Will Tennyson, a fitness influencer known for his candid takes on health and body image, recently traveled to South Korea to investigate the country’s intense beauty and body culture, and what he found was far more alarming than he anticipated.
Within minutes of arriving in Seoul, Tennyson encountered public fitness structures in a children’s park designed to gauge body size. The contraptions ranged from labels like “You’re an alien” to “chubby” to “thin,” and Tennyson, who is in notable physical condition, could barely squeeze through some of them.
“Crazy to think that I’m considered chubby in Korea because I like to think that I’m in pretty good shape,” he said.
Tennyson explored the city’s thriving zero-calorie food culture, visiting dedicated zero-sugar stores and cafes stocked with everything from zero-calorie ice cream to cutting jelly, a product with virtually no nutritional value designed purely to fill the stomach.
Korean-American content creator Daniel Oh joined Tennyson and explained that beauty standards in Korea are extraordinarily rigid. He noted that for women, being over roughly 141 lbs (64 kg) is considered chubby, regardless of height.
Daniel said that the standards often make naturally unattainable proportions the baseline expectation, pushing many women toward plastic surgery just to achieve a look that genetics alone cannot provide.
Shopping also made the disparity impossible to ignore. Clothing labeled “overfit,” meaning a baggier cut, barely fit over Tennyson’s head. “That’s supposed to be like a baggier fit, but you make it look like a regular fit,” Daniel pointed out.
The most striking moment of the trip came when Tennyson visited a clinic, a neighborhood described as the weight loss drug hub of the world, where pharmacies line nearly every building.
He walked in, gave his name and ID, and within ten minutes was sitting in front of a doctor. After providing his height of six feet and weight of around 198 lbs (90 kg), the doctor ran his numbers through a BMI chart and told him he was obese with a BMI of 24.47, recommending he lose 33 lbs (15 kg) to reach a “normal” body weight.
“The doctor is telling me I have to lose 15 kg or 33 lbs without any sort of background knowledge of my medical history or even my body composition,” Tennyson noted, pointing out that fat and muscle ratios significantly affect BMI readings.
No questions were asked about his fitness habits, overall health, or lifestyle. The clinic even offered to administer the first injection on the spot. Total cost: $150.
“There was like no diagnosis,” Daniel said afterward. “He was just like, ‘Oh, you want the **ug? Here’s how to use it. Here are some side effects to expect.'”
Tennyson left with a prescription for a GLP-1 treatment, though he stated clearly he had no intention of using it.
