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| The Kbeauty Cares For You campaign brings together a group of diverse models. / Courtesy of Iggy Choi |
By Hallie Bradley
Industries around the world were watching the discussions on inclusivity and diversity in the U.S. this year and when internet users worldwide started calling for more of their favorite brands and companies to be more aware, two women in Korea decided to step in with encouragement and action.
Fama Ndiaye, owner of KWorld Media, and Mona Lisa Hanson, owner of East Meets West, are the two foreign entrepreneurs in Korea who have created the campaign Kbeauty Cares For You.
"The Korean beauty industry has reached great lengths in the sense that it has grabbed the recognition and appreciation from so many people outside of Korea," Ndiaye told The Korea Times. "However despite this great success there is still a lack of representation in the industry that foreign consumers like Mona and I and countless others can relate to."
The impact of including more people of different skin tones, ethnicities, genders and backgrounds is powerful and yet many industries still haven't joined the discussion.
Ndiaye, who was born in Senegal and grew up in Paris, and Hanson, a Ghana-born U.S. citizen, feel there is always room for improvement and perhaps some Korean beauty companies have much to learn when it comes to diversifying their public outreach. "With unease to do this correctly, many brands opt out on the potential to expand how they reach their audience," Hanson said.
In recent years, the Korean beauty industry has done more in terms of including male-specific skincare and makeup routines which have become more popular, but according to Ndiaye and Hanson, it's still got a long way to go before it can be considered inclusive.
"What motivated me is the fact that this industry primarily sticks with a homogeneous group when campaigning products," Ndiaye said. "I want to break that chain and showcase the boundless diversification that surrounds us and people want to see that represented."
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| A group of models represent the Kbeauty Cares For You campaign. / Courtesy of Iggy Choi |
Ndiaye and Hanson created the campaign Kbeauty Cares For You to raise awareness on diversity and representation within Korean beauty brands and to encourage people to discuss and share their own experiences with their Korean skincare routines. A skincare routine is about love and caring for oneself and that includes loving the skin you're in. Those interested in joining the discussion and talking about products and companies that are suitable for everyone can post a picture online and tag it with #Kbeautycares4u.
The campaign features the K-beauty brands Jayjun, Urang, Real Barrier, Wish Formula, Meditamin, Ucine Beauty, BeMused Korea and Banobagi which were all interested in taking the leap and joining the discussion.
"Many of the brands we worked with realized that they lacked diversity, but at the same time wanted to branch out to all types of beauty lovers," Hanson explained. "But before doing so they were aware that being able to properly be represented is important."
Ndiaye and Hanson have put their combined experience working in the U.S., Europe and Korea to foster discussion where they can.
Running until Nov. 29, the women hope that people interested in K-beauty and skincare will join the discussion and show more brands what diversity looks like and why inclusivity is important.
Following the campaign, Ndiaye and Hanson will introduce their KbeautyCon event which seeks to bring a unique experience straight from Korea to overseas consumers. The first stop will be in Paris in 2021 and will then be repeated in different cities around the world. The event aims to spread knowledge on the Korean beauty scene and the latest innovations and brands from Korea with more worldwide consumers.
To learn more and stay up to date with what is happening, follow them on Instagram @kbeautycon or visit kbeautycon.com.
Hallie Bradley is a writer based in Seoul and runs the popular site thesoulofseoul.net.
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