韓國女性開始從美容醫院走進健身房

Looks no longer center only on the face in beauty-obsessed South Korea, where more women are hitting the gym to improve muscle tone and physical health.

在專注於美麗的韓國，一個人的相貌不再只是看臉，更多的女性都去健身房鍛鍊肌肉改善體質。

As the ideal of beauty evolves in a country that is a trend setter in cosmetics and the pursuit of plastic surgery, women's fitness has become a growth business, say purveyors of health products, from diet supplements to dumb-bells.

韓國引領着化妝品和整形的潮流，隨着美的典範在完善，女性的健康成爲一項重要的事業——從補充營養到練啞鈴，保健產品的承辦商這樣說。

"Women used to starve in order to lose weight. Now they exercise," said celebrity trainer Ray Yang, who leads a workout session during the Body Show, a weekly television event targeted at women that is now in its second season.

“以前女性常常通過捱餓來減肥。現在她們在鍛鍊，”明星教練楊雷說，他在每週針對女性的寶丁秀上主持一場運動座談，現在正值第二季。

South Korea is a beauty powerhouse, with a $12-billion cosmetics industry and home-grown brands from the likes of Amore pacific Corp and LG Household and Healthcare riding a wave, or "hallyu", of cultural exports, from television dramas to pop music.

韓國是美貌的重要陣地，擁有120億美元資產的化妝品工廠和國產品牌，有順應潮流的愛茉莉太平洋集團公司和LG生活健康株式會社，或者說從電視劇到流行音樂等文化輸出的“韓流”。

In July, Olive Young, a health and beauty chain owned by CJ Corp, began selling health products targeted at women, including dumb-bells and a mini gym ball.

7月，希傑公司旗下的健康和美麗連鎖店Olive Young（歐利芙洋）開始針對女性賣一些保健產品，包括啞鈴和迷你健身球。

Lotte Shopping's rival chain LOHB's said annual sales of items such as gym balls, jump ropes and dumb-bells were up 9 percent this year by Oct. 15.

樂天購物旗下的競爭鏈LOHB's 稱截止到2015年10月其公司像健身球、跳繩和啞鈴一類的項目年銷售額比去年增長了百分之九。

As in other Asian countries, the popular depiction of Korean women has tended towards the slim, fair-skinned and demure, reinforcing gender stereotypes in a male-dominated society.

和其他亞洲國家一樣，對韓國女性最普遍的描述已經趨向於苗條、白皙和文靜，鞏固了在這個男性爲主導的社會中性別的角色定性。

Until recently, physical fitness was not much of a priority for Korean women, despite an emphasis on appearance that has fueled a $5-billion plastic surgery industry, which accounts for a quarter of the global market.

直到最近，對於韓國女性來說身體健康還並不算是優先考慮的事情。儘管對於外貌的重視已經促成了50億美元的整形產業，佔整個全球市場的四分之一。

Thinness was so prized that young women often steered clear of sports such as hiking and cycling, for fear they would leave them with thicker legs.

瘦身對於年輕女性如此重要以至於她們常常繞開徒步和騎車這種運動以免腿會變粗。

"Women used to think muscles would have side effects, or negative effects, on their body type and looks," said Kim Min-jeong, a professor of global sports science at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.

“女性過去常常以爲肌肉會對她們的體型和外貌有副影響或消極影響，”韓國外國語大學環球運動科學的教授金敏貞這樣說道。

The desire for a more robust physique comes as female workforce participation reached a record high this year, while Koreans of both sexes are delaying marriage and childbirth.

伴隨着女性就業問題，對更強健體格的追求在今年創歷史新高，而韓國的男性女性卻在延遲結婚和生育。

Many fitness conscious Korean women are adopting as role models well-toned celebrities, from domestic K-pop girl group Sistar's Hyorin, to global figures such as U.S. first lady Michelle Obama and Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge.

韓國很多有健康意識的女性把那些線條優美的名人當作楷模，範圍包括國內的流行音樂女孩組合Sistar's Hyorin（姐妹明星組合），還有國際人物，比如美國第一夫人米歇爾?奧巴馬和劍橋公爵夫人凱特?米德爾頓。

"The strength, the outer beauty of muscles, the positive attitudes and energetic images of these women become the motivation," said Kim. "Women now have higher social status and bigger roles in society."

“推動她們的是力量，是肌肉的外在美，是女性積極的態度和充滿活力的形象，”金敏貞這樣說。“現在女性有着更高的社會地位，扮演着更重要的角色。”

The number of fitness centers registered in South Korea has increased steadily, growing more than 5 percent last year to stand at 7,363 outlets, government data show.

政府數據顯示，韓國已註冊的健身中心在穩定地增加，已達到7363個，比去年增長了5%。

At one exercise center in Seoul recently, 29-year-old You Ri-seul followed the same routine as the men, from barbell drills to a rowing-machine session and dead lifts. "Female celebrities with healthy images became popular in the mass media in recent years, so I think a more healthy-looking body is ultimately becoming the wannabe model," she said.

最近在首爾一個運動中心，29歲的You Ri-seul和男人走一樣的路線，如槓鈴，划船機和蹲舉。“近幾年，以健康的形象而著名的女性在大衆媒體上很受人歡迎，所以我認爲看起來更健康的身體將最終成爲人們的模範，”她說。