Culture, art and beauty
This South Korean skincare brand is big on all three. CARINA KOH delves into its latest exhibition.
It’s common knowledge that South Korean skincare brand Sulwhasoo is passionate about helping women achieve beautiful skin, but did you know that it feels just as strongly about art as well? In fact, the brand has been holding an annual art exhibition – the Sulwha Cultural Exhibition – since 2009, which features works by South Korean artists that are centred on celebrating traditional Korean culture.
Take last year’s edition for example. Titled Once Upon A Time: A Tale Of Crape Myrtle, it told the traditional Korean folk tale of a small shing town, where a young maiden has to be sacriced to a python. The male protagonist, who’s in love with the maiden, goes to battle the python and promises to return. Though he is victorious, the maiden mistakenly thinks he has died and, in a Romeo-andJuliet- esque twist, takes her own life. She is then reborn as a crape myrtle (a red ower).
The exhibition, held last year at Blue Square Nemo Gallery in Seoul from Nov 24 to Dec 19, featured installation artworks by young South Korean contemporary artists, such as Kim Chaewon and Yoon Minseop, that portray the tale.
The brand’s love for Korean arts and culture even extends to its products, which are largely inspired by traditional Asian philosophy and made with Asian medicinal herbs such as ginseng and Japanese cornelian cherry.
One of our favourite products is Sulwhasoo Capsulized Ginseng Fortifying Serum ($238), now available in a limited-edition 50ml bottle (it usually sells as a 30ml bottle). The star ingredient in this serum is an encapsulated form of red ginseng, which reportedly helps strengthen the skin and diminish the look of wrinkles. We love how its silky formula absorbs into skin within a minute.