K-beauty is more than just having dewy, glowing, clear skin. It’s a lifestyle of looking over oneself, according to the artists on the ongoing tvN makeover show “Perfect Glow.”

“I realized that K-beauty is really about taking care of yourself, not only about showing off to anyone,” hair designer Chahong, one of Korea’s top hair designers and founder of one of the country’s largest hair salon chains, said during a beauty talk session held at Stanford Hotel Seoul in western Seoul on Monday.


She recalled Emma Bengtsson, a two-star Michelin chef who came as a customer, as one of the most memorable clients she has ever met during the show. Having devoted her life to cooking, the chef had little interest in matters of beauty.

“When she left, she looked so feminine, almost like a young girl, and seeing how happy she was really made me understand that beauty isn’t just about the outside,” she added. “It’s a kind of care that can change you from within. She even told me that from now on, she’ll take care of herself and dress up.”

Released on Nov. 8, the ongoing show is now at its halfway point, with six episodes left. The show follows a team of Korean professional beauty artists opening a salon, Danjang, in Manhattan, New York. The team includes makeup artists Pony and LeoJ, hair designer Chahong, and actors Ra Mi-ran as CEO, Park Min-young as manager and Joo Jong-hyuk as assistant manager.

Park Hee-yeon, the series’s chief producer, also echoed Chahong’s sentiment, saying that the show was built on the principle of “You are so much more beautiful than you think,” which represents both the core of the show as well as the essence of K-beauty.

While many foreigners travel to Korea to experience K-beauty in person, the show takes a different approach by bringing the Korean beauty techniques to them. Initially, the beauty professionals were concerned about interacting with customers who might not be familiar with K-beauty.

But they were pleasantly surprised to find that Korean beauty had already become deeply ingrained in many of the customers’ everyday lives.

“I expected that the customers would bring famous celebrities' images for reference, but many of them actually brought photos of everyday women from Korea, which I was really surprised by,” Chahong said.

“If K-beauty was really driven by artists and experts at first, now it has just become part of everyday life. Every time I see it, I’m amazed by that shift.”

Chief producer Park also shared her observations at the salon’s “Try Me” zone — a collaboration with the beauty chain Olive Young — where visitors can test Korean beauty products.

"Many of them were already very familiar with the products and knew a lot about makeup techniques,” Park said. “I saw them sharing tips with each other, like showing how to apply aegyosal (under eye bag), introducing the products and even encouraging each other to try them out. Watching this, I really felt how much people are now aware of K-beauty, K-fashion and these lifestyle trends through content."

Pony, a renowned makeup influencer with over 5 million subscribers on YouTube and an artist in Korea, added that she was also surprised by how much K-beauty’s presence had grown in the United States compared to just five years ago, when she worked there.

"So many people already knew K-beauty products that there was no need for me to give out long explanations,” the makeup artist said. “I just focused on giving out makeup hacks and tips,” she said, adding that some of the new tips she shared — which are actually commonly used in Korea — were like ironing lashes and putting toner pads before applying makeup.

In a previous session, Suh You-hyun, the author of “K-Beauty Trend,” spoke about the global rise of the Korean beauty trend, saying, "Although K-beauty may seem like it rose to fame suddenly, this achievement wasn’t overnight. It’s the result of countless challenges and efforts, woven together like threads in a fabric over time."


BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]