There’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?

 

The K-Beauty Celebrity Cosmetics Landscape Is Not Non-Existent

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.

 

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A post shared by 글맆 GLYF (@glyfing)

She launched the makeup brand GLYF which she had been working on since 2023.

Negative Reactions To A K-Celebrity Makeup Line

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.

 

The Likeliness Of More K-Celebs Opening Brands In Future

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?

Embrace the start of the new year with a January bursting with excitement for K-Pop and Korean artist concerts and fanmeetings across Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Dive into the latest events, venues, and dates with our exclusive monthly guide and kick off the year with sensational performances and experiences.

Note: This list is in chronological order and grouped by artist.

We are constantly adding concert/fanmeetings to this list upon their announcement, so make sure to bookmark this article to keep up with the updates!

 

"33rd Seoul Music Awards" in Bangkok

Date / Venue

January 2 (Rajamangala National Stadium)

Tickets

Offline

 

"38th Golden Disc Awards" in Jakarta

Date / Venue

January 6 (Jakarta Internation Stadium)

Tickets

Offline

 

SUPER JUNIOR's YeSung "unfading sense" Solo Concert

Date / Venue

January 6 (Manila, TBA)

Tickets

Offline

 

LUCY "WE ARE LANDING" 1st Indonesia Concert

Date / Venue

January 6 (Jakarta, Balai Sarbini)

Tickets

Offline

 

2023-2024 GOT7's Mark Tuan "The Other Side" Asia Tour

Dates / Venues 

January 6 (Kuala Lumpur, Zepp)
January 14 (Manila, SKYDOME SM City North Edsa)
January 20 (Bangkok, Impact Arena)

Tickets

Bangkok / Manila / Kuala Lumpur

 

Jessica Jung "Diamond Dreams" Concert Tour

Date / Venue 

January 13 (Kuala Lumpur, Mega Star Arena)

Tickets

Offline

 

SEVENTEEN "FOLLOW" Tour Learn More

Date / Venue 

January 13-14 (Bulacan, Philippine Sports Stadium)

Tickets

January 13 / January 14

 

NCT 127 "THE UNITY" 3rd Tour

Date / Venue

January 13-14 (Jakarta, Indonesia Arena - Senayan)
January 21 (Bulacan, Philippine Sports Stadium)
January 27-28 (Bangkok, Thammasat Stadium)

Tickets

Bulacan / Jakarta / Bangkok

 

IVE "SHOW WHAT i HAVE" 1st World Tour

Dates / Venues 

January 13 (Jakarta, ICE BSD City Hall 5-6)
January 27 (Bangkok, Impact Arena Muang Thong Thani)

Tickets

Jakarta / Bangkok

 

The Rose "DAWN TO DUSK" Asia Tour

Dates / Venues 

January 20 (Jakarta, The Kasablanka Hall)
January 26 (Manila, Smart Arena Coliseum)
January 31 (Kuala Lumpur, Mega Star Arena)

Tickets

Manila / Jakarta / Kuala Lumpur

 

ENHYPEN "FATE" World Tour

Date / Venue 

January 20-21 (Singapore, Singapore Indoor Stadium)

Tickets

Offline

 

JUNNY "BLANC" Asia Tour

Dates / Venues

January 24 (Manila, New Frontier Theater)
January 26 (Jakarta, Bekasi Convention Center)
January 28 (Ho Chi Minh, 11:11)

Tickets

Offline

 

2024 Park HyungSik "SIKcret Time" Asia Tour Fanmeeting

Date / Venue 

January 27 (Jakarta, Tennis Indoor Senayan)

Tickets

Offline

 

2024 RoWoon "An Ordinary Day" Fan Meeting

Date / Venue

January 27 (Bangkok, Thunder Dome)

Tickets

Offline

One of the winning strengths of the K-Pop industry is the active influx of new talent. Scouting agents from entertainment companies are constantly on the lookout for talented individuals with high potential who would suit the K-Pop idol career. Some of the biggest K-Pop groups in the world would never have been formed if not for scouting agents going out of their way to find and sign the idols. However, the way K-Pop idols have been scouted and signed has changed over the years.

Check out how K-Pop idols of different generations were scouted!

 

K-Pop Idol Scouting Trends: Then & Now

1. 1st Generation

H.O.T's Tony An - Newspaper Ad

One of the first-ever K-Pop idol groups in South Korea, H.O.T was an SM Entertainment group. Member Tony An revealed in a documentary that he came to know about SM Entertainment and the company's audition for a new group from a newspaper ad!

With K-Pop just starting out, it seems like newspaper ads were the only reliable and unsuspicious method to reach aspiring idols and urge them to audition.

 

2. 2nd Generation

TVXQ!'s ChangMin - While Playing Badminton

ChangMin revealed that he was scouted while he was playing badminton with his school friends because he looked good while holding the racket!

 

CNBLUE's Jung YongHwa - Cyworld

Photos posted by Jung YongHwa publicly on Cyworld became hugely popular on an Ulzzang Cafe, and he was scouted by the FNC casting team via messages on Cyworld.

 

Jessica Jung & Krystal Jung - Shopping Mall

Former member of Girls' Generation, Jessica Jung, and f(x) member Krystal Jung were scouted while they were at the shopping mall with their parents on a family holiday in South Korea.

As K-Pop became more prolific, street casting and casting through existing social networking sites such as Cyworld became commonplace, although K-Pop idols have mentioned that such scouting seemed dubious at first.

 

3. 3rd Generation

EXO - Various

Xiumin was discovered through a singing contest, SuHo was scouted while he was doing community service, Lay was discovered in China, BaekHyun was discovered by an SME agent and urged to audition, Chen auditioned after his vocal instructor advised him to, ChanYeol was street cast, D.O. was asked to audition after he won a singing contest, Kai auditioned because his father promised to get him a Nintendo game if he passed, and SeHun was street scouted while he was enjoying tteokbokki after school but with stranger danger in mind, he ran away from the casting associate and kept running for 30 minutes!

 

BTS - Various

RM was discovered through his career as an underground rapper, Suga saw a flyer for BigHit auditions and auditioned, j-hope auditioned and passed, Jin was street cast while he was getting off of a bus, JungKook was cast by 7 entertainment agencies after his audition for "Superstar K3", V was convinced to audition while he had come to support his friend for the audition, JiMin was urged by his teacher to audition based on his extraordinary dancing talent.

 

BLACKPINK - Audition

All the BLACKPINK members were signed after they auditioned for YG Entertainment. JiSoo auditioned in South Korea, Jennie moved from New Zealand to South Korea to audition for YG Entertainment, Lisa auditioned in Thailand, Rosé auditioned in Australia.

As K-Pop started to go global on a significant scale, it became common for aspirants from all over the world to audition for a K-Pop company. In the country, scouting agents were using all their resources to find hidden gems and talented individuals, usually in and around schools and colleges, through competitions, underground music scenes, and so on.

 

4. 4th Generation

TXT - Various

SooBin auditioned; Huening Kai auditioned for a different company, but when an official from the company joined BigHit, he was scouted; TaeHyun was scouted after an agent came to see him outside his school after hearing about him; for BeomGyu, the scouting agent went all the way to Daegu to take his audition; and YeonJun was scouted on both social media and on the subway!

 

aespa - Various

NingNing shared that she was discovered by SM Entertainment's talent agents after they saw her appearing on singing programs in China, Winter was street scouted at a festival, Karina was scouted over social media through DMs, Giselle joined SM Entertainment through an open audition.

 

ITZY - Various

ITZY's RyuJin was scouted at a GOT7 concert, YuNa was scouted at a festival, YeJi & Lia auditioned, and ChaeRyeong was scouted through "K-Pop Star 3".

 

WEi's Kim JunSeo & DRIPPIN's Kim DongYun - Social Media

4th generation idols Kim JunSeo of WEi was scouted via Instagram DMs, and Kim DongYun of DRIPPIN was scouted on Facebook.

While street casting and auditions continued to be prevalent, by the 4th generation of K-Pop, social media became a crucial tool in scouting potential K-Pop idols. However, because this was perhaps the first time this new generation was majorly being scouted this way, many had fears of it being a scam. 

 

5. 5th Generation

RIIZE's WonBin - Instagram

When RIIZE's WonBin was first introduced to the world, we all wondered where SM Entertainment found such a gem of an idol. The answer is - Instagram! WonBin was scouted on Instagram and asked to come in for an audition, which he passed, and then became a trainee at SM Entertainment.

Nowadays, it has become very common to scout K-Pop idols through social media, such as Instagram DMs. As such, there isn't much of the fear that it might be a scam. This trend is likely to continue and extend to TikTok as well.