Unlimited challenge,

high school and adult make-up

at Coex Mall on May 8   

International Cosmobeauty Contest (ICC) 2009 was held at Coex Mall on May 8. 2000 Participants and spectators gathered together in the contest, where  500 high school students and 300 adults took part in the IHCC 2009.  

Total given time was 40 minutes for bride and fashion makeup and 90 minutes for character or fantasia makeup. In the contest, the most interesting thing was body painting. Four hours were given for the body-painting participants.  

Musical actor, Hyeongkyun and musical actress, Yoojin Kim sang romantic songs on the stage when the contests were done, which provided the audience with full of joys and happiness. 

An International Art Fair will be held in October. Makeup artists from China, the Philippines, Thailand, and other countries will come and participate in the international contest.    

Are they doing well in the contest?  

Professor Ho Bae with the Department of Cosmetics & Beauty said while the contest was going on, “When a participant wears a dress, the dress, makeup, and other things will be expensive. As you see, today participants don’t wear dresses and only use makeup in the contest, which is really amazing and fantastic. It is really hard for the examiners to judge the art. In the cases of character or fantasia, their arts are really outstanding.”        

Makeup is an art. The crucial judgment is how to make characters’ shapes. Tiger or Dracula can be created. To express beautiful arts is very difficult without characteristic clothes. But the participants did really good jobs.  

Nevertheless, it is pitiable that the number of fantasia participants is extremely small. Against this backdrop, that part is still uneasy for students to deal with it.  

Korea is the forehead for the beauty sector. We use Korean style methods, whether it is a makeup or hair or nail arts. It is no doubt that handcraft or beauty art in South Korea is on the top rank.  

Previously people from China or South-East Asia came to Korea to learn the cosmobeauty, but these days people from Europe or North America have come here.  

In the past, France was an outstanding country for people to follow the country’s trends or style. These days it has changed. The professor said that he thinks that South Korea is the most leading nation of the beauty industry in the 21st century.  

Would you give a tip of word for the intermarriage women married to Korean men or foreigners who are interested in Korean cosmobeauty?  

Yoonyoung Choi, Vice-Chairman with Koreamakeup Artist Association said that the intermarriage women married to South Korean men or foreigners who are interested in Korean cosmobeauty have been affected by what is called Korean Wave.

As a matter of fact, Korean makeup comes into the spotlight on the global stage. The field is professional and sexual discrimination doesn’t also exist.  

Vice-Chairman Choi suggested, “Even though they have a language barrier, learn the Korean cosmobeauty skill with full confidence, then you will get satisfaction from your job and add another carrier on your resume.”  

 - Reporter Heesoo Jung