100 Years of Korean Beauty, North and South
There’s an old Korean saying: “Men from the South are handsome, and women from the North are beautiful.” In a brand new clip, viral video producer Cut.com has produced an insightful look at how beauty has changed in both South Korea and North Korea. Up until 1945, North and South Korea were united as one country—and in spite of how little they have in common politically, this video acknowledges their common history and culture. South Korea’s beauty look from the 1990s to 2010s is especially important to note for pop culture and beauty enthusiasts, as the country transformed from another copycat consumer of Japanese and American pop to international pop culture leaders in recent years.
“During Japanese colonialism, people who looked Japanese looked better to Koreans. So, I knew from 1910 to 1950, 1945, that was the trend,” the video’s main researcher, Robin Park, notes in the video. She interviewed friends and family in South Korea and Seattle for the historical beauty trend data. For the research on North Korean beauty, she looked at propaganda art where the women are dressed down as “cheerful, joyful” laborers—and that’s what was considered beautiful. Director and editor Jason Hakala, who is half-Korean, tells Yahoo Beauty, “I really wanted to tell the story of Korea and the struggle the country has persevered over the last 100 years through the different looks.”
Some of the cult favorite Japanese and Korean beauty products used in the video are Etude House Wonder Pore Freshner ($22), Too Cool For School Morocco Ghassoul Pore Solution Cleanser ($20), Koh Gen Do All In One Moisture Gel ($62), and Hakuhodo brushes.
Check out the video and also Cut.com’s earlier 100 Years of Beauty videos (one, two, three), for an interesting look at how makeup, hair, and beauty trends have evolved over time.
Directed and edited by Jason Hakala. Research by Robin Park. Modeled by Tiffany Lee. Makeup by Katya Gudaeva.
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