A view of the booth run by AmorePacific at the ASEAN-Republic of Korea K-beauty Festival Nov.25-26 at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center(Bexco) in Busan. (Photos: AmorePacific)

The Asean-Republic of Korea K-Beauty Festival, held from Nov. 25 to 26 at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (Bexco) showed off the future vision of the beauty industry that is expected to be a key area of cooperation between Korea and Asean nations.

Amorepacific ran the K-Beauty Harmony Zone exhibition booth during the festival under the slogan “Dreaming of a more Beautiful World.” The booth not only showed off some of Amorepacific’s most popular brands, but it also offered opportunities to consider possibilities for mutual growth with other companies.

The Amorepacific display proved popular with Kim Jung-sook, first lady of Korea, and the first ladies of six Asean countries who spent a considerable amount of time at the booth on Nov. 4.

Iriana Joko Widodo, first lady of Indonesia; Naly Sisoulith, first lady of Laos; Siti Hasmah, first lady of Malaysia; Cielito Avanceña, first lady of the Philippines; Naraporn Chan-o-cha, first lady of Thailand; and Tran Thi Nguyet Thu, first lady of Vietnam, joined Kim at the booth.

The first ladies were impressed by the revolutionary digital technology on display, which hinted at new opportunities in the beauty industry. The group all tried out the products available and were especially fond of some AmorePacific brands, including Sulwhasoo, Laneige and Innisfree.

One popular product on display was a customized sheet mask technology.

The device can produce sheet masks in just 5 minutes using a 3D printer after analyzing the face and skin type of the customer. The visiting first ladies were able to try creating their own personalized sheet masks.

The sheet mask system has already picked up an Innovation Award for CES 2020, the world’s biggest electronics exhibition.

The technology range doesn’t stop there. The first ladies were also able to try out the Iope Lab skin solution service, which uses skin analysis to recommend the best products for customers.

Kim gave the other first ladies the customized beauty device, skin light therapy II and Innisfree’s mascaras as gifts.

The Blue House earlier gave all the first ladies participating in the 2019 ASEAN-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit a Sulwhasoo Timetreasure Luxury set.

AmorePacific first entered ASEAN in 1998 when it began operations in Vietnam. It has now expanded to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Through the K-beauty event, AmorePacific is planning to more aggressively target ASEAN markets, which follow the Chinese markets in terms of size.

South Korean first lady Kim and the spouses also visited the "Brand K zone" where they were briefed on K-beauty and products manufactured by the country's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by Park Young-sun, minister of SMEs and startups.

They also visited the “Korea-ASEAN zone” where Korean cosmetics companies showcased products using ingredients from ASEAN member countries, such as noni and peanut from Philippines and Myanmar.

The participants went on to participate in a program called “Dream Stage” where a Vietnamese student studying in South Korea spoke about her dream of becoming a beauty expert after she was inspired by K-pop and K-beauty.

Kim Jung-sook, first lady of Korea, leads the first ladies of six ASEAN countries around the K-beauty Festival who spent a considerable amount of time at the booth run by AmorePacific on Nov. 25.