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![PHOTO: Cho Won-Hyuk, a 24-year-old college student, shops for skincare and makeup products at a cosmetics store in Seoul, South Korea.](https://img1.daumcdn.net/relay/cafe/original/?fname=http%3A%2F%2Fa.abcnews.com%2Fimages%2FInternational%2Fap_korea_flower_men_jp_120926_wg.jpg)
South Korean Men Invest in Skin Care
Every morning Chung Yong-Hyen, 35, goes through a daily ritual of applying five skin care products.
"I wash with face cleanser, serum booster, toner, moisturizer, and sun screen," he says while being pampered at Amorepacific Spa in downtown Seoul.
The lean 6-foot tall marketer in public relations visits the spa once or twice a month and spends about $500 every season on various products "to maintain and take care of" himself.
Chung's lifestyle may seem at odds with conservative Korean culture in which macho men tend to have dominated the social scene. But the latest numbers show a surprising trend of Korean men striving to look beautiful. Nearly 21 percent of global sales of men's cosmetics, a total of $495.5 million, have been sold here last year, according to Euromonitor International, a global market research firm.
That makes Korea the largest market and by far the largest in terms of per capita – only 19 million men - as well.
Marketers make a point that the new consumers of cosmetics are straight men who are embracing a new version of handsome.
The whopping sales figures are expected to increase by 79 percent this year, reaching $885 million, according to South Korea's largest cosmetics company, Amorepacific.
Watch The Flower Men of South Korea
The market has been so vibrant that SKII, an upscale luxury Japanese cosmetics brand, launched its global men's line of products for the first time in Korea. SKII's best selling facial treatment essence is priced at $140 a bottle. Their boutique spa, like many other spas in Seoul have seen the number of male clients increase at a fast pace in recent years who pay $224 for facial and $453 for facial and body treatment.
In the affluent district of Gangnam in Seoul where plastic surgery and dermatology clinics have opened shop in almost every street block, Korean men are going further than simply maintenance.
"Most popular is nose surgery. Men consider their noses as symbol of sexuality. So they like higher nose bones to look more attractive like Westerners," said Dr. Byung-Gun Kim, director of BK Plastic Surgery Hospital.
The standard of beauty has evolved from strong masculine to a softer look with small and slender face features. "They're called 'flower men' referring to good looking guys in Korean dramas or movies with feminine features," Kim said.
These flower men are certainly trending. In the bustling shopping district of Myungdong, its main street nicknamed "cosme road" referring to a dozen local and foreign cosmetics brand shops lined up, advertisements are filled with handsome male celebrities posing as models with phrases like "Bright skin completes a man!"
"Men who don't care about their appearance are actually deemed as being lazy," said Jaejin Lee, producer of a cable television show for men called "Get it beauty HOMME." The show launched this week offers everyday tips on men's skin care, hairstyling, and even mustache grooming.
"Many younger men participating on my show don't feel embarrassed at all about shaping themselves up," Lee said. In the coming weeks, the show plans to teach men how to wear eyeliners and smoky eye makeup for a night out at the club.
For many followers trying to keep up with the trend, grooming comes from peer social pressure and the reality of having to compete with powerful women in the job market.
"As more women took leadership roles in the society, we started to feel the need to groom ourselves, a necessary tool for men to gain competitive edge here," said Hankyun Kim, 28, a popular blogger of how-to advices on men's skin care. "It boosts self-confidence. My looks affect my voice and tone greatly, so even if I am simply talking on the phone I make sure to have makeup on." Kim is an author of "Hankyun's Grooming Book" and has launched his own cosmetics brand for men, WHAN.
The competitive edge on appearance does affect getting jobs in Korea, experts say. All applications require self photos and some owners are even known to have a professional face reader join the interview process. They are to make sure the company does not hire unlucky or unsuitable candidates based on physiognomy which assesses a person's character from outer looks.
"Looking younger is strength in social life," said Dr. Park Byung-Soon, at CELLPARK. At his clinic in Gangnam district, 90 percent of his clients used to be women, but now half are men who come for special skin treatments using high-tech gear like Fraxel Dual or Thermage CPT that costs up to $5,000.
"For the younger people, it's a matter of survival. For the elders, keeping fit and groomed means you know how to enjoy life," said Jinwon Park, vice president of Doosan Industrial Vehicle. "So when I interview future employees, yes of course, I do keep in mind looks. And from my experience, they turn out to be an active member of my organization. So qualifications is basic and plus the real competitiveness is how you manage to be presentable."
Sungeun Lee and Yunjoo Lim contributed to this report
Cho Won-hyuk stands in front of his bedroom mirror and spreads dollops of yellow-brown makeup over his forehead, nose, chin and cheeks until his skin is flawless. Then he goes to work with a black pencil, highlighting his eyebrows until they’re thicker, bolder.
“Having a clean, neat face makes you look sophisticated and creates an image that you can handle yourself well,” the 24-year-old college student said. “Your appearance matters, so when I wear makeup on special occasions, it makes me more confident.”
Cho’s meticulous efforts to paint the perfect face are not unusual in South Korea. This socially conservative, male-dominated country, with a mandatory two-year military conscription for men, has become the male makeup capital of the world.
South Korean men spent $495.5 million on skincare last year, accounting for nearly 21 per cent 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. Amorepacific, South Korea’s biggest cosmetics company, estimates the total sales of men’s cosmetics in South Korea this year will be more than $885 million.
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.” Women also have a growing expectation that men will take the time and effort to pamper their skin.
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 once-a-year makeup classes for male flight attendants.
“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.
While U.S. cosmetics companies report growing sales in male cosmetics, American men are often wary of makeup. “Men Wearing Makeup a Disturbing Trend” was how American columnist Jim Shea titled a recent post.
In South Korea, however, effeminate male beauty is “a marker of social success,” according to Roald Maliangkay, head of Korean studies at Australian National University.
Amorepacific Corp. offers 17 men’s brands, with dozens of products to choose from, and operates two Manstudio stores in Seoul that are devoted to men’s skincare and makeup.
South Korean men are barraged daily with messages in popular media suggesting that flawless skin is a crucial part of any plan to get ahead at work and romance.
“In this society, people’s first impressions are very important. A man’s skin is a big part of that impression, so I take care of my skin,” said Kim Deuk-ryong, a 20-year-old student.
It wasn’t always this way. The ideal South Korean man used to be rough and tough.
Things began to change in the late 1990s, when the South Korean government relaxed a ban on Japanese cultural goods, exposing South Koreans to different ideas on male beauty, including popular comics featuring pretty, effeminate men.
James Turnbull, a writer and lecturer on Korean feminism, sexuality and popular culture, said the economic crisis that hit South Korea in 1997 and 1998 also played a role in shifting thinking. Struggling companies often fired their female employees first, angering women who had already seen 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.
In 2002, large numbers were attracted to a hero of South Korea’s World Cup soccer team, Ahn Jung-hwan, who became a leading member of the so-called “flower men” - a group of exceptionally good-looking, smooth-skinned, fashionable sports stars and celebrities who found great success selling male cosmetics. Men everywhere began striving to look like them, with the encouragement of the women around them, and a trend was born.
A decade later, ads featuring handsome, heavily made-up male celebrities are an unavoidable part of the urban scenery.
Kim Jong-hoon, a 27-year-old tech industry worker in Paju, said the endless media exposure to famous men with perfect skin helped steer his progression from soap and water to an elaborate regime that includes as many as eight steps, from cleanser to eye cream and lotion to a small amount of makeup powder.
“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.
Once an oddity, men using makeup is now commonplace.
It’s also a good source of conversation, said Kim Ae-kyung, 35, a female office worker.
“I feel like I have more to talk about with guys who use makeup - we have more in common,” Kim said.
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AP photographer Hye Soo Nah and writer Minjeong Hong contributed to this story.
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