Face Reading: Gwansang

 Also known as physiognomy or “face reading,” is the ancient art of determining a person’s personality or character through their facial features. In pre-industrial Korea, it was commonly believed that the face was a record of one’s life starting from the earliest moments in the womb, and subsequently a guide to their fate. Face readers consider cues like posture, body language, tone of voice, and facial expressions in assessing an individual, much in the same way we commonly assess physical appearance to gauge someone’s emotional state. For example, many vertical lip lines, a birthmark under the eyes, and a narrow nose with large nostrils are all characteristics of someone who has difficulty maintaining deep relationships. Many face readers today report that their jobs are getting more difficult as an increasing number of Koreans are turning to plastic surgery to alter their facial features, some at the suggestion of cosmetic surgeons who say that altered features can change one’s destiny.