2015.03.04
Ch2. The history of inner beauty
BEAUTY
COLUMN
COLUMN
AMOREPACIFIC's 70 years of beauty history
A beautiful flower that blooms
in the deep-rooted beauty of Korea
Asian Beauty Creator
AMOREPACIFIC
Flowers are beautiful because of the stems and deep roots
that keep them standing strong.
AMOREPACIFIC was able to spread throughout Asia
and blossom into a global brand because of the way
it is rooted in the long-standing beauty of Korea.
Here, we will look into the past, present and future of
Asian Beauty Creator
with the story of how AMOREPACIFIC took
root in Korea
and spread its branches across Asia
to now burst into full bloom worldwide.
The roots of AMOREPACIFIC beauty
The history of inner beauty
Mention Asian inner beauty and people often think of calm stillness.
Korean inner beauty is different.
For, in Korea, inner beauty represents strength of character, confidence, dynamism and vivaciousness hidden within a soft outward appearance.
That is to say, true Korean inner beauty is inner liveliness and dynamic energy that shine through outer beauty.
Korean inner beauty is different.
For, in Korea, inner beauty represents strength of character, confidence, dynamism and vivaciousness hidden within a soft outward appearance.
That is to say, true Korean inner beauty is inner liveliness and dynamic energy that shine through outer beauty.
The nature of Korean inner beauty
- heung (joyful spirit) and dynamism
An inner life full of dynamism and vivacity,
while outward appearances remain soft and elegant
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Lee Ja-ram sings pansori (a dramatic song)
She was full of energy.
It was all very exciting and enjoyable.
Amazing. It was like a blast of energy. Utterly beautiful.
These are what members of the mostly French audience said after watching firsthand Lee Ja-ram, a Korean singer, perform an astonishingly energetic rendition of the pansori Sacheon-ga at the Theater of Abbesses, France. Toward the end, the whole audience was on their feet, twirling their bodies to the rhythm in rapturous applause. After watching the performance, French actress Anouk Grinberg remarked that, "This performance made me feel that we did not know how to tell a story. Pansori performance is like a creative composite art that makes a deep impression on the audience, rather than forcing them to feel something."
Heung (joyful spirit) and the dynamic energy that together represent Korean inner beauty
Proclaimed as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in recognition of its artistic value, pansori is a traditional Korean genre of musical storytelling that carries a joyful spirit (heung, 興) in a slow, tuneful melody. In pansori, one sorikkun (a singer) and one gosu (a drummer playing a barrel drum called buk) perform a form of musical storytelling and chu-imsae (exclamation), like "Good!" and "Eolsigu! " of gosu, which adds to the joyful spirit of both changja (singer, 唱者) and audience. Such joyful spirit on display makes the audience dance around in enjoyment regardless of their age or nationality. It is this which typifies the dynamic inner beauty of Koreans.
As a matter of fact, most people think of the calm stillness when it comes to the Asian ideal of inner beauty. But the inner beauty of Korean is best described as the combination of heung (joyful spirit) and the dynamic energy. This means that the true nature of Korean inner beauty reflects not only decency and elegance, but also heung, passion and dynamic energy in harmony with a soft, gentle heart. This is what we find when we look at the aesthetic values of Korea whenever the ideal of beauty is present, whether it be in Korean music or art.
The Korean ideal of inner beauty
- a beautiful woman who is strong
on the outside and sweet, gentle on the inside
True beauty is full of life and energy inside
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Shin Saimdang
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Heo Nanseolheon
Shin Saimdang and Heo Nanseolheon are two women from the mid Joseon Dynasty who are perhaps the most well-known models of the Korean form of ideal inner beauty. There is an old saying that a wise woman is more precious than a pearl. In this context, it was Shin Saimdang and Heo Nanseolheon who were more precious and elegant than all the pearls of the ocean. Shin Saimdang was a great Korean writer, Confucian scholar, artist and accomplished poet and the mother of renowned Confucian scholar and politician Lee Yul-gok. Thanks to her tremendous inner strength, she is honored in her own right, rather than as simply the mother of the great Confucian scholar Yul-gok.
A painting and extract of the calligraphic work of Heo Nanseolheon
Heo Nanseolheon was a prominent Korean female poet and artist who lived in the mid Joseon Dynasty who made her name far and wide in China and Japan as a genius poet in her own right, rather than a wife or mother of someone else. This fame was achieved despite the patriarchal society she lived in as a woman from the scholar-gentry class in Confucian society.
Korean beauties have always carried themselves with grace and deportment that showed them to be gentle on the outside, but strong on the inside. If you have always thought of the Korean beauties of previous centuries as those who have a graceful and calm nature, that is perhaps because you have only ever seen their outward appearance. True Korean beauties are graceful and elegant on the outside, but strong on the inside, displaying liveliness, energy and passion.
The origin of the Korean ideal of inner beauty
- the notion of oneness of body and soul
A beautiful soul in a beautiful body
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An actor wearing makeup in a drama portraying a Hwarang from the Silla Dynasty
In the Silla Dynasty, it was men, rather than women, who used to wear makeup out of the desire to use makeup to express their inner beauty. This culture finds its apotheosis in the makeup of Hwarang, as recorded in Samguk Sagi, the Chronicles of the Three States. The book, written almost a millennium ago, tells the story of the Hwarang, who were an elite group of beautiful young men with faces made up and torsos beautifully dressed in nice clothes. It was the Hwarang who, all that time ago, were respected and revered above all their countrymen.
The aesthetic sense of equating inner beauty with external beauty continued through the Joseon Dynasty, when face washing, bathing and makeup culture flourished. Men took particular care to groom themselves out of a wish not to boast about their looks, but to cultivate and maintain their moral uprightness and attitude as a scholar. They picked up a mirror at their bedside when they woke up in the morning and combed their hair, believing that disheveled hair and clothing would offend the natural order of things. It is also said that scholars in the Joseon Dynasty always carried myeongyeong (a hand mirror, 面鏡) to check their appearance and adjust themselves accordingly. In other words, the external graceful look of scholars in the Joseon Dynasty came from rigorous training of the mind through the exercise of self-discipline.
Inner beauty in the Korean makeup culture
- makeup is a form of self-expression
Danjang (to dress oneself up, 端粧) rather than hwajang (makeup, 化粧)
What lies at the root of the Korean makeup culture is the notion of oneness of body and soul – an idea which came into its own during the period of the Three States. Makeup became a means of self-expression, deportment and etiquette, rather than simply showing-off. The word hwajang (makeup, 化粧), which implies gahwa (artificial, 假化) and gasik (fake ornament, 假飾), was adopted after the Joseon Dynasty developed into a modern state. Before that, the word danjang (to dress oneself up, 端粧) was used.
In its broadest sense, danjang means skincare, beauty care, dressing up and wearing accessories. In general, though, it is used to indicate dressing oneself up to a modest level. Danjang is further subdivided into damjang (淡粧), which means skincare and simple makeup; yeomjang (艶粧), which refers to making good facial features better and covering up any imperfections; and nongjang (濃粧), which means adorning oneself with colors. According to the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, people who looked completely different after makeup were called yayong (made-up face, 冶容) and held in contempt. It was widely regarded as a virtue to pretty oneself up and wear makeup, for example penciling the eyebrows, rouging the cheeks and lips and putting on power, as long as doing so does not turn one into a completely different person.
The principle of Eastern herbal medicinal beauty care
- in Eastern herbal medicine, the skin, hair and body are treated as one
Inner health and outer beauty are one and the same
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Dongui Bogam (Principles and Practice of Eastern Medicine)
Cheonan (the king's face, 天顔) looks gaunt and haggard, which indicates a latent health problem - Quoted from the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty
If the lung does not work the way it should be, it heats up skin and hair and, as a result, causes a loss of moisture that damages the skin's complexion
- Quoted from Dongui Bogam
The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty describe the stomach disorder of King Seonjo in terms of how he looked. Doctors diagnosed that the reason he looked gaunt and haggard was because he was suffering from a stomach problem. Meanwhile, Dongui Bogam notes that, for example, wrinkles are formed on the skin because the lung does not work the way it should be, which causes a loss of moisture from the skin that damages the skin. The skin has long been regarded as a kind of respiratory organ on the surface of human body and there is a thread of connections between the skin and the lung. In Eastern herbal medicine, problems inside the body are shown through the outside, while problems on the outside are treated through treatment of the inside. In fact, Eastern herbal medicine treats the skin, hair and bodily organs as one to control the body inside and out in the pursuit of beauty.
In short, the underlying principle is that a person must be healthy inside in order to shine on the outside with young, vibrant beauty.
Features of herbal medicine cosmetics
- herbal medicine cosmetics for radical, comprehensive treatment
Harmonize the skin from the inside to leverage its natural beauty
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Sulwhasoo, a famous premium herbal medicinal cosmetics brand
The application of herbal medicinal cosmetics is associated with the logic of creating changes both inside the body and in terms of having the right mental attitude as well. Herbal medicinal cosmetics are designed to bring out the natural beauty of the skin, improve its balance and harmonize it from the inside - Quoted from the Cultural History of Herbal Medicinal Cosmetics (한방화장품의 문화사)
Herbal medicinal cosmetics do not just mean cosmetics made of herbal ingredients. Rather, they embrace the comprehensive principle of herbal medicinal beauty care, encompassing the notion of herbal medicine and skincare. In other words, using herbal medicinal cosmetics is more than just applying herbal ingredients on the skin: it is about interacting with the world of herbal medicinal beauty care and its underlying principles.
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True herbal medicinal cosmetics are cosmetics made from herbal ingredients based on the principles of herbal medicinal beauty care
The key of herbal medicinal cosmetics, above all, is radical, comprehensive skin treatment. Rather than dealing with the obvious problems that appear on the outside, herbal medicinal beauty care involves looking for what causes problems in pursuit of harmonized inner and outer beauty. In fact, Dongui Bogam says that women start to grow weak, look old and lose hair from the age of 35. It also says that in order to keep the skin firm and glowing while slowing down skin aging, the body must first have its strength restored. This principle is found in the way herbal medicinal cosmetics offer radical, comprehensive treatment to balance the skin and harmonize it from within to bring out its natural beauty.
This column is adapted from 'AMOREPACIFIC 70 years of Beauty History'
by AMOREPACIFIC Beauty Research Team.
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