Participants of the K-Beauty Sustainability Summit pose for a group photo at the Global Startup Center in southern Seoul, Jan. 23. Courtesy of MONA
As Korean beauty brands gain global popularity, combined with innovation and affordability, foreign entrepreneurs and startup founders in the country are also taking notice.
On Jan. 23, the first-ever K-Beauty Sustainability Summit was held in English at the Global Startup Center in southern Seoul's Yeoksam-dong neighborhood. Over 100 foreign participants, including industry leaders, innovators and professionals, attended the event, which focused on the future of sustainability and inclusivity in the global K-beauty industry.
The summit featured a panel discussion, moderated by Quinn Phan, CEO of MONA and organizer of the event, where pioneering women entrepreneurs shared their insights on sustainability, diversity and innovation within the K-beauty landscape.
The event also included a holistic skin care workshop led by AGASKIN CEO Fama Ndiaye, a Senegal-born French entrepreneur. In it, participants engaged in mindful beauty practices to enhance their skin care routines and well-being.
It also showcased booths featuring vegan cosmetic brands, with MONA's booth offering surplus skin care products from its partners as a demonstration of the surplus redistribution campaign.
In her opening remarks, Phan expressed her gratitude to the participants, beauty brands and the venue in highlighting the summit's success. "The K-Beauty Sustainability Summit reflects the beauty industry's readiness to embrace sustainable practices and inclusivity," she said. "By providing opportunities for more dialogues and collaborations, we aim to inspire and raise awareness about sustainable practices among businesses and individuals."
Layers Cosmetics CEO Yuna Kim, from left, MONA CEO Quinn Phan, Picky Product Manager Karol Campos and AGASKIN CEO Fama Ndiaye pose for a group photo before a panel talk for the K-Beauty Sustainability Summit at the Global Startup Center in southern Seoul, Jan. 23. Courtesy of MONA
One of the panelists was Karol Campos, the Brazilian product manager of Picky, a local company that connects K-beauty brands to global influencers and content creators in general.
"K-beauty is a market that is skyrocketing right now," she told The Korea Times. "There is so much interest globally, especially from the U.S., Europe and a lot of different places. So, we help brands expand and become more well-known in global markets. We have a lot of different services for user-generated content creators and also more specialized campaigns with influencers from different niches, so if a brand is looking to expand to a particular country or area, we can help them with the marketing and with the ideas on how to position their brand and how to talk to these new consumers."
The summit provided valuable networking opportunities, allowing businesses and professionals to exchange ideas and explore collaborations focused on driving innovation in sustainable beauty. Attendees were also inspired by the summit's focus on women's empowerment and inclusivity.
MONA is a circular economy startup that is dedicated to promoting sustainability and inclusivity through innovative solutions. Its B2B services include surplus redistribution to reduce waste and support local communities, as well as environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) reporting and marketing to enhance business transparency. MONA also offers ESG education to empower companies and students to adopt sustainable practices.
The Global Startup Center is a newly opened space that offers free coworking space, meeting rooms, phone booths and tailored support, a comprehensive environment to foster foreign entrepreneurs' growth in Korea. It is supported by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.
Jay Kim, the center's program lead, told The Korea Times that the center is for foreign entrepreneurs who are moving to Korea, already moved to Korea or who want to move to Korea to start a business here.
Bereket Alemayehu is an Ethiopian photo artist, social activist and writer based in Seoul. He's also the co-founder of Hanokers, a refugee-led social initiative and freelance contributor for Pressenza Press Agency.