Male hair designer looks overseas

Kim Song-jeong

By Choi Kyong-ae

Kim Song-jeong, 47, began his career in the beauty industry at the age of 23 when he was discharged from the army in 1991.

The veteran hair dresser and hair treatment-related patent holder is one among scores of second-generation male hair dressers born in the 1960s.

“I joined the army at age 20 and happened to cut the hair of my fellow soldiers. After finishing military duty, I decided to get a job in the beauty business which was dominated by women,” Kim told The Korea Times.

Back then, it was hard to find a male designer at hair salons when he started his apprenticeship at a shop near Hongik University in Mapo, southwestern Seoul, due to the deep-rooted stereotype which regarded the job of hair dressing as belonging to women, not men, he said.

Kim runs his own shop in Yeongdeungpo-gu, western Seoul, where he sees two customers a day, four days a week. He has expanded the number of the franchise chain shops which use his patented technology that makes it possible for hair dressers to perm using heat without damaging their customer’s hair.

He obtained the patent for the technology in 2006. It made him famous in the beauty business and the technology has been widely used by hair dressers.

Kim didn’t stop there. To better serve his customers, he earned professional qualification in hairdressing at age 25 and taught students hairdressing skills at Eulji University for six years from 2001.

“After six years of teaching, I found it was more meaningful to train hair designers and introduce new perm-related technologies that did not hurt hair rather than teaching students at schools,”he said.

Given his annual income exceeds 100 million won, Kim recommended young graduates who have difficulty in finding work amid a prolonged economic slowdown to find a job in the beauty industry.

“Male hair designers are not rare any longer and are better positioned in the beauty business as they are physically stronger than their female counterparts. The job is increasingly popular with young male job seekers,” he said.

Looking forward, Kim is planning to expand the franchise chains to countries such as China, Vietnam and Indonesia to absorb a growing local demand for high-end hairdressing technology.

Kim, asked the government to help beauty businesses with subsidies when they export their technologies and products.