ⓒ KBS

According to the recent edition of the Chosun Shinbo, a newspaper run by pro-North Korean residents in Japan, new books about cultivating one’s beauty are found in bookstores and bookstands in Pyongyang, enjoying popularity with locals. One of the five new books informs the readers of basic knowledge of cosmetics products, while another one teaches various makeup styles for four different seasons. The paper says some people are willing to buy the five books all at once. It is said that people in North Korea have shown greater interest in cosmetics and the relevant industry as of late.

Today, we’ll learn about North Korea’s cosmetics industry from Professor Jeon Young-seon from the Institute for the Humanities and Unification at Konkuk University. 

A North Korean TV program introduces a local cosmetics factory. It says the growing consumption of cosmetics products indicates the “height of civilization.” In North Korea, the concept of makeup is said to be quite different from what South Koreans perceive. 

In South Korea, makeup is considered a matter of individuality, while North Koreans regard it as part of basic manners and etiquette. When it comes to one’s clothes, hairstyle, speech, behavior and customs of daily life, North Korea urges the people to conform to the socialist sense of beauty, which rejects brightly colored, heavy makeup. Unnatural makeup like that is described by locals as being “perverted.”  

In a shift from the old practice, colored makeup increasingly became the preferred choice of North Korean women after the 2000s, with Chinese cosmetics products flowing into the private market or jangmadang in the North. The trend became more conspicuous when the South Korean pop culture boom known as hallyu reached the reclusive North. In addition, leader Kim Jong-un’s wife Ri Sol-ju and the all-female Moranbong Band prompted a change in fashion and beauty trends in the North. 

Members of the Pochonbo(보천보) Electronic Ensemble, which was created in the 1980s, would wear fancy clothes. At the time, however, ordinary citizens could hardly follow their style. But since Kim Jong-un took power, his wife Ri Sol-ju has set standards in fashion and makeup to be accepted by the public. Now, makeup is considered some sort of rights to be enjoyed by citizens in a civilized socialist country. When you see the first lady, famous singer Hyon Song-wol and members of the Moranbong Band, you may find that their makeup accentuates individuality. 

North Korean founder Kim Il-sung stressed the need to develop the cosmetics industry in the early years of the regime. Actually, the North set up a cosmetics factory in Sinuiju as early as in 1949, one year after it was founded. It built another cosmetics factory in Pyongyang in 1957, when the nation was busy with postwar recovery work, in an apparent move to induce many women to engage in social activities. It is said that former leader Kim Jong-il inspected a cosmetics factory to instruct workers there to produce good-quality products. 

The former leader also presented cosmetics to women on special occasions like International Women’s Day, in recognition of their hard work. 

Based on the planned economy, North Korea, in principle, provides people with what they need. On ceremonial occasions like weddings, the state gives people special supplies. On International Women’s Day which is March 8 every year, the party provided women with goods, including cosmetics. As a result, cosmetics have been regarded as a gift from the party and the symbol of the Supreme Leader’s parental love. 

Current leader Kim Jong-un has also shown great interest in cosmetics since he came to power, conducting a field inspection of cosmetic factories several times. When he visited the Pyongyang Cosmetics Factory in 2015, he complained of the low quality of domestic mascaras, saying that they make the wearers’ eyes look like raccoon’s eyes with just a yawn. He then instructed officials to raise domestic products to world-class levels. 

As if reflecting the top leader’s keen interest, local TV programs, one after another, aired videos about the development and production of new cosmetics. 

Women who appear in the videos all say that they use locally-produced cosmetics, praising their excellent functional benefits. 

North Korea’s two major cosmetics brands are “Spring Scent” or “Pomhyanggi” in Korean, and “Milky Way” or “Unhasu.” “Spring Scent” produced by the Sinuiju Cosmetics Factory is North Korea’s oldest and best-known brand, which the country advertises extensively as an export item. It was named by former leader Kim Jong-il himself. 

The northwestern city of Sinuiju is an important light industry center in North Korea. The border city faces Dandong of China across the Yalu River. Products from the Sinuiju Cosmetics Factory are exported to China, and the factory’s cosmetic sets, as souvenirs, are available for purchase in Dandong. 

“Spring Scent” is such an overwhelming brand in the domestic market. You can even find a novel and a movie entitled “Spring Scent.” In North Korea, the brand name is almost synonymous with cosmetics. 

But another brand, “Milky Way,” threw down the gauntlet to the local cosmetics market dominated by “Spring Scent.” The Pyongyang Cosmetics Factory is known to manufacture hundreds of different products under the “Milky Way” brand, prompting these two brands to develop a fierce rivalry. 

North Korea deliberately promoted the Pyongyang Cosmetics Factory by bringing an automated production system from overseas and modernizing the factory. In this way, the country formed a rivalry between the two cosmetics brands, namely, “Spring Scent” and “Milky Way.” The industry rivals have been encouraged to compete to manufacture new products using advanced technology. 

In addition to the two major brands, other new brands have appeared as well, including “Mt. Geumgang,” “Future,” “Morning Dew” and “Fairy.” “Mt. Geumgang” is focused on anti-aging effects and wrinkle removal, and the brand of “Future,” or “Mirae” in Korean, highlights its intense colors and premium image, targeting the younger generation. Some products are extremely expensive, with a cosmetic set priced as high as in the upper 100-thousand won range. 

These days, North Korean cosmetics brands underline that their products contain natural extracts as main ingredients, on top of their functional properties. 

Ginseng from Gaeseong is well known for its health benefits, so it is actively used by cosmetics factories, regardless of brands. A cosmetics set under the “Spring Scent” brand is effective in preventing skin from aging, thanks to its high collagen content. Meanwhile, roses are used in some of the latest cosmetics products. 

North Korea depends heavily on indigenous ingredients when producing goods because it is difficult to import foreign ones due to international sanctions. One of the policies of the Kim Jong-un regime is called “Golden Mountains, Golden Fields, Golden Land.” The slogan urges the people to produce economic results by raising added value of resources within the country. It is easy to imagine that North Korea uses a lot of locally-produced, natural ingredients. 

We can’t help but wonder how good North Korean cosmetics are, based on objective evaluation. The results of compositional analyses of North Korean cosmetics were released in South Korea in 2017 for the first time. A leading South Korean cosmetics firm analyzed 64 North Korean products, including daily skincare product lines consisting of toners and lotions, colored cosmetics and functional ones. It was found that skincare products reached a certain level, in terms of basic functions including moisturizing effects. In some cases, however, ingredients indicated on the surface were different from what was actually found, while some products fell short of key ingredients. 

I guess the level of North Korean skincare products is similar to that of South Korean ones from the 1990s, while colored makeup items still remain at a rudimentary level, similar to their South Korean counterparts from the 1980s. Interestingly, a product contains ginseng itself, not ginseng extract. It shows North Korea is putting a great deal of effort into developing skincare products. 

Without a doubt, the analyses of North Korean cosmetics are significant and valuable. If and when South and North Korea work together in the cosmetics industry, the analyses will prove highly useful as basic data. 

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un placed special emphasis on self-reliance and self-sufficiency during his New Year’s message in 2017. 

Kim stressed that the light industry, agriculture and the fishing industry should be radically developed to improve the people’s lives. To foster the light industry, which includes cosmetics production, the leader called for producing goods locally, diversifying the kinds of goods and improving their quality. Analysts speculate that North Korea seeks to strengthen the light industry, based on self-sustainability, in order to ease economic difficulties stemming from international isolation. 

In North Korea, technology-intensive industries have not developed much, and not many areas can find a breakthrough using their own technology, either. North Korean cosmetics, however, stay relatively competitive, as they offer high performance for their price. Actually, some 26 countries are known to import North Korean cosmetics. The North may focus on nurturing the cosmetics industry for strategic purposes. 

There are limitations, though. South Korea is famous for its high-quality cosmetics, as seen in the term, “K-beauty.” The remarkable growth of the “K-beauty” industry is partly attributed to the huge popularity of Korean cultural content, including TV series, overseas. But North Korea leaves much to be desired, in terms of the improvement of its image abroad. Even so, I think North Korean cosmetics have a competitive edge, compared to other areas. 

A North Korean media agency has recently reported a new cosmetics brand called “Black Pearl.” Its main ingredient is sulfur contained in natural mud found in the downstream area of the Taedong River in Pyongyang, and it is said to be effective in skin-whitening and anti-aging. 

It is assumed that North Korea tries to stabilize the livelihoods of the public by diversifying daily necessities and improving their quality, amid the prolonged international sanctions against the country. The release of the new cosmetics brand can be understood in this context. We’ll have to wait and see how North Korea’s cosmetics industry may develop down the road.