Promoting Korean Beauty

The Organizing Committee for the 2013 Cosmetics & Beauty Expo, Osong is making the final touches to preparations, from expo programs to venue construction, to take care of 300 local and foreign businesses, 2,000 buyers, and one million visitors who are expected to flood the 24-day Expo from May 3 through 26 this year.

The Expo is co-organized by the Korea Food & Drug Administration, City of Cheongju-si, County of Cheongwon-gun and Chungcheongbuk-do Province, with support of the central government for the first time, as a cosmetics and beauty exhibition. The Chungcheongbuk-do provincial government has an ambitious strategy to grow Osong into a hub of cosmetics R&D and distribution as well as an educational center for the beauty service industry.

Furthermore, through the Expo, the provincial government plans to introduce lots of domestic cosmetics and beauty brands, which have so far stood under the shadows of some global brands, and play a pivotal role as an outpost of K-Beauty; a unique cultural trend of Korean cosmetics and beauty.

Here is an introduction of each zone of the Expo, showing everything from the origin of K-Beauty to modern cosmetics fused with cutting-edge science and technologies such as BT, IT and NT.

Five Zones to Satisfy Your Five Senses

The Expo is composed of five zones; Welcoming Site, Themed Site, Industry Site, Experience Site, and Communication Area.

Welcoming Site: After passing the entrance, visitors can find five pine trees and five “Osong brothers and sisters,” the Expo’s official characters, welcoming them. If you are not sure which way to go first, please ask at the information desks found in various locations. If you are a smartphone user, you can also access expo information through blogs, twitter and Facebook.

Themed Site: Here are two pavilions; World Beauty Pavilion and Bio-Beauty Pavilion. In the World Beauty Pavilion, you can find the value of beauty expressed in different ways depending on time and geographical location. This site shows the history of cosmetics through beautiful people from from around the world. In particular, it provides three-dimensional images of secret makeup techniques used by Hwang Jin-i, Shin Saimdang and Queen Inhyeon, known as beautiful women in Korea’s Joseon Dynasty era. Through Korean cosmetics’ 100-year history, you will be able to discover the excellence of K-Beauty.

The Bio-Beauty Pavilion introduces cutting-edge bio and science technologies that combat the aging process and keep the skin young. In particular, you can learn about the cosmetics and beauty industries’ future vision that Osong offers with a fusion of advanced technologies in the bio and medical fields and its neighboring Ochang’s nano and information technologies. You will also have the opportunity to check your own skin condition.

Industry Site: This site is composed of Cosmetic Industry Pavilion, Beauty Industry Pavilion, Beauty Market, Contest Center, and Academic Conference.

In the Cosmetic Industry Pavilion, cosmetic companies from home and abroad will exhibit major and new products. This is an industrial hall where B2B transactions can be made. Approximately 500 domestic and foreign buyers will participate.

In the Beauty Industry Pavilion, domestic and foreign manufacturers of beauty supplies exhibit their biggest and latest products. This is another industrial hall where B2B and B2C transactions can be made. About 500 buyers from many countries will participate. Beauty educational organizations, associations, groups and research institutes will also have exhibition booths.

In the Beauty Market are brand shops selling foreign and domestic cosmetic products and beauty supplies. You can try the products for comparison and purchase them at discounted prices.

In the Contest Center, roughly 10,000 professionals and students will compete in the areas of hair, makeup, nail art and skin care. You can enjoy beauty shows where native and foreign experts will showcase their skills.

Five international conferences, including ISO/TC 217 Working Group Conference and three local conferences, are scheduled to be held in the Academic Conference hall during the Expo period. The academic conferences, with more than 500 experts in cosmetics and beauty from 20 countries, will boost the Expo’s international status.

Experience Site: Five pavilions are built on this site. The main culprit of rough skin, wrinkles and blemishes is stress! Here in the Healing Experience Pavilion, you can experience healing beauty using phytoncide from the pine tree forest, music, massage, light and dark, and water.

In the Beauty Experience Pavilion, a total of 13 booths provide opportunities to experience color makeup, nail art, tattoos and hair styling. You can directly consult professionals about your skin, scalp and hair style. Furthermore, there is space for children’s beauty experience as well as actual job experience, such as cosmetics developer, a makeup artist, and hair designer, etc.

The Korean Wave Culture Pavilion introduces the beauty of Korea created by a 5,000-year-old Korean civilization and culture. You can understand the underlying power of Korea, which has grown to a nation renowned for K-Pop, K-Beauty and advanced IT, through its traditional housing, daily life tools, nature and ancestors’ way of living.

In the World Beauty Doll Pavilion, approximately 600 dolls wearing 100 national traditional clothing will be exhibited, showing each nation’s unique beauty well. Song Gi-min, the former president of the Jeungpyeong Culture Center, collected those dolls while travelling all over the world, and gladly donated them for the Expo.

Communication Area: Outside the Expo is a large flower garden and poppy garden, while inside the Expo is a British garden. There is one main restaurant, two cafeterias, snack bars and beverage stands. Those with lunch box can have lunch under canopies. In the main concert hall, you can enjoy themed performances, as well as opening and closing ceremonies.

New Hub of the World’s Cosmetics and Beauty Industries

The Expo venue Osong located in Chungcheongbuk-do is known for being the largest industrial cluster of bio and medical organizations in Northeast Asia, including Osong Bio-Health Science Park, the nation’s only bio-industry complex; High-Tech Medical Complex; Korea Food & Drug Administration; and six government-run bio-industry institutions. Osong is the nation’s only location where research and development, manufacturing, and administrative support are all possible in one area.

Osong is only five minutes away from Osong Station, on the KTX Gyeongbu and Honam lines. It is easily accessible from anywhere in the nation by KTX and national railway. It is also close to Cheongju International Airport and seven national highways. Indeed, Osong is a hub of transportation; being well-connected nationally and internationally.

Through the successful hosting of the Expo, the Chungcheongbuk-do provincial government expects citizens from around the world will enjoy K-Beauty, and that Osong will emerge as a new hub of global cosmetics and beauty industries.