Beauty is Paid: A Multimodal Discourse Analysis on South Korean Skincare Advertorials
Location
Golden Eagles
Start Date
1-5-2026 11:40 AM
Department
Linguistics
Abstract
Korean skincare is all the rave worldwide. With the continuous globalization of Korean beauty and skincare, especially in the United States, different products are being marketed towards multiple audiences. This project examines the language of Korean skincare to investigate whether "advertorials" differ from a Korean audience to an American audience. How does the presentation of the product differ from the native Korean audience to an American audience? What type of implications can be inferred about Korean and American society from the presentation of the products? Six advertorials, three English and three Korean, were analyzed from Korean skincare brand Abib through the Olive Young global and Korean website. A multimodal discourse analysis framework (Ledin & Machin 2020) was used to observe the advertorials and factors such as: color, presentation of information, organization of information, pictures of models, along with both the use of English and Korean text. The text was analyzed and translated with Papago, a Korean translator, to see if translation is in agreement or if it is competing with each other. This multimodal analysis shows that Korean and American audiences perpetuate the action of consumerism. For example, one advertorial for the Abib Glutathisome Dark Spot Serum Vita Drop indicated that both audiences should look into the Glutathisome line if they wanted to achieve “flawless skin” said in the Korean advertorial or “flawless glow”, said in the English advertorial. Items from the Glutathisome line differed for different audiences. Korean audiences were suggested to buy a three step routine that included the dark spot serum while American audiences were suggested buy glow infusion toner pads in tandem with the dark spot serum. This language is indicative of a beauty standard that is rooted in whiteness being the end goal through participation in consuming the product (Chong 2023). Where Korean advertorials were more focused on preventative measures that consumers should take to achieve a beauty standard, English advertorials suggest that partaking in consuming Korean skincare products was not to attain a beauty standard but to indulge in the “luxury” that Korean skincare provides.
Faculty Sponsor
Rick Hallett
Beauty is Paid: A Multimodal Discourse Analysis on South Korean Skincare Advertorials
Golden Eagles
Korean skincare is all the rave worldwide. With the continuous globalization of Korean beauty and skincare, especially in the United States, different products are being marketed towards multiple audiences. This project examines the language of Korean skincare to investigate whether "advertorials" differ from a Korean audience to an American audience. How does the presentation of the product differ from the native Korean audience to an American audience? What type of implications can be inferred about Korean and American society from the presentation of the products? Six advertorials, three English and three Korean, were analyzed from Korean skincare brand Abib through the Olive Young global and Korean website. A multimodal discourse analysis framework (Ledin & Machin 2020) was used to observe the advertorials and factors such as: color, presentation of information, organization of information, pictures of models, along with both the use of English and Korean text. The text was analyzed and translated with Papago, a Korean translator, to see if translation is in agreement or if it is competing with each other. This multimodal analysis shows that Korean and American audiences perpetuate the action of consumerism. For example, one advertorial for the Abib Glutathisome Dark Spot Serum Vita Drop indicated that both audiences should look into the Glutathisome line if they wanted to achieve “flawless skin” said in the Korean advertorial or “flawless glow”, said in the English advertorial. Items from the Glutathisome line differed for different audiences. Korean audiences were suggested to buy a three step routine that included the dark spot serum while American audiences were suggested buy glow infusion toner pads in tandem with the dark spot serum. This language is indicative of a beauty standard that is rooted in whiteness being the end goal through participation in consuming the product (Chong 2023). Where Korean advertorials were more focused on preventative measures that consumers should take to achieve a beauty standard, English advertorials suggest that partaking in consuming Korean skincare products was not to attain a beauty standard but to indulge in the “luxury” that Korean skincare provides.