Cosplay is pretty big in the Western world these days. Youngsters with a lot of time to play games and a lot of money to buy outfits meet up regularly to stare at each other. Everywhere from Texas to Tokyo, Stockholm to Sydney, they gather in throngs to show off their weird fantasy get-ups.
There’s no harm in it at all, I’d like a go myself. I’d probably be Oscar the Grouch. Or Zelda from Terrahawks.
But this harmless cosplay trend has a bit of a dark twist in South Korea. For some reason, Fascist Hitler chic is all the rage. Youngsters dress up as their favourite SS guard and look menacing for LOLz. I mean, they’re not actually racists and they aren’t really planning on world domination, but it is pretty strange to see.
It reminds me of the Indonesian Nazi Cafe – Soldatten that opened up a few years ago and those pictures of Thai children dressed as Nazis at some parade or other.
I suppose WWII is a lesser known event over there; We only learn about Asian wars if they effect us, so I suppose third generation South Koreans probably don’t get much schooling on the whole WWII thing. For instance, if one of your mates turned up to a party dressed as Pol Pot you wouldn’t blink an eye. Still, whether they mean to offend or not, it seems like they are.
Personally, I’m pretty much whatevs about it. They are just clothes after all, and as long as the sentiment isn’t holocaust driven eugenics, it’s probably OK. I look at it as kind of ironic. I mean, Hitler hated all races, except the whites, so it’s almost like they’re ripping the Michael out of his vibes. If Hitler saw a bunch of Asian kids dressed in Nazi regalia he would puke a lung in disgust. It’s sort of like the hippies wearing military boots from the army surplus shop.
Whatever your thoughts, the pictures are pretty weird… (FYI some of these are from South Korea, some are from China and one from Thailand, I think):
Here’s a Nazi themed skin care advert from South Korea that did, eventually, get banned:
And here’s some lovely snaps from a Hitler themed wedding that turned some heads on the internet… how romantic:
MORE KOREAN STUFF:
South Koreans Eating Live Octopus
Kin Jong Un Has Ex Machine Gunned To Death
Mobile Phone Embaressment in North & South Korea
North Korean Propaganda Nails Celebrity Obsession
South Korean Driving Pupil Flips Car In Seconds
