By Jennifer Flinn
Pop princesses are a dime a dozen--except for this one. Meet Korean siren Harisu, whose torrid success goes to show that gender is but a state of mind.
She sings, she dances, she acts, and she appears in movies and on TV. Thought by some to be one of the most beautiful women in Korea, it's hardly surprising that she's also one of the most famous. The difference, however, between her and the bevy of other pop stars on the Korean scene right now is that this “she” began life as a “he”.
Harisu (alternative transliterations Ha Ri-su, Ha Ri-soo) is a pop phenomenon in Korea, and her fame has been remarkably long-lived in a system that concentrates more on churning out new acts every few weeks than maintaining established celebrities. She has carved out her own unique niche in the B-list of Korean celebrities, appearing on the circuit of comedy and variety shows in addition to acting as the public face for some unexpected companies. She has managed to leverage her transgender status into a marketing tool that has allowed her to flourish and thrive in the competitive world of manufactured pop.
Lee Gyeong-yop (Lee Kyung-yop, Lee Kyong-yeop--alt. transliterations) was born in Songnam, near Seoul, in 1975. Despite his physical sex, Lee felt from early childhood that he was really female, and he underwent sex reassignment surgery at the age of 23. She was “discovered” in Japan while studying hair design, and began modeling. Using the stage name “Harisu” as a play on the English phrase “Hot Issue," Lee was soon appearing in print and TV advertisements. Her first major commercial shoot for the makeup company Dodo created a huge sensation in Korea, as it was a distinct move to play off of her unusual nature. In the commercial, Harisu tips her head back to reveal a computer-animated adam's apple. While Dodo was initially anxious about the move, it turned Harisu into a star overnight. In 2001, she released her first album, and starred as a transsexual woman in the semi-fictional movie Yellow Hair 2 (Korean title: Norang Meori 2). Her first album was successful enough for her to release two subsequent albums and she has made numerous appearances on television. However, her most recent work may well be some of her oddest. Earlier this year, Harisu starred in advertisements for the Taiwanese company UTF. Instead of makeup this time though, she will be promoting menstrual pads.
Korea is a very conservative society, influenced heavily by neo-Confucian norms of behavior. Unlike her neighbors Japan and China, Korea had no tradition of cross-dressing theater performers or people who lived public lives of a gender they didn't belong to--such as a Kabuki actor might. Until very recently, alternative lifestyles and sexuality were completely taboo. Harisu has brought many of these issues to the forefront, but her responses to the challenges faced by the gay and lesbian community in Korea is deeply ambivalent. She has won some important battles, including having her sex legally changed on her citizen ID card and having her legal name feminized to Lee Gyeong-eun (alt. Kyung-eun). Clearly many of the projects she has chosen have exploited her status as a post-op transsexual, and depended heavily upon the shock value. She consistently expresses strong interest in gender-bending themes like the Dodo commercials, even as she denies that she wants attention because of her sexuality. In interviews she has explicitly stated that she does not like the label of “trans” but also recognizes that without it, she probably would never have come to the public's attention, and thus is not above taking advantage of it.
Her simultaneous use of hyper-feminized manner and adherence to traditional norms of female looks and behavior while announcing herself as a transsexual makes for a fascinating public balancing act. Her appearance on the public scene was truly remarkable for how positive her reception was. Some Koreans find her eerie, others amusing, and still others adore her. She is a canny self-promoter and has parlayed what would otherwise have been a short and unremarkable career--like that of any other pop princess--into a unique and lasting position. Whatever Koreans may think of her, Harisu is certainly not going to fade into the woodwork anytime soon.
www.harisu.com
Published: Tuesday, December 21, 2004
