First, we'll lay out the map of the Five Offices, then look at the line the hairline draws.
From here on, we'll look at each part one by one. If the earlier chapters covered the big picture of the whole face, this is the detail within that frame. We'll go top to bottom — forehead, eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, chin.
First, here's a map. Gwansang groups the eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth, and ears together and calls them the Ogwan (五官, Five Offices), giving each one the name of a government office. It treats the body like a whole bureaucracy.
This is the seat that reveals the power to protect and endure. Whether one's vital energy leaks away or gathers was read in the grain of the eyebrows.
This is the seat of observation and judgment. Among the Five Offices it was weighted most heavily — so much so that the eyes alone were said to carry as much weight as the other four combined.
This is the seat of judgment and discernment. Where a person's own standards stand was read in the structure of the nose.
This is the seat of giving out and taking in. Since both speech and food pass through here, it was seen as the gateway to one's relationships.
This is the seat of selective listening. How wide a range of outside information comes in was read in the shape of the ears.
You'll notice the forehead and chin aren't among the Five Offices. That's because these two were treated as zones rather than features. The forehead is both the Upper Zone of the Three Zones and the Career Palace of the Twelve Palaces; the chin is both the Lower Zone and jigak (地閣). So instead of asking "what office does this run," we read these two as "which period of life, and which weight, each one supports".
Let's start with the forehead. Since it's the first surface other people see, a good part of a first impression forms right here. People in the past read this spot as the seat of early life and direction. Size matters too, but what really shapes the impression is the line the hairline traces.
What you pick gets saved, and we'll bring it all together in the final Overview chapter. You can always change it later.
Apart from shape, the area the forehead takes up was read as well. Laying your fingers sideways just above the eyebrows makes it easy to check.
Four or more fingers fit above the eyebrows, or with the hair pushed back the forehead looks wider than a third of the face.
This was traditionally read as a mind that thinks broadly, sketching the big picture first. The type tends to find real enjoyment in learning and discovering new things.
About three fingers fit above the eyebrows, and dividing the face into vertical thirds, the top, middle, and bottom look roughly even.
This was traditionally read as the most balanced form. Thought, feeling, and action are said to carry roughly equal weight, letting the type adjust smoothly to whatever the situation calls for.
Only about two fingers fit above the eyebrows, with the hairline sitting relatively close to them.
This was traditionally read as a face where instinct and feel lead the way. Rather than weighing things for long, the type tends to learn by jumping in, with real focus for digging deep into whatever catches their interest.
The vertical height is average, but it opens out generously toward the temples, so from the front the forehead looks long side to side.
This was traditionally read as a face with an outward-facing view of the world. The type is said to draw energy from new people and new places, gradually expanding their own footprint into many different spheres.
One thing worth noting: the forehead is a feature that can look completely different depending on your hairstyle. Bring your bangs down and even a broad forehead can look compact; push them back and it's the opposite. So you should check it with your hair pushed back. The hairline can also recede with age. What you're reading is the texture of this current period, not something fixed for life.
For reference and entertainment, based on traditional physiognomy. It doesn't rank appearances or reveal a fixed fate.