Known as one of the OGs in the Korean beauty world, Cho discusses competing with industry giants, centring her work on the notion of ‘jeong’ and launching her own skincare brand in Asia for the first time this month in the latest episode of Gen.T’s Crazy Smart Asia podcast
“People are shocked that I started Soko Glam with no expertise in skincare or beauty.” Charlotte Cho started the online K-beauty marketplace as a passion project with her husband Dave in New York in 2012, but the reality was that she was no expert in the products she was selling at the time. In fact, “I did not have a skincare routine. I washed my face with a bar of soap.”
But she learned on the job, and despite the steep learning curve, her audience responded positively—much to her surprise. Soko Glam and its blog, Klog, have since been credited with popularising K-beauty and its 10-step beauty routine in the United States.
Read more: Charlotte Cho, founder of Soko Glam on her new book, ‘The Little Book of Jeong’
Born and raised in California, Cho grew up seeing the media tout makeup more than skincare, which made her find the latter daunting. “I thought it was for old people. My friends around me were certainly not taking care of their skin either. The culture around me didn’t support those lifestyle habits,” she recalls.
It wasn’t until she moved to South Korea for a PR job that she started to appreciate the concept of looking after your skin. When her husband got the chance to attend business school in New York, she brought these lessons with her and they started Soko Glam.
In the latest Crazy Smart Asia podcast episode, Cho speaks with Gen.T’s Chong Seow Wei about bootstrapping her businesses, the intentionality in her work and setting trends that industry giants follow.
Here are a few excerpts from the conversation. Click the audio player below to listen to the full episode or subscribe via Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
On the concept of ‘jeong’
“Jeong is a word that is hard to describe, even if you’re Korean because it’s a feeling. It’s a feeling of a deep and emotional connection you could have with someone or something. It’s a beautiful part of Korean culture. And I wish to always remind myself to build that deep connection with others.”
On being intentional with her products
“It’s all self-funded, so I’m not pressured by any outside forces to create newness for the sake of increasing revenue. I like that I can create on my terms. And that intentionality has really spoken to the Then I Met You community.”
On connecting with a new audience
“I would say go for it. One of the biggest challenges of starting Soko Glam was how to change the mindset of American consumers to embrace Korean beauty. One of my favourite quotes is from Nelson Mandela, where he said, ‘It always seems impossible until it’s done.’”