K-pop a boon for cosmetics shops

Kim Hyun-joong is looking at you. From a poster outside of a hair salon, from a shop window, in a TV commercial or on local social media sites, the South Korean singer and actor decorates various advertisements in Phnom Penh.

But it isn’t just about his music – it’s about a popular lifestyle and the art of making business out of it. Hyun-joong serves as a figurehead for shops that are swimming with the “Hallyu”, or “Korean Wave”: the popularity of the country’s culture that is spreading all over Asia.

Boosted by the attractiveness of Hallyu, South Korean-made cosmetics products – hair, skin and face care – have become top-sellers on the continent, and it seems like the Cambodian market is the next to be conquered. …

Data by the Korea Pharmaceutical Traders Association shows that exports of Korean-made cosmetics accounted for $1.067 billion in 2012, up 30.3 per cent from a year earlier.

Cambodia’s beauty business is gradually growing as incomes are rising and the country’s middle-class increases. …

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013062766507/Business/k-pop-a-boon-for-cosmetics-shops.html