'500 Won at Daiso' vs. '13,000 Won from Gu Hye-sun'... What Makes These Hair Rollers Different?

"Good performance, but price is excessive," critics say

From KAIST graduate to entrepreneur

Actor Gu Hye-sun wearing the newly released hair rollers. Screenshot from Naver Store

There is ongoing debate online about the price of the portable hair rollers released by actress Gu Hye-sun. Some argue that the price is excessively high, while others claim it is reasonable considering the convenience and celebrity branding.

In January, Gu Hye-sun revealed the sales website, link, and price for “Kurole” (Gu Hye-sun Hair Roll) through her social media accounts. The price is 13,000 won per piece, or 25,000 won for two.

After the price was made public, some people commented that it was “expensive.” This is because similar products at Daiso, a fixed-price household goods store, sell for around 500 won each, and even higher-end models typically range from 4,000 to 5,000 won.

According to Gu Hye-sun’s team, unlike standard cylindrical hair rollers, “Kurole” is designed to be flattened for portability and can be bent into a cylindrical shape when in use to curl hair. It also uses a special material with shape-retaining properties, and up to four stages of outsourced processing are involved in manufacturing, which reportedly increases production costs. They explained that the price is set higher because it is not a simple plastic product.

Goo Hye Sun Hair Roll. Goo Hye Sun Instagram

One online user commented, “Existing hair rollers were inconvenient, but this one provides good volume and is easy to use,” while another said, “It’s excessively expensive. I understand the design intentions and material differences, but the price is just too much.”

Meanwhile, in January, Gu Hye-sun passed the master’s thesis review at KAIST graduate school and graduated early. She initially started her studies in 2011 at Sungkyunkwan University’s Department of Film, but paused her academic career due to her entertainment activities. She re-enrolled in 2020 and graduated at the top of her class in February 2024 with a GPA of 4.27 out of 4.5. In June of the same year, Gu Hye-sun announced that she was admitted to the 2024 fall semester Master of Science program at the KAIST Graduate School of Science Journalism.

Gu Hye-sun made her entertainment debut as a commercial model in 2002 and gained recognition after appearing in the 2004 MBC sitcom “Nonstop 5.” She rose to stardom through works such as the drama “Boys Over Flowers” (2009) and “Blood” (2015). In addition to acting, she has been active in various fields such as film directing, composing, and painting.

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