There is little question why the South Korean beauty industry has been on the boom these last few decades. The rise of K-pop and globalization allows industry producers to innovate their products using new ingredients and push products with high-value commercial deals. The nearly $6 billion dollar domestic beauty industry is a reflection of the cultural shifts in South Korea but are these changes beneficial for the people or have the standards been warped so much by the materialistic market that the populace has become a victim of its own ideals.
South Korean women spend twice as much of their income on skin and beauty products than the American woman equivalent while South Korean men spend more than any other men in the world on these beauty products. This is a result of the myriad of advertisements that cover the view of commercial hubs like Myeong-dong, Seoul. The adverts usually have popular Korean celebrities showing off the products as the newest hot trend for the people to use. Thus, the mainstream beauty standard in South Korea is to have perfect skin and hair that looks like the celebrities. This also leads to extensive skin care regime with products claiming to fix or enhance your skin. I can not speak for the validity of every single product but I have heard about the popularity of South Korean skin products. In fact, many different people end up coming to South Korea to purchase these goods or buy South Korean exported goods online.
But South Korean beauty is not limited to skin care as more extreme options are actually pretty common. For example, cosmetic surgery is extremely prevalent in South Korea as the majority of South Korean women have had something augmented by the time they graduate university. Similar to the appeal of the South Korean commercial hubs, many people come to South Korea to have cosmetic surgery performed on them. It may seem a bit strange to other countries, but when the opportunity to change how one looks is so readily available, safe, and cheap, it is no surprise that many Koreans have embraced the opportunity. This is not to say that the entire society is welcome to these more extreme options however. People with tattoos are generally looks down upon as rebellious and anti-social and plastic surgery is often a controversy for the idols in the K-pop industry. In the big picture, South Korean society is pretty conservative so the beauty industry is in a weird place where many youths embrace it as a part of their lifestyle but the older generations scorn the industry.
The narrative that the celebrities and the cosmetics industry pushes is that looking good is essential and many people do not disagree. We see this happening everywhere in the world. However, right now the boom in the beauty industry has halted because of the pandemic so we may see the makeup sales stagnate enough that people's perceptions change. Though that is an unlikely outcome, it will be interesting to see how beauty standards in South Korea shift over time.
Comments
Hey Victor, I enjoyed reading this post that was very informative. I definitely agree with your points because the focus on beauty and self-care and facial products has continued to go up alongside plastic surgery which is a common high school graduation gift because of this high focus. I concur again that the rise of Kpop has only helped make this trend faster because the popularity of these idols and ads that they feature in for beauty products has spurred people to not only support their favorite idols but to also appreciate and take part in using these beauty products for themselves!
Hey Victor, I really enjoyed reading your cultural post. I agree with you that a lot of people in Korea really focus on beauty and facial products. I am pretty sure that plastic surgery in Korea is one of the most popular fields and it really ties in with the fact that the South Korean beauty industry is on the rise. Furthermore, you see all these K-pop stars beginning to spread to places like the United States, and it is only a matter of time that the beauty products in Korea also migrate to western countries as well!
Victor, this was a very informative post. Your post reminded me of a South Korean YouTuber who was talking about the South Korean beauty industry. She was saying how the industry’s bigger emphasis is on skin care rather than makeup because South Koreans view skin care as a way of living. Just like we stress on good nutrition for our body, they also like to stress on skin care as a long-term consistent plan. I had never heard of the beauty industry being talked about in that way; it felt so personal. Your insights on plastic surgery have just added a new layer to my understanding the South Korean beauty industry. Thank you for sharing!
I found it interesting how plastic/cosmetic surgery is normalized, but people look down on K-pop idols for getting them. I also wonder if people’s perspectives on tattoos are changing, because I know a lot of idols have recently been getting tattoos. I also found it fascinating how big K-pop impacts other industries besides the entertainment and music industries. Because of how global K-pop is, it makes sense why the beauty industry did so well!
Hello Victor Chen, I thought your cultural artifact about South Korea's beauty industry was not only eye-opening but very interesting. It's definitely true that South Korean men spend more than any other men in the world on beauty products. I believe this statistic alone reflects the significant role physical attractiveness plays in Korean society.
The topic of beauty standards and practices in Korea is a very interesting one, especially when we look at the prevalence of things like plastic surgery versus the attitudes and perceptions of it. That sort of contradiction is something I would be very interested in looking into. Also, you mentioned the possibility of shifting beauty standards, which holds many implications for the Korean beauty industry. For example, I have read many accounts of how beauty standards there are harmful, so it would be beneficial if a possible shift meant more inclusivity.
Woah, I knew that beauty and skin care was big in South Korea, but I did not realize its true influence. I definitely have purchased Korean beauty products before. The packaging is always beautiful and aesthetically pleasing, the prices are reasonable, and it all comes with good results. However, I always just assumed that Americans would be the greatest consumers of most products due to the materialistic nature of our society. It seems like South Korea and the US share similar views about beauty standards and the need to always look beautiful. However, I do think the older generation in the United States fall into the beauty standard traps (especially with plastic surgery) unlike older generations in South Korea.