I had an acne problem, which made me self-conscious in front of girls at school and stressed me out. That’s why I came to this skin care shop. After a session my face felt completely cleansed. Some of my friends make fun of me for getting the skincare treatment, but friends who have acne like me totally relate. I get skincare procedures because I want to, so I really don’t care about what others think of it.



This 10th grader first visited a dermatologist for his acne problem, and then moved on to receive regular skin care treatment. Nowadays with more men paying attention to fashion, makeup, and their overall appearance, it’s become commonplace to see men undergoing beauty care procedures. Here’s Ms. Lee Jae-ran of a skincare shop.

New college graduates and high school students have grown more interested in skincare. There are also more mothers who want their children to receive skincare to address their acne problems. The women-to-men ratio for skincare recipients used to be eight to two in favor of women, but now it’s down to six to four.

Men are no longer mocked for wanting to look nice. Their desire to have clear skin and look great is just as strong as any woman’s. Here’s Ms. Lee Jae-ran of a skincare shop again to explain more.

Men think that having white skin is the best, so many of them ask for the whitening procedure. It seems men want clear skin more than women do. Lots of them want facial hair removed from their cheeks and chin.



Men who are deeply interested in their looks and spend money and time on fashion and beauty care are called a “grooming tribe” in Korea. There are more grooming men in today’s Korean society and here’s culture critic Kim Heon-shik to talk more about the trend.

Nowadays men have to be interested in fashion and beauty. They put on collagen and vitamin C masks when they go to bed, use skincare products, and update their wardrobe every season. Just like women, men want to look good, and demonstrating that desire are the so-called “grooming tribe.” Grooming used to mean taking care of horses, but now it refers to the act of making oneself beautiful, hence the term “grooming tribe.”

Today’s men do not hesitate to spend money on accessories and clothes, receive skincare treatments on a regular basis, and seek out celebrity hair stylists. Culture columnist Kim Heon-shik says a surge of grooming men is attributed to a social atmosphere that accepts diversity, but more to the current financial situation.

The current economic hardship has compelled men to take more interest in fashion and beauty. Men’s inclination toward grooming became noticeable in the 2000s, right after the foreign currency crisis that devastated the Korean economy in the late 20th century. Men who don’t take care of themselves became disadvantaged in the fight for survival. Stylish fashion or plastic surgery has become a means of social survival in Korea’s highly competitive job market. Men are desperately trying not to be left behind just because of their looks.

The media has fueled men’s growing obsession with appearance. TV shows and music programs are filled with good-looking men, some of whom seem prettier than women. Also, women’s preference for slim, handsome men has motivated more men to eagerly seek out beauty advice.

There are so many heartthrobs and sexy guys on TV, in magazines, and in movies. The media shows what attractive men should look like and women tend to favor such men. Wanting to be liked by the opposite sex, men imitate the images presented by the media. The well-groomed, hot, sexy celebrities have driven ordinary men to improve their outer appearances.

At some point in time masculine characters suddenly disappeared from TV dramas. In the past, the leading men were tough-looking, testosterone-driven men with bulging muscles, but now actors with flawless porcelain skin with soft, effeminate facial features rule the screens.

The KBS drama “Boys over Men” aired in 2009 and featured four hot-looking studs with four different appeals. But they all had chic, clean-cut looks and astonishingly fashionable wardrobes, winning over countless lady fans. They were the men most guys wanted to emulate and ladies wanted to go out with. They were sizzling hot!

A KBS drama that aired earlier this year was outright named “Pretty Boy.” It was based on a comic book of the same name and the men appearing in it are indeed all easy on the eyes. Making them all the more irresistible is the fact that they are all extremely rich. What more could women want?

(Woman 1) These days pretty men like Kim Soo-hyeon김수현 rule! Pretty men are great!
(Woman 2) I don’t like men with large muscles. I like cute, adorable men whom I just want to hug.
(Woman 3) I come right out and say that I like good-looking men. What’s important is to look neat and give off a good aura. I may get a good feeling toward a man who looks like he knows how to care for himself. I believe men who take good care of themselves also tend to be very capable.
(Woman 4) I much prefer men who look nice, wear fashionable clothes, and have good manners.

Men have their work cut out for them – they have to look nice to get a job and to win over a girl’s heart. It’s only natural that men are becoming more obsessive about their looks. One of the industries that responded quickly to such a trend is the cosmetics industry. Here’s Vice President Jeon Sang-gu전상구 of Iljin일진 Cosmetics.

Starting in 2005 or 2006, men suddenly started asking for more cosmetic products. They used to only apply an after shave or lotion after washing their faces, but all of a sudden they started looking for more specialized skincare products. Healthy, immaculate skin is a big edge for men these days. In the past, tough, macho men were highly regarded, but now beautiful men are in. So we tend to develop more products that meet the demands of such men.

Men didn’t want to bother with applying several skincare products, but now they carefully select cosmetic products with various functions. Iljin Cosmetics Vice President Jeon Sang-gu says men’s cosmetics have grown just as diversified and specialized as women’s.

Sun block creams are a must and foundation or blemish balms called BB creams in Korea are also popular. Men want clear, smooth skin, too. So they look for anti-wrinkling and whitening products. Skin tends to wrinkle up and darken as people age, so men want to bring back their lighter, more translucent skin of the younger days, which is why we develop more whitening products. Men also want hydrating products and deep-cleansing facial foams. They don’t want to use just soap to wash their faces, so they ask for cleansing products with some special ingredients in them.

Thanks to a growing number of men who started buying functional skincare products, the Korean cosmetics industry is booming in spite of the long economic slump. The British market research firm Euromonitor reported that Korean men’s cosmetics purchasing power ranked number one in the world. Here’s Iljin Cosmetics Vice President Jeon Sang-gu again.

Korea’s male cosmetics market is expanding rapidly to the point of recording an annual average increase of between 10 and 15%. Currently, Korea’s male cosmetics market is around 110 million dollars in value and is steadily growing. This is just the beginning. Korea has the largest market for male skincare products, followed by China and Japan. Korea doesn’t have a large population like China and Japan, yet still manages to have the largest cosmetics market for men.

Facial care is not the only thing men care about. Hair styling is also a hot beauty topic among Korean men. They pour through magazines and watch other men to find the latest hair style that complements their looks. Also, men’s fear of going bald compels them to receive scalp care religiously, even at the slightest sign of falling hair. Here’s Iljin Cosmetics Vice President Jeon Sang-gu to explain more.

Men pay most attention to scalp care and having smooth, clear skin. If their hair goes white, they want to make their silvery manes as attractive as possible. A few decades ago, men usually dyed their hair black, but nowadays they want to express their unique personality through hair color. So I expect to see some interesting hair colors among men. Our company is also studying how to incorporate hair color into a man’s total look. We want to make even wrinkles appear hot and stylish. Dapper men are all the rage these days, so we’re focusing on developing products that can help men become their idealized selves.

The widespread interest in beauty products and personal grooming has led to a number of blogs specializing in men’s health and beauty. These bloggers share beauty tips and review grooming products. Here’s Mr. Lee Sang-min of men’s fashion and beauty blog Aura M.

I’ve been running the blog for three years. Back then I needed some information on skincare products for my skin problems, but most of the blogs were for women’s fashion and beauty care and there were none for men. So I started the blog for men with skin troubles like me.

Some people thought he was queer for running a blog for men’s fashion and beauty, but now he gets a flood of questions and support for the blog. He realizes that times have certainly changed.

I was so burned on the internet two or three years ago for running such a blog. But nowadays men who take care of their appearance are preferred and even male celebrities with great skin seem more popular. So, people came to realize that even men need skincare and a year after my blog opened men began to bombard me with questions. They usually ask me about how to reduce pores and oily secretion on the face.

Even men’s magazines are changing. While men’s magazines of the past dealt with how to accentuate masculinity, today’s magazines have allocated more pages to fashion. Here’s Mr. Shin Dong-hyun신동현, editor of men’s fashion magazine Leon.

In the past men’s magazines were largely filled with columns and articles about social issues, music, and fashion. Our magazine has been around for three years now and so far we’ve been getting great market responses. While Korean men may not be actively seeking out fashion know-how, they are willing to try out new looks when they come across them. They want to know where they can get such outfits and get expert opinions on various looks. Men used to wear what their moms, wives or girlfriends wanted them to wear, but now they insist on dressing in their own unique style. That’s a big change.

Men also have the natural desire to hide their flaws and play up their attractive points, which unsurprisingly leads to greater interests in beauty and personal care. Now men spend less money on drinking and more on fashion and beauty items.



The reason there are more men who care about looks is that men also want to look good. It’s almost an instinct. Men can look tough and get away with only washing their faces when they are young, but as they age they will see their skin lose its luster and shrivel up. Not many men like sagging, wrinkly skin. So we give advice on how to do facial cleansing properly, how to moisturize and block out the sun’s UV rays. If Korean men take our advice seriously, they will all look great even when they’re older.

Some would criticize well-groomed men as being too effeminate, but there is no denying that men’s outer appearance is directly related to men’s survival at workplaces and their search for mates. Men who care about their looks are just one manifestation of changing times.