I currently lead the Hair & Beauty Unit at Amorepacific. Since joining Amorepacific in 2021, I’ve overseen products across every part of daily life, starting with hair and extending to body, dental care, and more. As of this year, I’ve also taken on the professional segment serving salons and hair professionals.

I built my career in hair through brands such as Vidal Sassoon and Pantene. I worked as an expat in Japan, then spent a long stretch at the Asia regional headquarters in Singapore, where I got to know consumers in a wide range of markets, including Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, Australia, and India. I also gained experience in China.

When I joined Amorepacific in 2021, I took on the turnaround of RYO and Mise-en-Scène. Looking back, I think hair and I were just meant to be. (laughs) Now I’m expanding beyond hair into body and dental care, and as we grow LABO-H, my own areas of interest keep widening too.

Not really. I started by chance, but luckily I have the patience to see things through, so I think that’s why I’ve been able to stick with it. I believe that even if you keep doing the same work, it’s never the same. I continuously finding new things to be curious about. Hair in particular is a field where the answer is completely different depending on the country and the consumer. Skin varies from person to person too, of course, but with hair, the differences between people are quite big — from shape, thickness, and degree of curl to the way it’s cared for. I genuinely enjoy discovering those differences one by one.

That’s right. In the global market, hair is usually divided broadly into straight, wavy, curly, and coily types, and then subdivided by degree of curl. In East Asia, including Korea, Japan, and China, straight hair is relatively common, with the occasional wavy type. Curly hair is common in South America, in countries such as Brazil. And among consumers of African descent, you see a lot of coily hair.

Straight: Hair that falls relatively straight, without curl
Wavy: Hair that shows natural S-shaped waves
Curly: Hair that forms defined, springy curls
Coily: Hair that forms small, tight, repeating curls

What matters is that different hair types lead to different care routines. Korean consumers tend to have relatively simple hair routines, but consumers with curly or coily hair use far more products. Beyond shampoo and conditioner, they go through multiple steps, such as heat protectant, oil, curl cream, and essence. I found that they care for their hair the way we approach our multi-step skincare.

That’s why there’s no formula that says a product well reviewed in Korea will work just as well in the global market, because products and solutions change depending on consumers’ hair and lifestyles. I think that diversity is the most interesting part of the hair market, and where its new possibilities lie.

North America is a complex market, and at the same time the most fun. You have consumers with straight, wavy, curly, and coily hair — the full range. Hair types differ, and so does how people care for their hair. I think that’s the key. We have to go in recognizing that it’s a completely different market from Korea.

What was especially interesting was how differently people choose products. In Korea, reviews and recommendations from other consumers are effective. If someone says a product is good, people will readily buy it and try it, because hair types there don’t vary much. But in North America, no matter how good people say something is, there’s a strong tendency to check, “Will this product work for my hair type too?” And no matter how well a product is presented, if the model’s hair type differs from theirs, many people won’t pay it any attention at all.

That’s why there’s strong demand for trial products, smaller sizes you can try first. People find out whether a product suits their hair and then buy the full-size product. In the end, I felt that what matters in North America isn’t calling something “a product that’s good for everyone,” but making suggestions that let consumers with different hair types find their own answer.

I’d have to say the Mise-en-Scène Perfect Serum. It’s so universally loved in such a demanding market that we call it our little miracle worker. We introduce it to all kinds of consumers, and most are satisfied. You’ll notice it right away when you try it. Even though it’s an oil, it leaves very little stickiness on your hands, absorbs quickly into the hair, and adds shine. So people don’t hesitate to reach for it throughout the day.

Another interesting thing is that every consumer uses it differently. Because it nourishes and styles at the same time, some people use it on wet hair after shampooing, while others use it to tame frizz on mornings when they don’t wash their hair. As I understand it, consumers with curly and coily hair, who often struggle with dryness, especially like to use it for styling whenever they need to. Given North American purchasing habits, we launched a small trial size so people can try the product, and it’s been well received.

Interest in the scalp is rising fast in North America these days, too. I see this as a sign that the very role of hair products is changing. In the past, shampoo and conditioner were closer to household essentials, but now they’re steadily moving into the realm of beauty. And body care is following right behind. The perspective of ‘creating a healthy skin environment,’ long central to skincare, is extending to the scalp. Amid these changes, I think the potential of brands focused on scalp care, like LABO-H, will keep growing. We’re watching this closely and doing our best to develop products that meet consumers’ needs.

Not long ago, we invited foreign consumers living in Korea whose hair ran from straight and wavy to curly and coily, and we gained some great insights from them as well. In the process, we discovered something about the applicator (the tip of the container where the product comes out). One type that had never been an issue for Korean consumers wasn’t suitable for consumers with coily or curly hair. Their hair kept getting caught in it. On the other hand, they were happy with a pointed-tip applicator, saying it made the product easy to apply directly, and seeing that changed the way I look at product packaging.

I love it. (laughs) Looking back, I’ve been like this since I was a kid. Whenever my mother sent me on an errand, I’d always buy one thing I was curious about and enjoy seeing how she reacted. I loved asking her what she thought of something new and talking it over. Even now, I love reading consumer reviews, so I check not only AMORE MALL but also online channels like Olive Young all the time. I also like handing out product samples to people around me and seeing their reactions firsthand. I even introduced our products to my regular hair salon, and now they use nothing but Amorepacific products. (laughs)

I think of the people around me as consumers, and that’s how I enjoy my work. People keep changing, and markets keep changing, right? Even with the same product, everyone reacts differently. Spotting those differences and thinking, “Why is that?” is still fun for me.

I think there’s plenty of potential. But the approach has to be different from K-Skincare. K-Skincare grew on the ‘trust asset’ of Koreans’ clear skin and meticulous routines. With hair, though, global consumers’ hair types and concerns are so diverse that it’s hard to persuade them with the ‘Korean product’ label alone.

But that’s exactly where I see the opportunity. In the hair care market, what decides a purchase isn’t the brand’s country of origin. It’s the fundamental question of efficacy: “Does it actually solve my hair concern?” In the hair category especially, consumers readily switch products once they feel a clearer effect than their current routine provides. Ultimately, the core competitive edge of K-Hair globally lies in ‘product excellence,’ meaning clear, proven efficacy across diverse hair types. And I’m confident that Amorepacific’s long-standing technological expertise can fully demonstrate this kind of tangible, efficacy-driven innovation.

The first is the research assets and technology we’ve built up over a long time. Amorepacific’s story began with camellia oil, which shows how long the company has been researching hair and skin. Every company’s research is strongest in the products its heritage began with. We’re a company that has consistently researched not only skin but also hair and the scalp for a very long time. And because the scalp is connected to the skin, there’s synergy with the skincare research assets the company has accumulated over the years.

The second is our broad brand portfolio. Our lineup spans Mise-en-Scène, LABO-H, RYO, AYUNCHE, and AMOS PROFESSIONAL. Being able to cover multiple price points and consumer groups, from daily hair care to scalp care to the professional salon segment, is a major competitive edge. Recognizing that strength, we’re continually thinking about which consumers each of our brands can reach overseas.

It’s a bit cliché, but I’m very fond of the phrase ‘Less is More.’ I think it all comes down to choosing and focusing. If you say everything just because you have a lot of good things, nothing sticks in the end. Every Amorepacific product has so many strengths. We have research assets, technology, ingredients, and more than ten things we want to say. But will consumers remember it all? You have to distill it and deliver it so it stays with them.

In fact, not long ago, we took a toothpaste that had been emphasizing propolis and refocused it on the one message consumers were paying attention to: high fluoride. Rather than talking about every strength the product had, we put the single most important one up front. I always stress to our team members that deciding what to let go of is harder, but far more important, than deciding what to add. I believe finding what matters most and focusing on it is what creates bigger change.

First, we look for someone who is curious. I like people whose eyes light up when they see how consumers react. It’s also partly a matter of innate sense, but it would be great if they had an eye for aesthetics. And they need to be able to think logically. I think a good beauty marketer is someone who sits at the intersection of science, mathematics, and art. Of course, no single person needs to be perfect at all of it. Some people are brilliant at logic, and some are great at finding what’s beautiful by instinct. It’s the leader’s job to help those people blend well together and deliver strong results. So I pay close attention to people. I conduct long interviews myself, and I try to sit in on interns’ presentations whenever I can. I keep asking the people around me, too. You need to know each person’s strengths to assign the right work and connect people with different strengths.

I don’t think my daily life and my work are all that separate. Trying products, observing people, and asking about what I’m curious about blends in naturally. First thing in the morning, I test our products. I have so many products to test at home. Shampoos, scalp treatments, styling products. When the people in charge bring me new products, I have to try them myself and give feedback, so my bathroom is practically a testing space. Then I pick out my clothes. I really love clothes. Choosing an outfit that suits me before heading to work is one of my pleasures, too. Once I get to the office, I spend most of the day in meetings. At lunch, I sit for a bit in the fifth-floor courtyard with a coffee and catch my breath. And I introduce our products to the people I meet and see how they react. Then I head back to my testing space at home and end the day freshly washed.

I really love the AYUNCHE Rebalancing Shampoo. My hair is naturally fine and my scalp is on the sensitive side, so if I use a product that doesn’t suit me, my scalp gets uncomfortable quickly. It bothers me so much I can’t concentrate, so using good hair products really matters to me. That’s why, even when I travel, AYUNCHE is the one shampoo I always bring, since hotel amenities might not suit my scalp.

Lately I’ve also been enjoying the LABO-H Capsule Treatment. Until now, I’d wondered whether I even needed a treatment, since my hair is short. But an expert at the LABO-H scalp spa at AMORE YONGSAN told me I absolutely had to use the LABO-H Capsule Treatment for my sensitive scalp. Experiences like that are fun, too. Making and selling a product doesn’t mean you know everything about it. I keep learning by listening to what people are doing and trying things myself.

I got into wine after joining Amorepacific. I’m so curious by nature that I couldn’t stop at just enjoying a drink, and I ended up digging in pretty deep. I even earned a sommelier certification. The world of wine is endless, so I’m still discovering new things, and I really enjoy that time. I also do Pilates twice a week to loosen up my stiff body. Wine and exercise are my own ways of managing stress for both body and mind.

Product excellence. At its core, Amorepacific is a company that makes a solid product. Good marketing can get someone to use a product once. But to get them to use it twice, three times, again and again, ultimately the product itself has to be good. Something can suddenly become viral for one reason or another. But most buzz disappears within a few days. If a product keeps selling after that, it means consumers have a reason to buy it again. I think that’s where one of Amorepacific’s greatest strengths lies, too.

I don’t think longevity is a concept limited to skincare. Every day, we take care of not only our skin but also our scalp, hair, body, and teeth. To stay healthy and beautiful for a long time, every area of daily life needs to be connected. In fact, the global market is also seeing a clear ‘skinification’ trend, where the concept of skincare is extending to the scalp and hair. In this beauty trend, people care for their scalp and hair the way they care for their skin.

So the hair care of the future will go beyond simply improving your hair’s condition. Understanding your own scalp and hair, and looking after it consistently in a way that suits you, is also an important routine for practicing longevity. The Hair & Beauty Unit, too, wants to link the moments of daily life, from toothpaste in the morning to shampoo, scalp care, styling, and body care, into a sustainable beauty routine.

I truly believe the age of haircare is coming. In the past, hair received relatively less attention than skincare or makeup. But when I watch consumers on the ground, I can clearly feel the change. People have started caring for their scalp as well as their hair. There’s also a growing recognition that hairstyle and color shape a person’s overall image and impression, which makes them a beauty category in their own right, a way of expressing and caring for yourself.

We have a vision of reaching KRW 1 trillion in revenue from our hair brands alone by 2030. But that doesn’t simply mean growing in scale. Going forward, when global consumers think of K-Hair, I’d like Amorepacific’s brands to come to mind first, and overwhelmingly so. Until now, people have shown so much interest in skincare. Now I hope they’ll pay a little more attention to their scalp and hair, too. Your hairstyle and how you care for your hair make a big difference in the impression you give. Healthy hair grows from a healthy scalp, and when you take good care of your hair and style, you can create a much more vibrant, youthful impression. The world is already heading in that direction. I hope people find the approach that suits them, not only in skincare but also in hair and scalp care, and Amorepacific’s Hair & Beauty Unit will be there with them every step of the way.

“Amorepacific challenges and delivers by constantly choosing and focusing.”

I believe that, in the process, new possibilities for beauty that never existed before will come to life.