Bloomberg Businessweek has a piece out today about makeup being the key for South Korean men to get ahead these days.
The metamorphosis of South Korean men from macho to makeup over the last decade or so can be partly explained by fierce competition for jobs, advancement and romance in a society where, as a popular catchphrase puts it, “appearance is power.”
According to global market research firm Euromonitor International, Korean men account for 21 percent of global sales for men’s skincare products –to the tune of $885 million in expected sales this year.
There’s all sorts of notable lines in the article, but the money graph is:
“I can understand why girls don’t like to go outside without makeup — it makes a big difference,” said Cho Gil-nam, a tall, stocky 27-year-old insurance fraud investigator in Seoul who starts important days by dabbing on makeup after finishing his multistep morning cleansing and moisturizing routine. He carries a multicolored cosmetics pouch so he can touch up in public bathrooms throughout the day.
The Grand Narrative’s James Turnbull is also quoted in the piece, saying that media influence on the trend can be traced back several years to the economic crisis when women were the first to be shown the door. This following them already being angered about previously seeing their push for equal rights take a backseat to protest movements against Japanese colonizers and the autocratic governments that followed.
“The times were ripe for a sea-change in the popular images of men in the media,” Turnbull said. Women, as a result, began questioning the kinds of men society told them they should find attractive.
Likewise, Kim Jong-hoon, a 27-year-old tech industry worker in Paju, blames his transformation on the media:
“My skin wasn’t bad, but the media constantly sends the message that skin is one of the most important things, so I wanted to take care of it,” Kim said.
In a related story, Yonhap ran a piece two weeks back about the country’s “mirror obsession,” with Yonsei student Park Min-woo saying:
“I may spend more time in front of the mirror than most girls,” he laughs. “I carry a portable mirror everywhere I go. It’s as important as my smartphone.”
‘Nuff said.
(HT to Bradley Serl)
{ 61 comments… read them below or add one }
“I can understand why girls don’t like to go outside without makeup — it makes a big difference,” said Cho Gil-nam, a tall, stocky 27-year-old insurance fraud investigator in Seoul who starts important days by dabbing on makeup after finishing his multistep morning cleansing and moisturizing routine. He carries a multicolored cosmetics pouch so he can touch up in public bathrooms throughout the day.”
Thanks for the laugh! Koreans truly are fucking nuts.
Well you can be sure that’s one market research company I won’t be using.
They seriously expect us to believe that Korean men take up 21% of the global market whilst all the rest if the worlds population of men, women and children are 79%?
Yeah, I think it should have been worded differently.
“Euromonitor International, Korean men account for 21 percent of global sales for men’s skincare products –to the tune of $885 million in expected sales this year
Arghaeri: Those stats do seem a bit of a stretch, or the writer, Foster Klug, (yah) didn’t word the findings right.
Apparently you don’t go to the gym much. Even in the small town I was living in last year the twenty something guys at the gym all had like three or four skin products they would apply after showering. I used to get irritated because they would stand in front of the mirror for like 15 minutes.
Look at the percentage of spirits they drink compared to the world. 21% of male skin care products may not be wrong.
How much do you guys spend on skin toners, lighteners, and other beauty products each month? Yeh, I thought so. See how those five things each young Korean guy buys every few months add up.
And when I was talking about the gym I meant in Korea.
i assumed it was a % of the global market for men’s skincare products. Even then, it would also i assume have to exclude after shaves and colognes that are effectivel just fragrances. Then it’s not so improbable.
Me too. 21% of men’s skincare products. Creams and lotions and the like.
I too thought it was implied, but added “men’s” to my paraphrasing of Klug.
Here is the exact quote from Bloomberg:
“..accounting for nearly 21 percent of global sales, according to global market research firm Euromonitor International. That makes it the largest market for men’s skincare in the world, even though there are only about 19 million men in South Korea.”
5, 10, 15, 20%, helluva a share regardless of the plus or minus of the stats.
For those who want to get in on the trend, here is Korean TV program with men’s make up tips:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTsLK79WMp0
As someone almost 60 now, I wish I had taken better care of my skin all along-my face might not be as wrinkled as an old boot now. I’m not going to scoff at these guys.
Korean males have a special gene inside them that makes them more susceptible to skin disease and face “wrinkling” than anyone else.
How did this trend start?
I get that crowds followed the lead of a superstar athlete. I get that popular TV shows glorify girlish men.
What I don’t get is the rise of male cosmestics consumption to the 1997 economic crisis, the termination of women at the workplace, the fight for equal rights (When was that fight? Did I blink and miss it) or anything to do with Japanese colonialization. Heck, what not throw in the battle for Dokdo for Christ sakes.
Is not all the world a stage? I say the more make up, the better.
—
All the World’s a Stage
All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms.
Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.
William Shakespeare
“I may spend more time in front of the mirror than most girls,” he laughs. “I carry a portable mirror everywhere I go. It’s as important as my smartphone.”
Not sure what is sadder, the dependence on make up or the dependence on his smart phone. In any case, a pathetic case. What the hell is going on with the men in this country?
Ok, I guess some of these guys go a bit overboard but what is wrong with a bit of moisterizer, a little anti-wrinkle cream, or a weekly face massage? You guys make it sound as if it is a terrible thing to want to take care of yourself. I actually find it very relaxing getting a weekly face massage, maybe you ought to give it a try before you end up looking like an old sailor when your 40.
I don’t get the “metamorphosis of South Korean men from macho to makeup over the last decade or so…” I was here well more than a decade ago and Korean men were absolutely women already.
I thought there was an extraordinary segment of the population emulating Super Junior, but I had no idea the problem had grown to this frankly-disturbing trend.
Dude looks like a lady.
No wonder Korea wants US troops to stay.
I just wonder where is Q on this? My guess:
1) he will provide links saying that Japan started that and imposed on Korea, which is a BAD thing, colonialism, Koreans becoming Japanese, etc.;
2) he will provide links saying that Korea started that and imposed on Japan, which is a GOOD thing, spreading Hallyu, etc.;
3) he won’t write anything, because he is true to himself, and won’t let you heartless people make fun of him.
Korea continues to be the land of extremes. Extreme drinking. Extreme cosmetic surgery. Extreme studying. Extreme skin care.
Moderation isn’t in the dictionary.
#14: “How did this trend start?” Like everything else, it came from Japan. The pussification there started about 15 years ago.
Judging by what I have seen, expect a few men wearing women’s blouses in about 5-10 years. At least the number of full-on makeup-wearing Japanese men seems to have declined, so there is hope for humanity.
#21: I think this is one of those divide-by-zero moments for Q. I can see the smoke coming out of his ears as he tries to formulate a non-sequiter.
“Ok, I guess some of these guys go a bit overboard but what is wrong with a bit of moisterizer, a little anti-wrinkle cream, or a weekly face massage? You guys make it sound as if it is a terrible thing to want to take care of yourself. I actually find it very relaxing getting a weekly face massage, maybe you ought to give it a try before you end up looking like an old sailor when your 40.”
The problem is that Koreans are consistently self ranked as almost the most miserable people in the world. The focus on “me..me..me” and every possible aspect of appearance is a big contributor. Instead of covering up the problems with make up, maybe Korean men ought to consider going to Alcoholics Anonymous for some internal beautification.
I couldn’t disagree with Creo69 more. I think Koreans poor ranking in happiness is due to too little focus on me. At work it is take one for the team, don’t step out of line and no personal time, drink together, go hiking together etc. At school it is study all the time, your work comes first and is all consuming. At home it is family duty, do this for the family, that for the family, go here, there, pay this money, that. Koreans have no real personal time whatsoever, they are always getting pulled one way or another. Even this story is about conforming your looks. I would love to see some Koreans dressing in odd personal fashions, but they never do. Even when they dress punk or rock it feels so phoney, as they are faking the freedom aspect of the style. I feel this lack of opportunity to be “me” drives the general unhappiness and high suicide rates.
“At work it is take one for the team, don’t step out of line and no personal time, drink together, go hiking together etc. At school it is study all the time, your work comes first and is all consuming. At home it is family duty, do this for the family, that for the family, go here, there, pay this money, that.”
This sense of “obligation” to everyone else is a sham. Drinking together? Hiking together? Blah, blah, blah together? They do it because they enjoy it. Period. Korean men especially have no interest in growing up. Why should they? It is a hell of a lot more fun to go out drinking (or biking, or hiking) with your buddies (who equally lack the desire to grow up) than sit home with the wife and kids.
This obsession with being part of the group all the time and shirking family responsibility in the process (allowing your kids to grow up without a father while constantly referring to yourself as a “family man”) is the ultimate expression of “me” and selfishness.
Personally, it took me about 6 months of living in Korea to figure this out. Everyone always talks about Koreans like they are these poor helpless creatures who have no real will or ability to make choices in life. Bullshit. They live the way they do because they choose to live that way. They choose to live that way because they enjoy it. Want to know what a Korean hates more than having to go to another company dinner? The thought of sitting home eating dinner without someone there.
And to their credit, I did work with 2 guys in Korea who were “family men.” They went to the dinners and didn’t drink and when the dinner was over they went home to the wives and the children they brought into this world. Of course, their co-workers continued the party after the dinner at the nori bon until the wee hours of the morning only to show up hung over and smelling of so ju the next morning…because they “had to” of course.
Funny thing is, the two guys I knew who went home after the dinner never seemed to believe they “had to” do anything and their careers didn’t suffer in the least. “Have to” really means “want to” in Korean. Don’t bullshit yourself thinking anything else.
At the company I’m working at we do company dinners once a month, maybe twice a month, and there really is no serious pressure to attend even then, though once a month is no big sacrifice. I don’t think anyone has suffered for not going, its reall a non-issue and I suspect thats the case with other companies as well. Perhaps people imagine it, or, they find it a good excuse not to go home and to drink their faces off.
SalarymaninSeoul,
I agree with you totally. The guys I worked with got shit faced on a regular basis because they enjoyed being a bunch of drunks. Nobody forced them to do anything.
This is a bad article, and I can’t believe you really brought it here.
They’re using the sale of “skincare” products to paint the picture that men are wearing make-up (as in lipstick and eye-liner). Forgot the fact that the study didn’t even list those products as the kind covered by those figures. But it’s a really big number with percentages and stuff so it must support the premise..right?
Beyond that they provide nothing more than opinion and conjecture. Do some Korean guys wear make-up? Yes.. is it the all enveloping trend this “reporter” is trying to claim it is? Who knows.. certainly not anyone who gets their fact from that article.
fanwarrier,
Thanks…I didn’t even read the article…but it was certainly good for laughs.
“Evidence of this new direction in South Korean masculinity is easy to find. In a crowded Seoul cafe, a young woman takes some lipstick out of her purse and casually applies it to her male companion’s lips as they talk. At an upscale apartment building, a male security guard watches the lobby from behind a layer of makeup. Korean Air holds annual male makeup classes for its staff at Incheon International Airport.”
That’s one thing I love about Korea…when a trend takes off, everyone supports it! Looking forward to the “new” Korean Air commercials with the boys in lipstick…cute.
Sounds like pussy-whipped extreme to me. The things some guys will put up with…
I have yet to see this phenomenon. Maybe my apartment isn’t upscale enough.
I’m sure if you look hard enough you can find this kind of shit but I struggle to find it the new norm in Korea or Seoul or even Gangnam for that matter.
“Sounds like pussy-whipped extreme to me…”
Sounds like 강남스타일!!! to me…
Well maybe it’s just me then. But I’m often FN miserable whenever I have to do to an enforced work outings and have to play fake nice to the gray hairs while doing activities that bore the crap out of me. (Although I’m currently working in a old school firm with people I generally don’t like, and this is different when I actually work with people I like.) I also hate heading out to the boondocks to cut grass on someones grave or play go stop and watch k-pop for 12 hours straight on a national holiday, when the suggestion that 6 hours is more than enough throws off fireworks, or dropping serious coin for scripted events with horriable buffet dinners. And I sure would have hated going to high school here.
I really hate it when the company tells me to take one for the team and come in on the weekends work into the evening, but I am expected to seat warm for hours if there is nothing on the go.
Ive never had to work weekends and the hiking club in my work went out for 4 saturday excusrions and looks to have died a quiet death.
“I really hate it when the company tells me to take one for the team and come in on the weekends work into the evening, but I am expected to seat warm for hours if there is nothing on the go.”
Ever thought of growing a pair and just saying, “no?” I stopped going to dinners at the high school I worked at because I firmly believe that public servants who are paid by the community should not be getting drunk and terrorizing the community in their cars while under the influence of alcohol. I think a lot of people actually respected me for standing up for what I believed in. They didn’t follow but they saw there there was a choice.
I also didn’t stay at that school and made it clear why. Korean society is a bunch of work-aholics and drunks because they opt not to stand up and do the right thing. Doesn’t mean you have to follow.
Look at spirits, why are you suggesting they drink spirits to the tune of 20% of the world?
And I don’t care if they do Jim a lot, Italians, californians and Japanese young males look seriously gay too (no offence intended to gays), not to mention all those butch aussies and califorian surfers loaded up with sunblock.
I would still suggest that 21% of skincare for men being attributed solely to korea us highly suspect research.
‘This is a bad article, and I can’t believe you really brought it here.’
you can’t figure it out? you don’t know why he posted this sensationalist garbage that he takes as gospel because it fits his thinking? a lone white male in asia bringing up an article which paints korean men as ladies? you can’t believe he brought it up? he bought it up to disparage korean men in particular and korean people in general.
textbook.
ps look at his current post which looks into hostess bars.
textbook.
Gay friend posted almost the same article on Facebook…most interesting are the photos…all regular looking young Korean guys.
http://www.seattlepi.com/business/article/For-S-Korean-men-makeup-a-foundation-for-success-3870306.php
Pawi…what is my gay friend’s agenda? What is the agenda of someone who points out South Korea is the plastic surgery capital of Asia…don’t these articles really say more about South Koreans and their obsession with fickle appearences?
” Look at spirits, why are you suggesting they drink spirits to the tune of 20% of the world”
Number one selling spirit in the world…soju. Who exactly do you imagine is drinking so much of it?
http://m.cnngo.com/seoul/drink/soju-most-sold-drink-world-930177
I don’t know about Bobby McGill’s intentions, but it sure as hell isn’t hard to figure out Creo’s.
Bum..what are my intentions? To point out Korean men are a bunch of drunks? I lived in Korea for 7 years…you are all so proud of it in Korea. Why not let the rest of the world know? I will tell you why, it is a fucking disgrace that is why. Don’t try and make me look like the bad guy…if Koreans don’t want to be labeled a bunch of drunks…simple…they need to change their behavior or learn to live with the consequences.
I would suggest this research is as suspicious as Koreans winning 21% of gold medals in Olympic taekwondo, having 21% of the top-ranked Starcraft players, or accounting for 21% of all the “panties” sold to men worldwide. (Really, so many cross-dressers in Korea???) The statistic is best understood from a behavioral perspective, where we’ve stumbled onto certain things that Koreans dig more than people elsewhere. Nothing more than that.
And I’ll bet you most of the “cosmetics” being sold to Korean men are wrinkle creams and sunblock. Mascara-wearing poncy boys still seem confined to television.
Tough week Creo? It’s okay. Just let it all out here. I mean, you sure as hell don’t have the balls to say it to any Koreans’ face in real life, but I don’t want you to suppress all that anger and frustration and go postal.
So please, tell us, what else about the Koreans do you find distasteful? Let it all out. This is a safe place.
” Tough week Creo? It’s okay. Just let it all out here. I mean, you sure as hell don’t have the balls to say it to any Koreans’ face in real life, but I don’t want you to suppress all that anger and frustration and go postal.”
I was asked to renew my contract two months ago at the high school I worked at. I told the vice prin I would not continue to work wth a bunch of drunks who come to school stinking of soju and then go to class and teach. These are not my values and I didn’t pretend otherwise. Not one Korean said a word to me about this…why? Because they know showing up to teach high school kids when you are still half drunk is wrong.
Again, don’t try and paint me the bad guy. Koreans have made a bad choice when it comes to abusing alcohol. It is a disgrace.
Really? You said all that to him? Wow. What exactly did you say? Not in English, I hope. That would be like me cursing out one of many idiots in Arizona who shout “Hey! Ching Chong Ching!” in Korean (which, incidentally, would actually defeat the purpose).
“Really? You said all that to him? Wow. What exactly did you say? Not in English, I hope. That would be like me cursing out one of many idiots in Arizona who shout “Hey! Ching Chong Ching!” in Korean (which, incidentally, would actually defeat the purpose).”
Did I work with you? Actually the drunks I worked with had the idea that my job was to sit around studying Korean and Korean culture all day so I could understand their drunken bullshit fluently…
Actually, just because he
“Really? You said all that to him? Wow. What exactly did you say? Not in English, I hope. That would be like me cursing out one of many idiots in Arizona who shout “Hey! Ching Chong Ching!” in Korean (which, incidentally, would actually defeat the purpose).”
To be fair, my VP was a bit smarter than you give him credit for. He held a doctorate and spoke English about as well as you. To an extent though you are correct, it did appear as if my words went in one ear and out the other. That said, I attribute that more to the fact that he was in one of his post alcoholic binge, stuppers than to his intelligence or ability to understand English.
Surprise, surprise both the VP and the Principal were drunks and part of the problem at the school I worked at. Who would have guessed that?
One more time for you Bum… da Korean drinking culture has become a disgrace and an embarrassment to Koreans and Korean culture. It is also a nightmare for any responsible, semi-health conscious foreigner who attempts to live amongst it. If Koreans don’t want to change their behavior, they get to live with the consequences. Everybody thought prostitution was wonderful in Korea until a few years ago to…
The times they are a changing…get on the boat buddy.
Do you actually think I believe that the Korean drinking culture is a good thing? Or is it possible that I’m actually questioning your intent, which, considering that you’re writing 40% of all the comments on this article so far and that somehow a discussion about Korean male cosmetics behavior turned into a discussion about Korean drinking habits , isn’t exactly “Please, Koreans. Please realize your follies and reform your ways.”?
Take a good long look at yourself in the mirror, Creo. Unlike the Korean dudes with skin creams, you might need a bit for self-reflection.
Wow — you have creo69 miserable living in Korea and bumfromkorea miserable living in Arizona — you two should switch places and live happily.
Sorry Creo, I had no idea the definition of spirits was Soju. In that case I’m surprised Koreans share if world spirit consumption is so low.
The products you mention are precisly why I doubt it.
Considering Creo’s predilictions, maybe the two should live together.
@Arghaeri
While the potential Odd Couple situation is tempting, I’m afraid I don’t drink often enough and put on mascara enough for Creo’s taste in Korean men.
@Dogbertt
Aside from the disturbingly high frequency of racists (racist racist, not “Did you just say *black* people?” racist), which is still low, Arizona is a lovely place to live. Just not in summer.
I don’t doubt for a minute your reports of frequent racist asshattery.
How many months does summer there last?
I don’t want to add fuel to the fire, but creo is almost right when he says: “Korean drinking culture has become a disgrace and an embarrassment to Koreans and Korean culture”. He should have modified his broad, blanket statement by adding “by some schoolteachers and educators”. It should be a crime for teachers to show up in class still under the influence of alcohol. In my company, employees first get a warning, then they get fired, if they keep pulling this crap. Of course creo being the expert on Korean culture paints a broad picture of all Korean males being drunks, based on his limited experience with some truly degenerate lowlife so-called educators. English teacher much?
12.
Just kidding. About 5 (May~September). But people from other states would consider our March, April, and early October to be summers too.
@commander
I agree wholeheartedly.
I don’t know english teaching, but my perception is that the hwaesik and drinking situation is improving with many younger korean still liking a good pissup, but not every night, and are more family oriented these days.
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