Fashion, Music, Cuisine, and Design Unite 'K Sensibility'... October's 'Seoul Beauty Month'

Global Beauty Expo 'Seoul Beauty Week' Held for the First Time... Seoul Fashion Week, Seoul Design, and More to Follow in Relay

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 21st that it will hold 'Seoul Beauty Month' across the entire city of Seoul for 34 days from the 30th of this month to November 2nd.

Seoul Beauty Month is a new attempt to brand Seoul as the city that comes to mind when thinking of 'beauty' by expanding the concept of beauty beyond the limited areas of cosmetics and beauty, and integrating it with globally popular K-culture, content, design, lifestyle experiences, and tourism. The goal is to develop it into a representative festival of Seoul by combining Seoul’s diverse emotional assets and tourism content.

Seoul Beauty Month will be held through a total of 10 events across three fields: Industry & Trend, Travel & Life, and Culture & Play.

In the industry sector, the scope of the beauty industry will be expanded by integrating emotional industries such as beauty, fashion, and design. Starting with the first week’s ‘Seoul Beauty Week,’ followed by the second week’s ‘Seoul Fashion Week,’ and continuing with ‘Seoul Design 2022’ and ‘Seoul Ring Week’ in the third and fourth weeks, these events will be held in a relay format to create synergy. Seoul Beauty Week, the first event of Seoul Beauty Month, is a large-scale global beauty expo held for the first time this year. It will take place in Dongdaemun and the DDP area, Korea’s fashion industry hub, with participation from global buyers and beauty influencers, featuring ‘Industry Days’ and ‘Festival Nights.’

Returning as a 100% on-site fashion show after three years, ‘Seoul Fashion Week’ will adorn downtown Seoul, centered around DDP and connecting Gwanghwamun Square and Dohwaseo-gil, with fashion and beauty. All 40 fashion shows will invite the general public to lower the barriers to fashion shows and serve as an opportunity to revitalize the atmosphere that had been subdued due to COVID-19.

'Seoul Design 2022' is Asia’s leading design industry MICE event that brings together several design festivals in Seoul, including Seoul Design Week and the DDP Design Fair. This year, it will be held for 15 days centered around DDP under the theme ‘Beautiful Life (A New Future After COVID-19).’ Visitors can experience design exhibitions, domestic and international corporate conventions, international conferences, design markets, and pop-up stores.

Proposals for Rest, Taste, and Style Experiences in Seoul... Revitalizing Tourism and Commercial Districts Linked with Restaurants and Accommodations

In the ‘Travel & Life’ sector, Seoul will hold ‘Beauty Travel Week’ and ‘Taste of Seoul’ under the themes of rest, taste, and style, allowing visitors to experience Seoul’s healthy lifestyle, heal, and pursue inner beauty. With participation from major commercial districts in Seoul, the festival aims to be a celebration involving citizens, tourists, and merchants alike.

'Seoul Beauty Travel Week' is an event where participants can experience rest, taste, and style proposed by Seoul through activities such as Hanok stays at Bukchon Huigyeomjae Hanok, herbal cafes, and Inwangsan cultural trekking around Jongno. It is an interactive program centered on about 30 local businesses including accommodations, restaurants, and galleries, offering a unique Seoul lifestyle experience.

'Taste of Seoul' offers the joy of ‘taste,’ an essential part of travel, showcasing Seoul’s diverse gourmet content at locations such as Sebitseom and the Oil Tank Culture Park. It introduces Seoul’s top 100 gourmet selections and 50 vegetarian options curated by culinary experts, hosts the Seoul Gourmet Awards, ‘Seoul Restaurant Week’ featuring local restaurants, ‘Taste of Traditional Markets and Hot Places,’ ‘Seoul Market Dining Pop-up,’ and ‘Seoul Gourmet Cinema,’ a fusion of gourmet and film, among various other programs.

Simultaneous Hosting of Representative Festivals such as Nodeul Island Music Festival and DDP Exterior Light Festival

In the ‘Culture’ sector, Seoul will focus on hosting representative cultural events such as the ‘Seoul Music Festival’ and ‘Seoul Light.’ Based on the interest and favorable perception of K-culture represented by BTS and Squid Game, the plan is to promote Seoul’s beauty industry and enhance the city’s charm.

‘Seoul Light,’ Seoul’s representative light festival utilizing the curved, irregular exterior walls of DDP, and the ‘DDP Autumn Festival: Viva Beauty’ will be held simultaneously. Various programs targeting the tastes of the MZ generation interested in beauty and fashion, such as fashion shows, flea markets, design cinema, and outdoor exhibitions by Jean Julien, will be prepared.

'Seoul Music Festival' is Seoul’s representative music festival held on Nodeul Island, where visitors can enjoy various music genres and enrich their emotions. In addition to performances, four beauty brands including Clio and Dear Dahlia will participate with experience booths such as finding one’s personal color, and a beauty talk concert hosted by beauty influencers is also planned. Following this, from October 10th for 12 days, the Seoul Upcycling Plaza will host ‘Seoul Upcycling Week ? ESG Citizen Yard Workshop, Beautiful Zero Waste,’ a beauty industry resource circulation experience event.

Hwang Bo-yeon, Director of Seoul’s Economic Policy Office, said, “By combining Seoul’s unique culture, emotional assets, and tourism content such as beauty, fashion, design, and music, we will develop Seoul Beauty Month, held for the first time this year, into a representative festival where beautiful emotional charm can be felt throughout Seoul. We will utilize it as an opportunity for ‘industrial development’ to experience changing trends and showcase various companies and technologies, building a beauty industry ecosystem where global beauty trends can be encountered in Seoul.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.