The Korean Culture Wave: Beauty, Food and Youth Vibe

Introduction to Korean Wave (Hallyu) and the Korean Culture

Korea has become a cultural superpower and a global trendsetter. Be it in movies, music, fashion and lifestyle, food and skincare and beauty. “hallyu”, Korean wave is a step of a remarkable resilience and innovation. The country has been rapidly transforming its  economy and international reputation. Korean culture has influenced the youth all over the world. Korean culture has gained a lot of attention from people all around the world. Their unique approach in every aspect interests people to understand the Korean culture and adapt it into their lifestyle. 

Korean culture has always been out there but it got its strong fan base during the quarantine phase, that is 2020. The unique dishes, food habits, lifestyle, fashion, films and music have gathered and attracted the audience towards the Korean Culture. It has a unique pull.

Glowing Recipes of the Korean Culture

Korean beauty also known as K-beauty refers to beauty trends and products that originate from south Korea. Today, the craze over Korean beauty is huge. The Korean skincare, cosmetics, routine and the obsession over glass skin is lively. K-beauty is leading in creation of interesting formulas and products made from different and unique ingredients.

K-beauty doesn’t only focus on making the skin prettier but its  prime focus is to make the skin healthier and young. What makes Korean beauty stand out from any other beauty products is their unique ingredients, formula, textures and application methods which are skin friendly.

Glass Skin

Glass skin has become a global “trend” and is a dream to achieve for many. Glass skin makes our skin look super shiny and flawless. People are obsessed with glass skin because everyone wants to look flawless and neat without putting too much beauty products to look prettier. They want to look flawless, glowing, pretty in an effortless way. And honestly, who doesn’t? 

K-beauty offers a range of cleanser, toner, exfoliator, serum, moisturizer, eye cream, face oil and sheet masks to achieve a glass skin. The most trendy and “viral” 10-step skincare routine are being followed by a lot of people every single day.

Read about the No Make-up Makeup Look here.

10-Step Skincare Routine

The 10-step skincare routine has been widely followed by everyone around the world: 

Step 1:  Oil base cleanser

Oil based cleanser removes oil-based impurities like makeup, SPF and sebum.

Step 2: Water-based cleanser

Korean beauty believes in double cleansing. Hence, a water-based cleaner is being used to remove water-based impurities like dirt, sweat and grim.

Step 3: Exfoliator

Exfoliator is essential to remove the toughen dirt or oil in the skin. However, it is advised not to use every day as it can make the skin harsh and not too healthy. Exfoliating can be done 2-3 days in a week.

Step 4: Toner

A toner is a water based or gel-based cream that is used for balancing the skin texture, hydrating and maintaining the pH balance.

Step 5: Essence

An essence is said to be used to provide extra hydration. However, if the toner used is already hydrating then essence might not be required.

Step 6: Prescription Tropicals

In this step, we can put any ointments or creams that has been suggested by our doctor or dermatologist.

Step 7: Treatments (serums)

Serums are high-concentrated liquid solutions that focus on fixing skin related issues like pigmentation, wrinkles and acne.

Step 8: Eye cream

An under-eye cream is crucial for reducing dark circles. However, they are now being replace with retinols which serve the same purpose but is more effective in nature.

Step 9: Moisturizer

A moisturizer is essential to lock in all the products used in the previous steps and acts as a skin barrier.

Step 10 AM: SPF

A good coverage is sunscreen (SPF) is needed to be applied on our face and body to protect it from the harmful UV rays. SPF is the last step in the routine and is used during the daytime.

Step 10 PM: Sheet Mask

During the night time, it advised to use a sheet mask. During night time, our skin naturally tries to heals itself because of which it’s the perfect opportunity to put on a sheet mask. 

K-beauty Brands

k-beauty brands focus on innovation, unique design and strongly connect with their culture trends which make their products stand out from the rest. Brands like Corsx, Dr. Jart+ and Innisfree are known for their innovative skincare products that focus heavily on natural ingredients extracted from earth.

Laneige, an emerging and viral K-beauty brand emphasizes on water science and creating moisturizing formulas using advanced technology. K-beauty main use natural ingredients like snail mucin, rice water, ginseng, green tea that have no side effects and are suitable for all skin types.

Their focus is to prevent skin from future issues rather than finding the solution for when the skin issue starts. 

Some other top K-beaty brands are Etude House, Glow Recipe, Klairs, Sulwasoo and many more which are not only loved because of their formulas but are also uniquely designed and packed to attract consumers. 

Flavors of the Korean Culture

Korean cuisine has gained popularity on a global level. Korean food is driven by its unique flavors and convenient accessibility. This rise in popularity of Korean food and Korean street food can be seen by the increased in food exports, wider availability in supermarkets and online platforms. Moreover, there is a significant increase in Korean cuisine restaurants all across the world.

The most viral Korean food is kimchi, with its popularity extending beyond Korea to a global audience. Korean dishes like bibimbap, Tteokbokki, Buldak, and Korean fried chicken have also gained the craze in the recent years. 

The Korean Street food has equal craze as its authentic dishes around the world. Stalls ad shops have been opened to serve the Korean street food. The most viral Korean street food is Tteokbokki. It’s a popular dish consisting sticky rice cake in a spicy, sweet and flavorful gochujang -based sauce.

Its vibrant color, mouth-watering flavor and chewy texture makes everyone obsessed. Some other famous Korean street foods are kimbap, a rice roll filled with various ingredient, Hotteok, a sweet Korean pancake filled with brown sugar, nuts and cinnamon.

Korean corndogs have vee gaining a lot of attention lately. Its hot dogs coated in vatter and deep fried with lots of cheese and sometimes with additions like French fries. However, there are variants based on the customer needs. Mandu, Korean dumplings, often filled with meat and vegetables are another go-to dish ordered and loved by the youth today.  People all around the world have been seen travelling to South Korea to get the authentic taste of the Korean culture.

Read about travelling on a budget here.

Korean Culture in the Spotlight

The rise of Korean entertainment is now a global phenomenon drive y the popularity of the K-pop music, Korean dramas, Korean films. This has been booming across continents, intriguing the audiences with its unique blend of storytelling, music and moder aesthetic visuals. These factors contribute to the success high-production values including high production values, innovative storytelling and building a strong fam engagement.  

Korean movies and Korean dramas

Korean movies like “Parasite”, “Train to Busan”, “Oldboy”, “Memoirs of Murder” and many more have gained international recognition. Korean movies often explore unique themes and storylines which fascinate the audience and stands out among the other movies. 

Korean Dramas with their diverse genre and compelling narratives have become a global sensation. Shows like “Squid Games” and “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” have achieved success beyond box-office collections and have millions of viewers. Moreover, Korean artists try to build a closer relationship with their fans through fam meet-ups, interactions building a strong sense of community and loyalty. 

K-pop Music

K-pop music is known for its catchy tunes, interesting and energetic choreography, and stylish visuals have gained immense popularity worldwide. K-pop music groups like BTS and Blackpink have achieved global stardom and always breaking the topping charts across all platforms. 

Fashion Statements of the Korean Culture

Korean fashion has seen a global rise in popularity due to its influence in K-pop music and Korean dramas. Their style blends traditional Korean elements with modern, streetwear style trends characterized by clean and trendy and playful looks. Korean fashion approach is towards a more minimalist with neutral tomes, pastels and a focus om simplicity and versatility. 

Korean streetwear is known for its trendy styles, including oversized shirts, unique accessories to add details and layered outfits to complete the look. Korean fashion is visible both street style and high-end fashion. Korean outfits are conservative yet very practical. It has revolved around the notion of dressing in accordance to the time and place.

Korean Culture and Youth in the Social Media Era

Social media impacts youth by shaping their perception, behavior and culture understanding. The popularity of the Korean culture particularly, K-pop music, Korean drama and K-beauty has led to increased interest in language learning, fashion, dietary choices and even career aspirations among the youth.

However, excessive use of social media and heavy influence of the Korean culture consumption can lead to anxiety or depression and identity crisis. Social media promotes unhealthy and unrealistic beauty standards of having a glass skin, following a 10-step skincare routine every day or an ideal body that leads to body image issues and low self-esteem and over-consumption among the youth.

Therefore, finding a balance of consumption and adaptation of the Korean culture into our lives is solely up to us keeping in mind to always focus on our mental well-being and following a healthy routine for ourselves before joining the crowd.

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