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Wanting to buy a K-Beauty product created by your favorite K-Celebrity? Find out about the K-Beauty landscape in that regard in this article.
Kay Sesoko, Kpopmap EditorThere’s no doubt that a new K-Beauty product is always trending, especially when a K-Celeb is the face of said product. In recent news, we’ve seen big names like SEVENTEEN’s WonWoo named as the new model of Korean beauty brands like The Face Shop, ZEROBASEONE becoming the new faces of COLORGRAM, and RIIZE becoming the new models of ETUDE, and many more.
There is an abundance of K-Beauty brands with K-Celebs as the face/model/ambassador of the brand - and fans are dedicated to buying these products to support their favorite K-Pop idol or Korean actor. The Olive Young top product ranking (of Apr. 25, 2024) is a great example of this. Out of the 8 products shown, 4 of them have K-Celebs (namely MONSTA X's HyungWon, Go YounJung, 2AM's Jo Kwon, and ZEROBASEONE's Kim JiWoong) as the face of the product, which can increase the odds of consumers buying the product.
If you've ever wondered why brands opt to add celebrities to their marketing campaigns, a look at the following data from 2021 by LaunchMetrics proves the impact that Korean celebrities (namely BLACKPINK's Jennie and JiSoo, and BIGBANG's G-Dragon) have had on international luxury brands for fashion and cosmetics (which has only grown stronger since then).
If that is the impact that K-Celebs can have on international brands, then it goes without saying that they would have a similar impact on local K-Beauty brands, too.
However, recently fans have been raising the question wondering why K-Celebrities (especially veterans and big names) don't venture into creating their own cosmetics and beauty brands. If they did, surely they'd make a lucrative profit from their fans' support...
In the case of the Western world, artists like Beyoncé, Selena Gomez, and Rihanna have infiltrated the global beauty market with their respective brands. Beyoncé has recently gone viral for her content utilizing her hair care products Cécred, Selena Gomez has become a sensation on social media with her cosmetics brand Rare Beauty, and Rihanna has also created a cosmetics brand that is a staple on the dressing tables of many in the form of Fenty Beauty. So, why don't K-Celebrities leverage their fandoms and take the leap?
If you're looking for K-Celebrity cosmetics, but feeling bleak because you can't find any, then don't despair. There is one brand that you can seek out!
That's not to say that K-Pop idols haven't ventured into creating their own cosmetics brands at all. Jeon SoMi is one of the first K-Pop idols to attempt her own cosmetics line.
She launched the makeup brand GLYF which she had been working on since 2023.
However, the product launch was met with some pushback from netizens as they questioned her intention/sincerity and the pricing of the product.
Some argued that Jeon SoMi's first product, the ILLUÉTTE Highlighter Palette (four colors) at 43,000 Korean won (about 31.39 USD), is too expensive.
Whilst this sentiment spread across communities, to be objective, similar celebrity brands in the West charge similarly or even more. The Fenty Beauty Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter (one or two colors) retails for 74,100 Korean won (about 54.02 USD) and the Rare Beauty Positive Light Silky Touch Highlighter (one color) retails for 25 USD (about 34,274 Korean won).
On the other hand, if you compare a similar highlighter palette (with 4 colors) from the Korean brand IPKN called the IPKN Flap One Face Palette, it retails for 32,000 Korean won (about 23.23 USD).
Note: all prices and conversions are as of Apr. 24, 2024.
Taking these brands into consideration, Jeon SoMi's product is slightly on the pricey side but not entirely out of reach. It is up to consumers to buy a product in their comfortable price range.
Whilst K-Pop idols are at a career and popularity advantage to launch products in the form of beauty and fashion brands, there might be some hesitance on their part due to potential backlash from fans. Jeon SoMi is one case study, but so is former Girls' Generation member Jessica Jung, who faced backlash from her agency when trying to launch her current fashion brand BLANC & ECLARE.
Some fans perceive pursuing businesses like this as a distraction and a lack of dedication to being an idol. Even in the West, Rihanna has received a lot of backlash for not releasing music and focusing solely on her beauty brand, for example.
As K-Pop fandom prioritizes a relationship with the K-Pop idol, for instance, whilst there might be an outpouring of support for the idol's brand - fans might not like the change in focus.
There is also the issue of K-Pop idols losing out on much-needed brand deals essential to marketing their groups or themselves. This is because beauty brand models are usually tied to only promoting that specific brand due to exclusivity clauses in the contract.
Lastly, and naturally, creating a brand in a saturated market is also a huge risk that K-Celebs may not have the time or energy to take on. Especially in South Korea, where K-Beauty giants such as Olive Young rule the day, it might be difficult to navigate the brands under that umbrella and other competitors. Even a brand (distributor) as huge as Sephora (selling international brands) has had to close down operations in South Korea due to being unable to beat the local K-Beauty market.
If competition can be this fierce between distributors, then it will undoubtedly be just as fierce amongst actual brand competitors.
However, there is still hope that more K-Celebs will take the leap to create products that can help fans feel closer to or like them.
What do you think? Should more K-Celebs be starting beauty brands? Do you reckon that being the face of another K-Beauty brand and not starting their own is the best way for K-Celebs to be part of the K-Beauty industry?
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Here are some of the foods that were all the rage in Korean in 2023.
Kay Sesoko, Kpopmap EditorKorea is a trendsetting nation in every sense of the phrase. For instance, Korea is known for its nearly unmatched food culture and it seems that a new food item is released or trending every other day.
Would you try mint-chocolate-flavored fried chicken? Are you curious about the endless varieties of croffle that seem to be available in Korea? These are some of the food trends that took precedent in Korea in recent years. As we've said, however, the food trends in Korea are always changing. As such, we've decided to look at some of the most recent ones.
In case you missed it, we've listed some of the foods that went viral in Korea in 2023 and were endorsed by some of your favorite celebrities.
Tanghuru (탕후루 in Korean) is a Chinese traditional snack that has taken Korea by storm. The snack, which is made from fruits covered in a sugar coating, can be found at almost every corner of the city. Some of the fruits used to make tanghuru include grapes, cherry tomatoes, tangerines, strawberries, pineapples, kiwiㄴ, etc.
K-Celebs have been showing their love for this snack throughout the year as it has gained popularity. It has become trendy content to show yourself eating tanghuru for the first time, 새ㅐ.
For example, when Chuu tried tanghuru for the first time, she explained how she had never eaten it before because of how unhealthy it looked but ended up saying it was delicious.
Recently, model Han HyeJin also went viral for her reaction to the super sweet treat considering that she's a health fanatic. Despite not usually eating sweet things, even Han HyeJin was surprised at how much she enjoyed this treat.
Even BLACKPINK's JiSoo and Jennie are known for loving the snack and making it at home. In this video, the duo expertly speak about how important the sugar ratio of good tanghuru is. This video was taken 3 years ago, before tanghuru became extremely popular. Trust the trendsetting icons to be ahead of the trend!
Yakgwa (약과 in Korean) is a Korean traditional dessert in the form of a honey cookie. It has a coated sweet exterior and a warm slightly gooey texture on the inside that tastes like honey delight.
2AM's Jo Kwon did a detailed review of the different kinds of yakgwa treats that are available at the moment. This includes the original yakgwa, financiers, cookies, pretzels, cake, and more. He truly showed how delectable the dessert is with some honest and entertaining commentary. Jo Kwon's video also highlighted how the yakgwa trend spread as the traditional dessert took on numerous modern adaptations. These days one can even find yakgwa ice cream at the convenience store!
Sogeum bbang (소금빵 in Korean) is literally translated to 'salt bread' and is a combination of different bread styles to create a salted butter roll. It has been all the rage with different versions of the bread being sold all over Korea.
In an episode of "I Live Alone", famous golfer Park SeRi ventured to a popular bakery in the Seongsu neighborhood of Seoul in search of sogeum bbang. Unfortunately, the hot item was already sold out. This only shows how popular this pastry is.
Other K-Celebs have also shown their love for their bread, posting it on their social media feeds. For example, DAVICHI's Kang MinKyung has posted several times on her Instagram (both on her Instastories and her feed) about the bread. She even took to her Instastory, sharing a photo of sogeum bbang and asking why there are so many delicious things to eat in this world. Well, that's a question that we're all asking ourselves!
Last but not least, we have mara tteokbokki. If rosé tteokbokki and maratang were the food trends in Korea in 2022... 2023 is all about mara tteokbokki which combines the classic tteokbokki with mara sauce. Mara sauce gives off a spicy but slightly tangy and flavorsome taste. This tteokbokki combines the mara sauce with the usual offerings that go into a maratang such as meat, tofu ingredients like noodles, and more.
OH MY GIRL's Mimi ate mara tteokbokki on her famous mukbang channel quite recently. Despite the dish being super spicy, Mimi kept emphasizing how tasty the dish was. It's no wonder that it has become so popular, especially among fans of spicy foods.
Would you try any of the foods that we mentioned? Let us know which one you'd try out in the comments!
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FInd out the lineup and other details for this year's "MBC Music Festival" here!
Eunice, Kpopmap EditorThe upcoming "2023 MBC Gayo Daejejeon" ("MBC Music Festival") is happening later this month! This music festival promises a diverse lineup of artists from various genres, sure to bring joy to viewers as the year winds down and we welcome the new one. The theme for this year's Gayo Daejejeon is "Dream Record." This year's celebration will be hosted by YoonA from Girls' Generation, MinHo from SHINee, and Hwang MinHyun. You can catch all the excitement by streaming the festivities online. Find the performer lineup and streaming information below.
&TEAM
(G)I-DLE
2AM
aespa
ATBO
ATEEZ
BaekHo
BEBE
BOYNEXTDOOR
CRAVITY
DAY6
ENHYPEN
FANTASY BOYS
fromis_9
HyoYeon
ITZY
IVE
LUCY
NCT 127
NCT DREAM
NCT U
NiziU
NMIXX
RIIZE
SHINee
STAYC
Stray Kids
V1LLION by 1MILLION
ZEROBASEONE
Kwon EunBi
Dynamicduo
THE BOYZ
Young Tak
ONE TOP
Yoon Sang
Lee YoungJi
Lee Juck
Jang MinHo
JUJU SECRET
Kep1er
Paul Kim
Date: December 31, Saturday, 8:30PM KST
Live Stream: MBCKpop YouTube Channel
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