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By Rachel Lee
Hyper-trendy, beauty-conscious Korea has risen to leadership status in the world of nail art, which is positioned as a way of expressing individuality, fashion savvy and even humor.
Nail art, a meticulous business that turns manicures into art, uses nail polish, nail stickers and tiny jewels to decorate nails often lengthened with extensions to create certain looks. Nail artists boast their techniques with applicator brushes or small nail brushes, focusing on cuticles, tips or the entire canvas.
It is taking off in the United States and Europe and is already popular in Asia, including industry leaders Japan and China.
According to Statistics Korea, the size of the country's nail art industry reached 3 trillion won ($21 billion) last year. The number of nail art shops has seen a steady increase _ 1,683 in 2006 and 6,161 in 2012 _ and the number of employees in the industry also jumped from 4,040 in 2006 to 11,238 in 2012.
"The meaning of manicure in Korea has been transformed in the last decade," said Shim Soo-jin, a nail artist and a chief manager at the country's biggest nail salon brand Golden Nail.
"Until recently, painted nails with traditional shades dominated the Korean market. But the boom in nail art has turned the rules upside down. Consumers in a diverse range of all ages now see nail art as a way of expressing their individuality and fashion, opting for fancier and bolder jewelry and colors."
Japan has long been a leader of nail art trends with showy, colourful designs, which inspired Korea's nail art industry in the early 2000s, the chief manager said.
Thanks to the country's trend-sensitive beauty market, Korean nail art has begun to gain attention from around the world in recent years.
Jessica, a tourist from the U.S., told The Korea Times she was amazed at how trendy and sophisticated the designs Korean nail artists can create are, when she visited a salon in southern Seoul for the first time last December.
"Back in the U.S., there are a few places that do a great job in nail art, but it tends to be simple and limited. Every time, I wanted to try something new, but the techniques were not as good as Korea," she said.
Japan's nail art market has seen a steady growth since being introduced to U.S.-made artificial nails about four decades ago. The market size has doubled in a decade to $2.74 billion annually, according to the Japan Nailist Association (JNA), which said there are nearly 25,000 nail salons across the country as of last year.
The introduction of a soft gel that lasts for up to two months, far longer than traditional manicures which start chipping after about a week, has charged the sector.
