Charlotte Goes to Seoul
Looking back, I’m convinced I spent the best years of my life in Seoul under the beating karaoke lights, over the smoky haze of grilled pork, and along the trails of the Han River. Now that I'm in New York, journeying back to Seoul to check out the K-beauty scene and curate the newest goodies on a regular basis is the coolest job perk of all time.
This trip I had only six short days, so I hit the ground running. I stopped by the usual spots in Myeong-dong (2, 3) where all the major beauty shops are clustered (4, 5). I pored through dozens of Korean cosmetic brands, loads of masks from Innisfree (6) that were recommended by a few locals, and then ran into this mannequin wearing them on her boobs (7), mocking me.
3CE (8) is the beauty offshoot of StyleNanda (the NastyGal of Korea), and where I was tutored by the sales associate on the ulzzang look that epitomizes the Korean beauty ideal of today (9). "Ulzzang" is a slang term in Korean that literally translates to "best face," and refers to a fresh, youthful look with doll-like eyes enhanced with huge contact lenses and skin that seems to glow from within—through baby pink lip stains, lots of highlighters, and products labeled "brightening." On the third day, I had decided on an impulse bob because of girls like these roaming the streets (10). Then I bought a pair of circle lenses, because when in Seoul...
Throughout the trip I made it a point to stuff my face with local cuisine, from crack-filled egg pastries sold on the street (11) to objects that frankly look too perfect to consume (12). My favorite Korean meal remains the same: delicately marbleized beef surrounded by fermented side dishes ready to be grilled to perfection over sootbull (13). There was plenty of soju in the mix.
I used the little slivers of downtime to escape from it all and stopped by a hanok (14), a traditional Korean house set up like a historical site/museum. It was nice change to be in a serene, natural, old-school setting when you're surrounded by LED lights and the constant buzz of Seoul today. On another day, when jet lag was full-on, I slinked off to the local sauna to sweat out toxins, mask, and doze off and on in front of a big-screen TV playing the most popular Korean soap opera, or "K-drama" (15).
My last night was surreal. Soo Joo was in town for a Culture Chanel event and somehow I found myself in her hotel suite ogling over her Chanel goodies and taking a few snapshots of her and her gorgeous view of Dongdaemun (17). An unexpectedly perfect ending to another fast, weird, and wonderful Seoul buying trip.
—Charlotte Cho
Follow Charlotte Cho is the founder and curator of Korean beauty site Soko Glam. Follow her journeys on Instagram.
