First of all, there is a big difference between East Asians and South Asians.
Because I rarely see an Indian man who struggles to grow a beard, and Pakistanis are also technically part of the Asian continent and they tend to have no shortage of facial hair. And even in countries like Japan or China, there are quite a lot of men who are quite capable of growing a beard.
The cultural tendency, especially nowadays, is to shave off one’s beard. Most actors, singers and politicians are clean-shaven as a result. In the past, there were plenty of Japanese people who grew thick and full beards. The actor Toshiro Mifune famously could grow a very thick beard, so could the Emperor Meiji. The soft, feminine looks of the Korean popstars were not the standard or the preferred look, fifty or a hundred years ago. Men used to be a lot more rugged. Nowadays, a beard is seen as the mark of the eccentric, an unserious man. It will be to your detriment in trying to find a job. If one were to take away every Asian man’s razor for a year, however, you’d be surprised by how some of them look a year later.
On average, the average East Asian is less likely to have a lot of facial hair, but it is not unheard of. It just isn’t seen as culturally acceptable to grow out a full beard, unless one is an artist. In 19th century Japan, having beards was very common among politicians and leaders and old photographs show this. Nowadays, being bearded is seen as being a bit of a hobo.
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