[K-Women Talk] K-Beauty Scaling Up Rapidly... Experience Matters More Than Credentials for Employment

K-Beauty Rises as a Mainstream Force on KOSDAQ
High Employment Rates Among Women and Workers in Their 30s
Fierce Competition... Staying Ahead of Trends is Essential

If you're an investor, try guessing this: As of April, among the 11 companies on the KOSDAQ market with operating profits exceeding 100 billion KRW, five belong to a single industry. Which industry is it? The answer is not semiconductors or entertainment, but the beauty & medical device industry. For reference, Alteogen, which holds the top spot in KOSDAQ market capitalization, is still generating operating profits in the 20 billion KRW range.

The five top stars of the beauty & medical device sector, which has emerged as a mainstream force in KOSDAQ, are Hugel, Classys, PharmaResearch, Silicontwo, and VT. Hugel is known for Botox, Classys for its radiofrequency therapy devices, and PharmaResearch for fillers, all of which are categorized as medical device companies. Silicontwo is a distributor exporting Korean cosmetics overseas, and VT is a cosmetics brand famous for its Needle Shot product. If you add Amorepacific and APR from the KOSPI, along with major ODM companies and unlisted small and medium-sized enterprises, you have the full K-beauty ecosystem.

Those who remember the explosive growth of Korean beauty driven by Chinese demand in 2015, followed by a sharp decline to one-third of its peak, will notice that today's list of K-beauty companies is markedly different from a decade ago. Back then, the Korean Wave was centered on brands like Sulwhasoo, Whoo, and The Face Shop. Today, the ecosystem includes ODM companies such as Kolmar Korea and Cosmax, packaging companies like Yonwoo and Pumptech Korea, beauty and medical device companies such as Hugel and Classys, export platforms, marketing agencies, and regulatory consulting firms, all interconnected to form a vast industrial ecosystem.

Industry experts say, "Ten years ago, growth was brand-centered, but now it is driven by technology and infrastructure connected to the medical market." One example symbolizing the K-beauty ecosystem is Hollywood star Selena Gomez manufacturing her brand Rare Beauty at C&C International and sourcing packaging from Yonwoo.

The K-beauty market, connected through its value chain, is creating more employment opportunities. There are over 10,000 companies with manufacturing records and more than 100,000 employees. It is one of the few sectors where the employment rate for women is higher than for men, with a particularly high proportion of employees in their 30s. While the number of employees in the apparel, chemical, and telecommunications industries is declining, employment in this sector continues to grow.

From a job seeker's perspective, the industry also offers a promising future. The aforementioned beauty and medical device companies not only export based on their core technologies but also offer opportunities such as stock options and M&A. Many ODM companies are mid-sized firms offering starting annual salaries of over 50 million KRW and performance bonuses reaching 200%. Brand companies range from large corporations to one-person startups, and with so many companies, there are ample opportunities to move from smaller firms to larger ones. Marketing and distribution agencies also provide the potential to launch one's own brand or agency in the future.

However, competition in this field is extremely intense, both domestically and internationally. With hit products such as soft jelly-type lip items and hydrogel packs that won't slip off even if you sleep with them on being released daily, just keeping up with new products is overwhelming. On top of that, you need to add your own "planning" and "ideas." Regardless of your role?product developer, marketer, or otherwise?you must be prepared to give your all. The pace of change in the industry and the level of fatigue among workers are directly proportional.

Fortunately, this industry values "experience" over academic performance or educational background. Those who enjoy competition and are driven to win, who can quickly identify and embrace trends, and who possess the analytical skills to compare the strengths and weaknesses of various products, are highly welcomed. The challenge is that your experience must be deep enough to become a beauty influencer yourself or to launch and sell your own product. So, knock on the door before it's too late.

Lee Sukeun, Publisher of The Framework of Employment