For the first time EVER! A marketing company, Soak Lifestyle, run by an absolute girl boss, Judy Kim, is putting bloggers, YouTubers, content creators, and the like together over brunch. I know you’ve heard of this concept before in the US or Europe, but this hasn’t been done with the foreigner market in Seoul, Korea.
Korea does things differently and they are still very focused on Kpop bands as celebrities to look up to for influence. These groups are VERY manufactured. So what you are getting your “influence” from are decided by the marketing reps at these entertainment companies and most likely not from the individual themselves.. they are under tight scrutiny over every detail of their lives.
{why influencers play such a vital role in marketing}
That’s when REAL LIFE people come into play and why platforms like Instagram and YouTube literally blew up social media and now we know household names like Aimee Song (fashion), Camila Coelho (fashion), and Kayla Itsines (health and fitness) because of a very different media that were able to put real people in a relatable way at our fingertips and weren’t being told by marketing companies what content to produce. And the general public took notice. Soon, actors and models weren’t “the face” of products as much as they used to be. Now I will caveat that once you become very popular like Aimee Song, you may have marketing companies help run your media accounts and such, but initially, that’s now how it works. We as content creators decide what to put out and how to do it.. people value the genuine and unbiased opinions.
Enough about the background of the “influencer” start. Judy Kim recognized a need that there wasn’t this type of networking going on in Korea, at least not on a noticeable scale, especially with foreigners. If you are Korean and attend Korean events there will 100% be a language barrier so you won’t really get anything out of it if you can’t understand. She created Soak and recently held her second Soak Brunch at Urban Space in MyeongDong in Seoul.
{networking, networking, networking}
The attendance list was quite impressive with a massive range from US, UK, Brazil, and Korean attendees, among other locations, could communicate and relate to each other that networking in Korea as a foreigner is quite difficult. I’ve been living in Korea for almost 3 years and it’s the first place that’s been hard to really connect with people who have the same likes and interests. Not to say the friends we’ve made haven’t been amazing. There was just something missing.. A group of like-minded individuals that empower rather than put down. Feeding off of that energy and essentially raising each other up, i.e. fellow creators in all capacities.
I met so many amazing people at the brunch and wondered where they were all hiding all these years. I truly missed group brunches from the US. Fact: when I lived in Hawaii, about 20 of us would get together every single month with a theme in mind – color coordinated – and it was a way to hang out with each other under normal sunlit conditions, i.e. not a club or bar and just chat, face to face, over brunch and adult beverages. We called ourselves the BABES WHO BRUNCH aka BWB. We always had a photographer friend taking pictures for us so we could have something to hold onto and changed the location each time – we all took turns on who would put together the brunch so it didn’t fall on the same people.. and this was years BEFORE Instagram for “content creation”. I guess we were ahead of the times. A way to genuinely hang out with others and just have FUN. This brunch reminded me of those Hawaii days and essentially what goes on now but with photo sharing opportunities in mind (duh!).
{Western versus Korean makeup techniques}
We were treated to a makeup tutorial by Rachel Kim who demonstrated Korean versus Western techniques using Korean makeup. The sponsors for the brunch were MemeBox, I’m Meme, Pony Effect, and Kaja Beauty. For hair, it was Umma Official. We were lucky to take home some serious swag to try from all the brands. I’m actually holding a giveaway RIGHT NOW held on Instagram. It’s super easy to enter, so be sure to go to this post to enter by March 19!
Korean Makeup Version on Christine of @vogueuplikethis
Western Makeup Version on Caitlin of @americangirlinasia
The techniques detailed the differences in Korean makeup styles such as softer features, a straighter eyebrow, light and airy lips, whereas in Western makeup, we typically have a lot of contouring, arched brows and full lips. I’m definitely more with the latter personally.
{thanks to Vineworks Korea and Fresh Code Salad}
Brunch was provided by Vineworks Korea who also treated us to a little wine tasting (another thing I didn’t know existed in Korea and will be heading to their brick and mortar location VERY soon) and Fresh Code Salad, who happens to be WeWork’s K-Creator Award Winner.. You can see that post here from the dinner I attended where WeWork announced the contest. I also attended the award ceremony where I got to see the confetti fly over the winner so it was cool to actually try the salads so soon thereafter.
We ended the brunch like most would assume by playing in the ball pit (think Chuck-E-Cheese minus the snot-filled grossness) and snapping pics at the aesthetically pleasing café. You all know I love my cafes and I love them covered in pink. This one had it all to include pink banana leaf walls, watermelon swings, and a platform where you could hook up your camera and it would take video/pictures of you as it rotated around 360 degrees. Total business idea because instead of the now boring photobooths, all parties need these 360 platforms!
If you are interested in attending a future event, check out Soak Lifestyles Instagram page and reach out. A community of empowerment, bonding, and maybe a little champagne.
++Some of the photos were provided by Wesley Chang (as noted)++