Curly hair??!

Well in Korea 3 (natural) waves is like being white and having an afro... Rare.
I hate that she associates his "curly" hair to a messy thing...

Odd considering that men and women, even children getting perms is more of a fashion trend in SK. I think she was just looking to "other" his son, and was picking up on any minor difference. "He's not one of "us", he's not as good/beautiful/smart etc as our first born and he never will be, even if he conforms"

It's not about the curly hair really. That's a symptom of the disease, much like getting second place, or not wining national prizes. He's still a beautiful winner, he's just not enough of one to satiate his parents' desire for vicarious acclaim compared to the brother. His parents seem to be narcissists who look at their children not as people, but as extensions of themselves and their reputations. Maybe on someone else curly hair wouldn't matter, because let the plebs be messy or trendy. In their house the Ahn boys are supposed to act and look like prized possessions, and what is prized is straight hair and winning.

I also think it's a nice bit of subtlety that the mother, who does the most criticizing, has slight waves in her hair. It could just be styling, but it's a typical thing for a self-absorbed user and abuser to denigrate in others the very things they accept from themselves. In any event, if it wasn't his hair it would have been something else. His birthmark or his mole. The things that make him unique are a reminder to the parents that he's not a possession but a person, and that isn't a reminder they are comfortable with. It would make them question their priorities and the damage they've caused, which narcissists are incapable of doing because it takes the focus off them. This is why Jiwon's relationship to DG is so important. He's breaking away from the patterns established by his parents of pretending he's the only victim or POV of merit. Before that he treated everyone else around him as an extension of his wants and needs, his reputation. DG has forced him to confront his true nature and vulnerability so he can one day accept it.

:)

Yea anyone with even naturally wavy hair in Korea is a rare thing. I know there’s a Korean youtuber and she has very curly hair for a Korean, she’s probably the ONLY Korean I’ve seen with that hair. If you google 2b hair her hair I almost as curly as the women in the images.

Definitely, she isn’t satisfied with his performance and like you said something as minor as his “curly” hair is a major fault in her eyes since it’s so different from her view of perfection

Good points. Not sure of the exact translation, but seeing as you mentioned the birthmark, Hwi-Min and Jiwon were besides each other and the conversation ended up about this, and Jiwon seemed quite shocked when Hwi-Min said his birthmark was beautiful, and ended up blushing. Maybe at this point in his life he was still living with the words his parents possibly said about his birth mark being a negative, as they exploit any perceived 'fault" or difference? Then in the current timeline, when he performed as Alex, he was able to be more confident or even indifferent about his birth mark, and "curly" hair.

I haven't read the raws, so my analysis is strictly based on released chapters. A lot of readers are the same since the translations are so spaced out, so just keep that in mind for the future responses I guess. I should add that I'm fine, I don't consider that much of a spoiler but someone else might.

That said, this shows how human beings are very illogical and choosy about the things that stick with us. Jiwon held onto so much baggage from his parents and ex... but for some reason he never questioned the sincerity of his ex saying the birthmark was beautiful. Everything he said was a lie, but this was true? The curly hair was an aberration and yet he kept it? It's good, actually. It shows that Jiwon's not a slave to what was said and done to him, that he can change his mindset and the way he responds to others if he works at it. And in a way DG has reinforced what Jiwon wants by accidentally getting under the mask and sincerely falling in love with even the ugly parts of Jiwon before choosing to walk away honestly. The ex just lied then ghosted from what I gather of the released chapters.