Asian Flush Is Having A Moment
Korean dramas are starting to show the "glow."
An estimated 30 to 50 percent of Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans get red in the face when they drink alcohol—a condition called Asian flush. It doesn’t take much drink to bring a little color to the cheeks, yet I never saw it in any Korean dramas or films for many years.
In Boys Over Flowers (Netflix, 2009), for example, Jan-di (Koo Hye-sun) is charmingly sauced at a hotel bar. This would have been the perfect time to enhance her flirty looks with a little extra blush, but her cheeks are relatively pale.
The first time I observed the Asian flush during a drama was last year in Doctor Cha (Netflix, 2023). Two doctors, who are rivals for the affection of Dr. Cha, get plastered drinking makgeolli (Korean rice wine). Dr. Seo is definitely crimson, but Dr. Kim is not.
Since then, I’ve noticed Asian flush in a number of dramas.
Han Yi-ju looks feverish in Perfect Marriage Revenge (Viki, 2023).
Thanks to some Korean moonshine, both leads (Im Yoon-ah and Lee Jun-ho) are glowing in King The Land (Netflix, 2023).
Asian flush can also affect the ears, neck, shoulders, and entire body. In Queen of Tears (Netflix, 2024), Baek Hyun-woo (Kim Soo-hyun) looks a little pink around the eyes because he’s been crying in his beer. But look at how red his neck is.
Formally known as alcohol flush reaction (AFR), this condition is the result of a genetic variation that makes it difficult for the body to break down alcohol. Some researchers believe that AFR causes people to drink less and thus protects them from alcoholism. These researchers obviously don’t know that Korean men have the fourth highest incidence of alcoholism in the world.
Some folks get more intense symptoms with AFR—nausea, headaches, low blood pressure, and rapid heart rate. If they were wise, like Lee Jeong-do (Kim Woo-bin) the martial arts expert in Officer Black Belt (Netflix, 2024), they’d abstain from alcohol. And manage to have a good time anyway.
Have you noticed any characters with the flush in your Asian dramas or movies?
P.S. - I looked back at Crash Landing on You (Netflix, 2019) and realized that cheeks of Yoon Se-ri (Son Ye-jin) were pretty pink as she sipped soju from clam shells in Episode 4. I may have originally thought her heightened color was due to the fire of the clambake.
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In my very favorite KDrama, Into the Ring, the main female lead, Goo Se Ra (played flawlessly by Nana) drinks a lot in the early episodes, and frequently has the Asian flush, which is adorable.
Fascinating, Kathy! I guess I’m not too old to learn something new.