The New Skincare Superpower

South Korea now holds the most secrets for getting perfect skin.


Ninety percent of the skin products I use are imported from South Korea. They're about 12 years ahead of the States in terms of technology," says Mary Schook, the beauty guru and New York-based owner of M.S. Apothecary. In the skincare world, South Korea has become the new France. It's outpacing other countries in beauty innovation faster than you can say "glycolic peel" (which in Asia is totally démodé, by the way).

"Koreans aren't about stripping the skin until it looks like something you want to ice skate on. They're into nurturing it," says Schook, who also introduced eyelash extensions (yup, a South Korean invention) to New York almost a decade ago. She's like our Christopher Columbus to Korea's New World.

For the past decade, South Korea has been a buzzed-about secret among beauty diehards. "It's so funny that Americans are only now getting wind of it," says Sang A Im-Propp, a Seoul-born, Manhattan-based handbag designer who has modeled in ad campaigns for AmorePacific, a popular Korean cosmetics brand. (She swears by the Time Response Skin Renewal Crème.) But the secret's out.

Korea's skincare boom goes back to its famous beauty regimens, which, for the average Korean woman, includes roughly 18 products per day. Dr. Seung Yoon Celine Lee, a dermatologist based in Seoul, attributes the obsession with flawless skin to royal aspirations. "Bright skin meant that you came from a noble family. The concept carries on," she explains.

"The demand for whitening helped create new technology treatments, such as lasers and photo facials," adds Dr. Susanne Bennett, a Korean-American holistic doctor who lives in California and specializes in antiaging skincare. (Lee points out that laser treatments in Korea are so omnipresent, they now cost 80 percent less than they do in the U.S.)

You can also walk into a Korean drugstore and find at least 15 versions of an over-the-counter cream just as potent as a pro-grade treatment in the U.S. One such product is Blemish Balm cream, better known as "B.B. magic cream." Originally formulated in Germany as a healing ointment for pSatients' post-laser treatments, the Koreans took the idea and turned it into a unique, more sophisticated version that acts as a tinted moisturizer, zit zapper, sun protectant, and antiaging treatment all in one. Korean women have been using it for the past four years, and it's just starting to crop up on sites catering to Americans.

Then there's the miraculously skin-plumping mask and serum that Schook calls one of the industry's greatest breakthroughs. Bennett discovered the highly soluble formula — first engineered for bone and tissue regeneration — being sold cosmetically in Korea, and quickly snapped up the rights to distribute it stateside under the name Purigenex. It's the only topical medical-grade collagen sold in the U.S., and it's flown here straight from a Korean lab.

But the innovation that Schook considers the holy grail is stem cell media skincare — Koreans have taken it to radical levels by using actual media, or extract, of stem cells from adult bone marrow and excess body fat tissue, rather than the synthetic stuff you see in most Western products. Schook just began selling a regimen called Beaucell that she swears takes years off and "basically makes your face look like it's had fat injections."

But it doesn't come cheap. A six-week supply of Beau cell costs $2,000. Korean women, who typically spend about $130 a month on skincare, aren't fazed. "It's hot right now," enthuses Lee.

How do you say "Let's go shopping!" in Korean?

Do you Know what "KIMJANG" is (About Korean culture.)

Hello  everyone,

In Korea,  I would like share some information about Korea culture Today .

About "Kimjang" Korea’s kimchi, a range of seasoned vegetable dishes, and kimjang, the making and sharing of kimchi, have both recently received much international recognition

According to Korean dictionaries, kimjang is, “the making or the result of making a large amount of kimchi, dongchimi, a juicy radish kimchi, or kkakdugi, a pickled radish kimchi, before or soon after the onset of winter, allowing people to eat from winter to spring.” The onset of winter is known as ipdong. It is the 19th division of the 24 solar divisions of the lunar calendar year.


I took some pictures of my neighbors who were making big amount of Kimchi ( it is Kimjang day)

at that time ,  I also participated the event and tried my best to make Kimchi .  However,   some of my neighbors teased me for not making kimchi properly and nobody will eat that kimchi ,  they laughed a lot ^^.

I would just  like to introduce you guys about our culture ,  here is one interesting news  as below,

In the past, most people made their kimchi during kimjang, as most of them lived with a large number of family members, often with more than three generations under one roof. But today, a growing number of people purchase kimchi rather than make it themselves during kimjang, as the size of individual households has gotten smaller. Such trends can be clearly seen in Seoul and other metropolitan areas.

In contrast to this urbanization, however, according to a survey from the Nonghyup Economic Research Institute released on December 5, more than 41 percent of the 500 respondents from the metropolitan area said they will make their own kimjang kimchi. Also, more than 25 percent said they would receive kimjang kimchi from their relatives or family members. This shows that more than 66 percent of respondents consume kimjang kimchi. Breaking it down by age, 83 percent of respondents aged over 50 said they make kimjang kimchi themselves. This shows that many people still prefer the consumption of kimjang kimchi. In light of this, many firms and communities make kimjang kimchi for needy neighbors and welfare recipients as a way to share the love at the end of the year.

Still growing cosmetic industry in Korea

Due to the popularity of Korean wave ‘Hallyu’ such as K-POP, cosmetics made in South Korea are selling very well.


According to KOREA CUSTOMS SERVICE as of 22, monthly sales of cosmetics on June are $152 million which is the highest since January, 2000.


By countries, China bought $44.8 million, Hong Kong $28.7 million, America $15.9 million, Japan $12.9 million and Taiwan $9.87 million. China and Hong Kong are responsible for 50% of total cosmetic sales.


One official from cosmetic industry said “China’s population of cosmetics users has reached over 100 million and the current growth rate of users is 10%,” and added that “Particularly, the growth rate for cosmetics made in Korea is increased over 30%.”
The official also pointed out that “Korean cosmetics are popular because of the rising popularity of Korean culture, high quality and through market research.”
The first half year’s Korean cosmetic sales are $795 million which is the highest since 1995.


However, the amount of export in cosmetic hits the lowest $838.5 million. As of June, a trade deficit in cosmetics is only $42.6 million
This means that Korea will posts its first current account surplus in cosmetic sales for the first time.



According to KOREA CUSTOMS SERVICE, the amount of sales did not include sales from duty-free shop and road shop. So it’s believed that the amount of export have already exceeded the amount of imports.