was about the same as if I were guessing randomly. :smack: I suppose I should turn in my “Asian” card now.
I think there are stereotypical “looks” for Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans, but many people in all three categories don’t fit the stereotypes.
Well, in all honesty, when I wrote that “All Japanese soldiers in the movies look Korean” I was commenting on the fact that in WW2 movies, especially those made during the war, all the Asian parts were played by Korean actors, plus the odd Chinese, since there were no Japanese actors working. Not necessarily a statement that there is a typical “Korean” look. But it’s an interesting question anyway.
Just from four years in engineering school, I can pretty well guess whether a person is of Chinese, Korean, or Japanese descent on sight. Obviously there are exceptions and no rule applies 100% of the time, but Burrido’s post is a good start. Differences in skin tone can be another clue.
In general, yes. Of course every classification would fail for many individuals. The differences are also related to geographic distance: People living within a few kilometers of the same border usually don’t look drastically different but people from different regions in one country might.
If you take 100 randomly chosen people from all over France and 100 from Germany then it seems possible to sort a high percentage of those correctly.
There are subtle differences in facial features and style of dress can be a huge indicator. I’ll take a stab at describing them, similar to what Burrido has done.
Chinese- Probably the most variation, since China encompasses the most land and ethnicities. Tend to dress more conservatively.
Korean- Rounder faces OR sharp, angular features (high cheekbones etc). Smaller eyes and lighter skin tone generally. Relatively tall. Sort of moppish hair seems to be popular with the younger crowd.
Japanese- Many have distinctive eyes (hard to describe) that I rarely see in other nationalities, often coupled with thinner eyebrows. Probably the most adventurous in terms of fashion.
Of course there are exceptions but these are the trends that I’ve observed. To put it in European terms, if you see a blonde person you may assume he/she’s of Northern European descent but could easily be an Italian or a Spaniard. People migrate and mix so you can never be certain.
Hey, nice link! I’ve always thought I could tell the difference, but wondered how much is based on cultural cues (clothing, hairstyle, etc) instead of facial characteristics. Now there’s a test. I got 12 out 18 correct!
I’m mostly European decent, but married to a Korean. I’ve spent a good amount in Korea as well. I think I have a good idea of a stereotypical Korean, and look for differences from that. For me, it’s all in the nose and cheekbones.
For Chinese, you really need to distinguish between true Han Chinese and the multitude of other ethnicities in China. Otherwise, it’s not really a fair comparison.
I wonder if someone as put together something similar for comparing European ethnicities. I think it’s fairly easy to distinguish, say Irish vs Italian vs Polish, but the boundaries may be fuzzier for closer areas.
I’m Japanese, and where I’m from, Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, and other flavors of Asians make up over half the population. As much as I like to think I’m good at telling us all apart, I’m probably only a little better at it than the average person. Descriptions like “wider face” and “smaller nose” don’t really help-- smaller and wider than what? An Asian standard, or a Caucasian standard? It’s all relative, and if you’ve only seen a dozen Asian people in your life, you’re not going to have a reliable frame of reference. Then there are some of us who just have a generic Asian look. I’m one of them. Going by the descriptions others have posted, I’d be pegged as Chinese or Korean. My parents are the same way.
Does it matter to me that Asians are used interchangeably? Not really. I would like that Japanese actors be cast if the role is of a Japanese person, and a Korean if the role is of a Korean, but I know that can’t be done all the time. There are probably logistical issues, such as the relatively small number of Asian actors, their availabilities, etc. I have no reason to suspect there’s a “they all look the same anyway” mentality when actors are cast.
I think so long as an actor can pass, nationality is not considered very important. This kind of casting happens all the time for Western actors also. Anthony Quinn, who I believe is Mexican, got cast as a Greek. Italians often got cast as Puerto Ricans, and Sal Mineo got cast as an Israeli. Of course it can be done very badly - see Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. :eek:
The comparison to Europe is apt, I think. Many people might be able to sort an Englishman from a Frenchman, or a German from an Italian with better than chance results, even without cues of dress and body language. But there’s going to be a lot of errors. There are plenty of blond haired blue eyed Italians especially in the north, and plenty of dark complected Germans.
I was watching Yojimbo and one of my Canadian roommates came in, she’s from Newfoundland, and asked me where the movie was made. When I said Japan she said, “Weird, none of them look Japanese,” and walked out the room.
Marc
Yeah, it’s crazy how much difference just the width of a river can make in how people look! Who’d guess that James Hong, Prince, and I were born just a few miles apart?
It’s interesting to me how people construct their ideas of what other ethnicities (and to a lesser extent, cultures) are supposed to be like. It makes me think of visiting my friend’s Chinese restaurant in Minnesota a couple years ago and hearing they served cream cheese wontons. The thought absolutely horrified me, but I’m sure to many non-Chinese people, this is what Chinese food is. So when they see authentic Chinese food, they’re like, “Weird, none of this looks like Chinese food.”
Culture makes a much bigger difference than anything else. The way people move, dress, talk, and react in social situations can show their origins, but it’s really hard to tell from just a picture.
Even natives can’t always tell. I went to a Korean hostess bar with a few Japanese friends and one girl that they thought was Korean was actually Japanese, while one they thought was Japanese was Korean. (The Japanese girl was pissed). Honestly, there’s so little difference in physical appearance between the two populations that without obvious giveaways in accent or dress, even the Japanese can’t reliably tell Koreans from Japanese if the person in question been here for a while.
On the other hand, differences in behavior can make it easy to, for example, pick a German out in Wisconsin (no small trick) or a French tourist in Quebec. I can spot Japanese tourists in the US most of the time based just on how they dress and act, the accent or catching them speaking Japanese just clinches it. Most of the time I wouldn’t venture to guess where someone is from based just on physical appearance though.
I can generally tell Southeast Asians apart from everyone else, and Chinese from Japanese/Korean. I can’t with any real accuracy tell Japanese ppl apart from Koreans. IIRC, aren’t Koreans and Japanese the “same”? Japan being inhabited and formed (Ainu aside) from displaced Koreans?
Yes, the founding population of the Japanese culture came from the Korean peninsula. I remember reading something like circa 500BC for the migration. So that’s a good two millennium of divergence, which isn’t too much, but enough for some differences.
Note, it’s not politically correct state things as bluntly as “Japan being inhabited and formed from displaced Koreans” among some Koreans or Japanese.
