There are more Zara shops per square mile than I’ve ever seen anywhere in the world. That does not come anywhere close to the number of cosmetic shops lining each street and corner. Myeongdong is a skin fetishist’s wet dream. Painted dollybirds pose outside their respective stores, face mask samples in hand, hailing down anyone who so much as looks their way.
Twenty years ago, who would have imagined South Korea to have turned the cosmetic and skincare industry on its head. Today, the Wall Street Journal puts down cosmetic sales at USD$4.6 billion annually in Korea alone. This is a country where even men BB cream their faces to smooth perfection. Known in the local vernacular as”flower boys”, primped and polished men are the new pink.
Putting my journalistic skills to the test, I ventured into various stores. Blessed with fairly good skin, I was already drawing oohs and aahs from the various salesgirls who tried their utmost best to sell me even more products. Jeju Island lends its famed volcanic ash to quite a few products, as do the oranges and other fruits which grow in abundance in the country. Due to the massive competition in Myeongdong, shops often discount their products and the low to mid-end range of skincare is surprisingly affordable, if not cheap. On top of that, they often throw in generous sachets of samples.
Obviously, the industry is mainly targeted at women, but with the increasing recruitment of male celebrities, men are spending more and more to be like these teen idols (probably at the behest of their girlfriends, wives and mothers). While I like to think I look after my skin, I certainly do not follow the famed Korean multistep skincare regimen. That’s just a bit too much work for me, and no, I do not pluck my eyebrows!
The psyche of the country is telling, as the aesthetic emphasis means that many of these paid celebrities have taken to the knife to alter enhance their looks. Wanting double eyelids can cost between USD$2500 to USD$5000, depending on the complexity of the procedure – or how “naturally” you want your eyes to look (pun, intended). There are also procedures like facial bone contouring apart from the usual rhinoplasty (if you have a nose for such things, phnar, phnar), implants (to keep abreast of the competition, tee hee), and liposuction (skimming the fat?). The big doe-eyed look with pan-Caucasian hair colours has taken Asia by storm. Droves of aspiring self-conscious people fly into Seoul to consult with and use the services of plastic surgeons. With Thailand often seen as the cheaper end of the market, South Korea is often considered the high end (but cheap) Asian option. As with all things, horror stories abound, or patients needing corrective surgery to right various wrongs.
For those unable or unwilling to fork out for anaesthetically-induced aesthetics, Myeongdong continues to be their Mecca. From the pampering of the beauticians to the flattery of the shopgirls to the approval of relations, it seems that Seoul’s sole mantra is that beauty comes from without, and I’m not sure if that’s good for the soul.