Foreign influencers look at cosmetics from a Korean company at the event “Winter Paradise – A Touch of Gold” at Hotel Naru Seoul – MGallery, December 3. (Courtesy of Julia Kim)

On December 3, a remarkably diverse crowd of women packed into the Hotel Naru Seoul – MGallery. The boutique hotel overlooking the Hangang River was the site for a celebration of newly released Korean beauty products.

Titled “Winter Paradise – A Touch of Gold,” the event was organized by the K-beauty-focused marketing agency Kworld Media to help unlock the potential diversity and inclusivity of Korean cosmetics. Products from about 20 Korean cosmetic brands were on display, including well-known, influential companies such as Medicube, Wishcompany, Urang and Purito, as well as up-and-coming firms like Skin1004 and Mixsoon. They were participating for the chance to get their products into the hands of the women attending, most of whom are foreign nano to mega influencers living in Korea.

“I mostly work with foreign influencers who live in Korea as students, models or content creators. They use platforms like YouTube, Instagram or TikTok,” said Fama Ndiaye, owner of Kworld Media, who estimates she has collaborated with about 100 influencers so far.

Ndiaye, who was born in Paris and has roots in Senegal, has been using Kworld Media to help guide Korean cosmetics firms to improve their inclusivity, thus unlocking new markets around the world.

“Companies understand now that if they want to go global they need to be more diverse,” she said. “I have two main criteria when I work with brands. Firstly, they need to be ready to have more inclusive marketing activities or already have some. Secondly, they need to be open to different approaches to working.”

Kworld Media’s Fama Ndiaye talks with foreign influencers during the “Winter Paradise – A Touch of Gold” event on December 3. (Courtesy of Julia Kim)

According to her, the K-beauty industry stands out because of its unique approach to cosmetics.

“These days we definitely see a big trend in vegan K-beauty products, but what always made Korean cosmetics special were its ingredients, packaging and innovative technology,” she said. “In a few years K-beauty has not only positioned itself as THE beauty hub but also as an industry that always provides high-quality products.”

But while she admits that Korean cosmetics tend to be high in quality, she says they tend to lack experience expanding abroad. That’s where she comes in – combining social media promotions, content creation and an army of foreign influencers who can promote products to their home countries all around the world.

Her agency has already held events in Korea and France and plans to host ones in Africa and the United States in 2023. In 2020, Kworld held KbeautyCon Paris, involving French influencers, Korean cosmetics brands and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA). All proceeds went to Solidarite Femmes, France’s largest association for female victims of domestic abuse.

Ndiaye has been following the Korean beauty industry since 2011, back when people knew mainly about BB cream and sheet masks. Thanks to the increasing popularity of Korean popular culture, including K-pop and K-dramas, she says the global interest in K-beauty has been growing exponentially.

“Fans of Hallyu see their favorite idols, celebrities and actors with perfect skin and try to emulate the same skincare routine or the same makeup looks,” she said. “That being said, catering to the Korean market is completely different from catering to the overseas market; therefore what works in Korea might not work for other markets.”

In the time since she arrived in Korea in 2016, she’s seen major improvements in how K-cosmetics are marketed across the world.

“We are definitely heading in the right direction. I can see that brands are open now to hiring models of every shape and size, which wasn’t the case before. They understand that being diverse and inclusive is not just about the typical one Caucasian girl, one Asian girl and one Black girl. It’s bigger than that,” she said. “I am actually so happy and so proud to see that there is so much more diversity in the Korean beauty industry, and I am glad that I was able to contribute to that change.”

Ndiaye has big plans in the works for K-cosmetics. She’s preparing the official launch of the podcast “A Dive into K-beauty” in January. Meanwhile, she’s also working with Mona Lisa Hanson, CEO of the luxury brand strategy agency BeLuxe, to create KbeautyFest, a global virtual event focused on the Korean beauty industry.