Career-interrupted middle-aged women turn to low-paying cosmetic clinical trials
Career-interrupted women in their 40s and 50s are funneled into minimum-wage skin tests as they struggle to reenter the job market. Korea Times illustration by Shin Dong-joon
When Kang Young-hee, 58, arrived at cosmetics testing firm H in September, her voice already carried fatigue. She had come to participate in a clinical trial for a new serum, something she has done for 10 years as a “skin part-timer,” but was turned away.
“They said the redness on my face disqualifies me. I guess I have to get treatment and try again,” she said. The stipend for the test was 20,000 won ($15), yet she booked a dermatology appointment costing more than that as she left the building.
Why persist through rejection and extra expenses? Kang said quietly, “This is the only work I can do. I can’t afford to fail the next one.”
Kang quit her job years ago due to marriage and child care. When she returned to the job market in her late 40s, she found the doors shut.
Competition was harsh, and she soon became what Korea calls a “career-interrupted woman.” Clinical trials seemed like the only option. “Offering my skin was the easiest thing,” she said.
For two months starting in August, the Hankook Ilbo interviewed 25 women who participate in clinical trials for cosmetics. Most described themselves as career-interrupted, and many were middle-aged. The global rise of K-beauty relies upon an invisible backbone: middle-aged women who lend their skin to research.
Unseen labor behind Korea’s beauty industry
Several women said they turned to these trials after failing to find steady work. Lee, 50, who left her job as a computer programmer two decades ago for child care, said she joined to “earn at least grocery money.” Min, 51, a former English instructor, said she needed “coffee money” and a sense of purpose.
Another woman, Kim, 44, said, “I kept failing to find a new job. My younger child once asked jokingly, ‘Mom, why don’t you earn money?’ Now I can say I do.”
For these women, participating in cosmetic clinical trials became a form of employment. Payment varies by test, but most earn between 20,000 and 30,000 won per session.
For someone with no income, even that is meaningful. One woman said she participates nearly weekly at multiple centers, sometimes choosing more painful or risky trials for slightly higher pay.
Across five years, she has taken part in roughly 50 tests. “I earn less than 200,000 won a month. If I use my face for a test, I try to increase income by doing scalp or hair tests at the same time,” she said.
Overwhelming reliance on middle-aged women
According to data obtained by Rep. Ahn Sang-hoon of the People Power Party from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, 328,952 people participated in cosmetic clinical trials from 2020 to 2024 at 19 testing institutions. Of them, 244,245 were aged 40 or older.
Women accounted for 327,790 of 350,843 total participants across 21 institutions, accounting for 93.4 percent. Male participants totaled just 23,053.
When the datasets are combined, the conclusion is stark: Middle-aged and older women overwhelmingly dominate participation.
Site visits by the Hankook Ilbo confirmed this. At testing center P in Seoul on the morning of Aug. 4, only two of 36 participants were men. The rest were middle-aged women. One participant, aged 46, said while leaving after a session, “Many moms in similar situations come here.”
The heavy concentration of middle-aged women reflects Korea’s persistent gender employment gap. According to the 2023 Women’s Economic Activity White Paper, the female employment rate in 2022 was 52.9 percent, compared to 71.5 percent for men.
But how much do women earn from these tests?
The Hankook Ilbo reviewed 483 test postings from companies P, H and D between Aug. 6 and Sept. 19. Of them, 86 paid less than the current minimum hourly wage of 10,030 won.
Some offered as little as around 6,000 won. One company explicitly said that delays under 20 minutes would not be compensated, without clarifying whether delays caused by the institution would be handled differently.
Most tests paid an average of 13,741 won per hour, slightly above minimum wage. Demand remains high, however, prompting some institutions to rely on mass text messages such as “three visits, 80,000 won” or “party members wanted,” using a gaming slang term for group recruitment.
Some even advertise tests as “a chance to try new cosmetics for free,” downplaying that they are research studies with potential side effects. Institutions often pay referral fees of about 20,000 won to encourage participants to bring friends.
“Unlike clinical drug trials, tests for cosmetics have no formal regulations on participant rights. Compensation and recruitment methods are left to each institution," a representative from a testing institution said.
Fear of being ‘blacklisted’
Despite low pay and unclear protections, many participants say they cannot complain. A 50-year-old woman with 10 years of experience said, “They’re the ones with power. We’re the ones who need the work. It’s not easy to speak up.”
She recalled asking for more explanation about a product. “The staff’s expression froze immediately. That’s when I realized it’s better to stay quiet.”
Fear of being barred from future tests is widespread.
Seo Jin-kyung, a homemaker, said she worries that reporting itchiness or discomfort would lead to being told to “go home,” meaning no payment.
A woman in her 30s said she joined around 50 tests but never voiced complaints. “Someone once asked why extra pay wasn’t given when the test ran longer than scheduled. After that, she was never called again. People said she had been blacklisted.”
Another participant, Lee Jong-hee, spoke in a hushed voice outside H’s building, repeatedly checking her surroundings. “If staff see me doing this interview, I could be kicked out,” she said before hurrying away.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.