By Bella Stryker
The basement of Hughes Triggs was surprisingly loud— especially for a Tuesday night. Around 150 students milled around, munching on food and gossiping with one another. Some carried bright pink, hardback books, hoping to get them signed.
Eventually, everyone filed into the auditorium, still buzzing. Still excited. Maybe they were thrilled about the extra credit on the table— or more likely— they were excited to listen to Elise Hu speak. (I know you are probably thinking this is unlikely. But seriously— she’s a true gem.)
“But— before I wrap up today and before I wrap up my 30 minutes” she joked as she began her lecture, “we will talk about some of the lessons in looks and culture from the K-beauty capital because I explicitly promise that in the subtitle of the book.”
Hu is effortlessly charismatic—witty, relatable, and able to distill complex ideas into something digestible. At one point, she broke down South Korea’s economic transformation with a simple statement:
“what Korea has today is coolness.”
She goes even further, drawing an analogy between Regina George from Mean Girls and South Korea to create this understanding of “soft power” in international diplomatic relations.
And well for her— these relatable descriptions are what makes her popular. She is an award-winning journalist, author, and podcast host, known for her work with NPR, VICE News Tonight, and TED Talks Daily. She founded NPR’s Seoul bureau in 2015, covering South Korea, North Korea, and Japan, and has reported from over a dozen countries. Her debut book, Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital, explores the global impact of South Korea’s beauty industry and societal standards.
This book is why she was at SMU— to discuss her newest book as part of the O’Neil Lecture Series. The lecture series is an annual spring event that brings distinguished business journalists to campus. A collaboration between the Meadows School’s Division of Journalism and the Cox School of Business, it was established in 2007 to enhance financial reporting education. It is funded by the late William J. O’Neil, an SMU alumnus and founder of Investor’s Business Daily.
Hu’s lecture for Tuesday night was remarkably concise yet detailed. She gave just enough detail that you understood the topic well, but not quite enough detail so that you still walked out wanting to pick it up and read all 310 pages.
Hu’s lecture followed the structure of her book, beginning with numbers. She traced South Korea’s rapid rise from war-torn devastation in the 1950s to a top-ten global economy in just three generations.
“It is the fastest country to go from a UN aid-receiving nation to a UN aid-granting nation.”
But what makes South Korea unique, she argued, is not just its economic power—it’s its cultural dominance. From Squid Game breaking Netflix records to Parasite sweeping the Oscars, South Korea has mastered “soft power,” the ability to influence the world through culture rather than military or economic force.
“BTS alone brings in an estimated $4.5 billion to the South Korean economy each year—that’s the size of Fiji’s entire GDP.”
This success isn’t accidental—it was a government strategy.
“There was a 1994 government report that suggested that if Korea made just one ‘Jurassic Park’-level film, that could equal the financial gains of manufacturing about a million and a half Korean-made cars.”
While much of Hu’s lecture celebrated South Korea’s cultural rise, she also explored its shadow side—particularly how beauty standards have become both a social and economic force.
“South Korea now exports more in cosmetics than it does in smartphones,” she noted. “It’s the third-largest cosmetics exporter in the world.”
But this industry extends beyond makeup and skincare. Nearly half of Korean women in their 20s have undergone cosmetic procedures, and beauty isn’t just a personal choice—it’s an expectation.
“Résumés in South Korea often require headshots—not just for acting jobs, but for corporate positions,” Hu explained. “Your appearance can determine your career, dating prospects, and social standing.”
She introduced the technological gaze—a machine-driven perspective on beauty shaped by digital filters and AI-generated images.
“You might know the male gaze, where women perform beauty for men. But the technological gaze is different—it’s the way we perform beauty for algorithms,” Hu said. “We internalize what the machine tells us we should look like.”
For students, her message resonated.
Kara Dross, a junior majoring in Fashion Media, reflected on the experience: “Having the opportunity to hear Elise Hu speak about not only her book but also her time as bureau chief for NPR in Seoul was incredibly interesting,” Dross said. “I loved how she spoke about women’s beauty standards today and encouraged all of us to remember that our bodies are instruments, not ornaments.”
Similarly, junior Tyler Martin, said “I found Elise’s talk to be incredibly engaging and loved that she tapped into our college audience. She’s incredibly relatable, funny and an incredible speaker and I loved hearing her story.”
Missed the lecture? Flawless is available now (find your buying options here.) And if you’re looking for an intellectual beach read for spring break, it’s a page-turner—I finished it in just two afternoons.
Still not sure? Let me get you started. The story opens with: “I’ve seen the future, and it’s poreless.”
