Anti-ageing serum, this is good… collagen face masks… take these… just push your way through… now the queue — good luck!” The Standard is being helped through K-Beauty emporium Olive Young, which despite it being nearly midnight, is heaving to such a degree that this lanky Englishman is in danger of being trampled underfoot by young Koreans. Beauty never sleeps, and neither does Seoul. With its Blade Runner ad screens and public Pop Art and hip shoppers, you might say it’s the modern equivalent of Swinging London, given its worldwide cultural impact. K-Pop, K-Drama, K-Beauty, Squid Game, Parasite, Park Chan-wook, Son Heung-min (Spurs’ loss is advertising’s gain), K-Pop Demon Hunters… South Korea is booming.
