North Korean Cosmetics
North Korea (NK)’s most popular cosmetic product of 2015 contains blank.
Okay, Mr. Eung-Soo Kim.
Ginseng, it contains ginseng.
Hahaha
NK’s best cosmetic product contains gold powder
Wow!
Recently in South Korea (SK), facial creams containing snail slime extracts are very popular.
Okay, let’s find out what the answer is.
NK’s most popular cosmetic product of 2015 contains...
a whole ginseng root!
Wait, a whole ginseng root?
Yes. Not just ginseng extracts but the whole root is in it.
Wait, wouldn’t that just be a health supplement drink?
Hahaha
Yeah. That’s a health supplement drink not a cosmetic product.
Professor Kang, so this really exists?
Yes, The Hallyu syndrome is pretty big in NK and the most popular Hallyu product is South Korean (SK) cosmetics.
(Hallyu: a term referring to the increase of popularity of SK culture since the late 90s)
However, although the SK cosmetics are very high in quality, a whole root of ginseng isn’t in any of the SK products.
So there are two cosmetics manufacturing facilities in NK.
One is called the Shin-Euijoo Cosmetics Factory and the other one is called Pyongyang Cosmetics Factory.
The cosmetics brand from the Shin-Euijoo factory is called “Spring Scent” and this brand’s products contain a whole root of the Kyeseong Koryo Ginseng in it.
(Kyeseong Koryo Ginseng: Ginseng grown in the Kyeseong City’s Koryo area in NK and it’s famous for its quality and expensive price
But what I am curious is if you go to NK restaurants and there are lots of foods with ginseng in them.
So those ginseng roots are authentic Kyeseong Koryo ginseng roots?
Yup. Usually in SK, just some percentage of ginseng extract is added to cosmetics
but in NK, the carefully selected, high quality Kyeseong Koryo whole ginseng roots are added to cosmetics.
Real ginseng roots?
Yup.
It’s not something that looks similar? like bellflowers?
They have ginseng liquor in NK.
Normal people can’t easily buy ginseng roots so it can be something like a bellflower or a kudzu root.
Since you guys all seem suspicious, we actually brought the ginseng cosmetic product here at the studio.
Really?
Please come out here.
The main ingredients are Kyeseong Koryo ginseng and its extracts, vegetable astringents, hydrophilic protein decomposition, and propylene glycol.
Should be stored in cool temperature for 2 years
The production date is April 24th, 2015.
Wow
Okay, let me open it.
Oh it’s not a cream-type.
Not a cream-type.
It’s a toner.
Skin water?
Skin water. Yes. In NK, toners are called skin water.
Oh so if there’s a ginseng in here, some ginseng water is going to be made.
Oh wow, there’s a real ginseng in here!
Oh my, that can’t be true.
Oh wow, it’s really in there.
What is that? A ginseng liquor? A snake liquor or what?
Hahaha
Isn’t this alcohol?
There is a ginseng in here.
This ginseng toner might get popular in SK next year.
Wait so putting ginseng in the toner actually has an effect?
This is pretty crazy.
Yeah it might.
I want to try it.
Please come here.
Let’s put it on and drink it too.
Oh it smells like ginseng. Hold on.
Yup. Yup.
Wow. Oh my god.
It’s a toner.
So this is called Skin water in NK?
Guys look at this.
My left hand without the toner and my right hand with the toner look different.
Yeah we can even drink this!
My hands got fairer!
Wow that’s amazing.
We want to try it too.
You know that there’s ginseng liquor in SK?
It smells just like that liquor.
It smells pretty similar to ginseng liquor.
Yeah, the smell of ginseng liquor.
Oh, but I think it also somewhat smells like the bellflower root.
Like disinfectants.
I mean I never try on cosmetics other than the one I normally use because I am really suspicious.
But we have a cosmetics expert here. Oh but this smells too much like rubbing alcohol.
It’s not bad at all.
No. But if the alcohol content was higher, then would this be ginseng liquor?
Yeah. If the alcohol content gets higher then it’s ginseng liquor.
It’s like rubbing alcohol.
Ah My skin feels cool.
It just feels like adding soju in a 1-year-old ginseng root.
(Soju: South Korean alcoholic beverage containing ethanol and water)
Hahaha
I mean, I saw Professor Kang’s face when we were using this toner.
And his face was like “Oh my god. Why are they using so much…”
This is the one and only product that exists in SK and you guys just started using a lot of it.
Oh no.
Yeah, Professor Kang’s face was like “Oh no. Stop it.”
Oh, so we weren’t supposed to use it today?
I agreed to introduce it at Now on my way to meet you but didn’t agree on actually using it.
Hahahaha
But you guys just start using it immediately. Originally it was only Eun-Hye that was going to try.
Professor Kang, we have used it this much but if you add some soju, no one will notice. It’s going to be the same.
Hahaha
No one will know. It’s the same thing.
Professor Kang, how much is this?
In SK currency, it’s 100,000won (100USD).
Wow!!
It’s about 100,000won.
Wow that’s expensive.
I mean the product contains Kyeseong Koryo ginseng root.
But how do you know that it’s an authentic Kyeseong Koryo ginseng?
Kim Jong-Eun himself vouches for it.
What?
Shin-Euijoo cosmetics factory produces these ginseng cosmetic products.
Okay.
And when Kim Jung-Eun visited the Pyongyang cosmetics factory, he scolded the workers and asked them,
“Why can’t you guys make products like the “Spring Scent” from the Shin-Euijoo factory?”
Ah…
Okay Ms. Soo-Hyang,
Yeah. The Spring Scent products aren’t easy to purchase.
It’s because these products aren’t meant for domestic sales but NK produces them only for foreign sales.
Ah…
So when I purchased this product from someone he told me to not tell anyone that I bought it from him.
And I asked him why and he said because he acquired the products illegally.
Because they are meant for foreign sales.
Yeah. He said to not tell anyone where it’s from but just use it.
And during the winter in NK, the weather gets so cold and dry so your hands start to get very chapped
but my hands felt very smooth after I used the Spring Scent lotion.
Oh really?
I mean, just this one product costs 100,000won but can’t you buy 500kg (1100lbs) of rice?
A rumor that the Spring Scent products are very good got spread among the wives of rich families in Pyongyang.
So these wives started to bribe the Spring Scent company.
They bribed to get the undiluted version of the product and now this version started to get very popular in NK.
And these wives’ faces look definitely different. They shine.
I mean I think a couple might get more affectionate with each other with the help of these ginseng cosmetics.
When some women get old and they put this ginseng toner on their faces, the husbands will go crazy for them.
Yeah they might start to lick the wives’ faces.
Oh they might have a child even when they are in their 60s.
Ms. Yun-Mi Choi, what other cosmetic products have you heard of?
The one we have here is a toner but the one I bought was a lotion-type with a whole ginseng in it.
Yeah I bought a lotion.
And the lotion also had a whole ginseng root in it too?
Yeah. A whole ginseng root in it.
Anything else? I mean this might sound like a joke any other cosmetics with real gold in it?
Yeah I’ve used a product with real gold in it before.
Oh you have?
Not sure if it’s real gold or not but it had pearls.
Oh a power?
Yes. A powder with pearls and when you put it on, your face starts to shine.
Oh and you call that a gold powder. Right?
Yeah. It looked pretty when you use it.
In NK, there is a cosmetic line called “You and me” from the same company as the Spring Scents.
You and Me?
Oh to target younger people?
Yeah. It’s for people in our age but if you buy a fake one, it’s just water.
But if you buy the authentic one, it is very high in quality.
Imported cosmetic products from foreign countries are somewhat poisonous
so you might get some pimples on your face when you use them.
But since the NK cosmetic products have all natural ingredients,
you can use it as much as you want with no breakouts.
So “You and me” products were also 100USD. It was very expensive.
Mr. Lee-Hyuk Kang, were you surprised to see makeup advertisements when you first came to SK?
Oh definitely.
When I saw the makeup ads here,
men who are famous actors will put on some lotion or makeup
on their face and their skin got very smooth and moisturized.
Hahaha
And I thought, ‘What the heck are they doing?’
Hahaha
In NK, men don’t know what make up is. They don’t understand words like lotion or cream.
But do you use lotion or cream now?
Yeah I use them now.
Hahaha
In NK, there’s no such thing as ads.
When I was young, I watched a lot of Chinese TV channels because there weren’t enough channels in NK.
And when you are watching a drama, it just stops in the middle and a product gets introduced all of a sudden.
I never knew that was an ad.
Oh…
When I go to the market few days later, those products on Chinese TV were available.
So that’s when I realized that it was an advertisement.
So I started to pay attention to a lot of ads and will go to the market later to see if those products I saw on TV were available or not.
Ms. Yun-Mi, Hold this and say “Ginseng isn’t something you eat but is for your skin.”
(“Ginseng isn’t something you eat but is for your skin.” is a popular advertisement copy in SK)
Hahaha
It fits her. Really!
Will she get casted for an ad?
Ready
Ginseng isn’t something you eat but is for your skin.
Hahaha
Ah, It’s so awkward.
Okay Ju-Yeon. Get ready. We’ll cast a model here for an ad today.
Okay. The selected person will partner up with Mr. Soo-Won Jang.
Ready, Action!
Ginseng isn’t something you eat but is for your skin.
Cut! Okay Next.
Ready, Action
Instead of a cup of Americano, Have a whole ginseng.
Okay we’ll have a professional model show us an example.
Ms. Ah-Ra, who’s studying hard to become a professional model
You’ll do well. Please give us a close-up because she has some experience in modeling.
Oh She’s pretty good.
Ready, Action
Whitening and Pores. Ah…
I am sorry. She needs to work on her memories.
Hahaha
She doesn’t have to say anything.
You can just create your own copy.
Let’s just use a voice actor.
Ready, Action!
(in Chinese) This will moisture your skin and will make it look fairer.
Okay. We cannot ignore her rival.
Me?
Okay. President Jang, You can only pick one person for your ad.
Ready Action!
Would you like to have a smooth baby skin? Then how about using Ginseng Cosmetics?
Wow!
Maybe Eun-Ha is the one taking acting classes these days, not Ah-Ra.
Okay. It’s time to pick a model for the ad.
The model with the Americano copy usually targets rich people.
So which model?
The model with Americano copy is already decided for the ginseng liquor ad.
I think the best one is the last person.
Ms. Eun-Ha Shin
Thank you!
How much is she getting paid for a year?
Her salary will be 600kg of Rice.
600kg
600kg of Rice
Hahaha
Yes. 600kg of Rice
The Kim Jong-Eun regime is arduously putting efforts to heighten the quality of NK cosmetic products.
