Beauty Trends
From “Wanghong experiences” to “Wangjing cosmetic surgery”: Why Korean Millennials and Gen Z follow Chinese beauty trends
The Great Wall or Shanghai’s night skyline may first come to mind when thinking of travel to China, but today’s Korean millennials and Gen Z have somewhat different reasons for going. In Shanghai and Beijing, the ‘wanghong experience’ has become a new must-do activity.
‘Wanghong’ combines wangluo (网络), meaning internet, and hongren (红人), meaning star: simply put, an influencer. In China it has become an everyday term for an entire influencer style, including makeup, clothes and even photographic color grading. Experiencing that atmosphere firsthand is the wanghong experience now popular among travelers. This past September, a video of entertainer Kim Sook enjoying it with chef Jung Ji-sun on Kim Sook TV also attracted attention.
The experience involves Douyin-style makeup, traditional Chinese clothing and professional or street snapshot photography. According to data-analysis service Sometrend, mentions of ‘wanghong experience’ recently surged 27,800%, while mentions of ‘wanghong makeup’ also rose sharply. The response on YouTube is so strong that the most popular videos have millions of views. Well-known shops fill their bookings as soon as reservations open, and Korean customers face intense competition for photography packages. This shows how many Korean travelers want to experience the Chinese wanghong aesthetic themselves.
The craze naturally extends into appearance trends. Wang Jing, China’s most influential beauty influencer, has made her own face a brand and a benchmark. The plastic-surgery clinic where she works is booked months ahead, and even some Korean beauty YouTubers travel to China for consultations.
Recently, a video of Lamuqe, who has 1.15 million subscribers, consulting at Wang Jing’s clinic exceeded 340,000 views. Wang Jing attracted attention by revealing that she had received around 50 units of filler in her head alone. Consultations are conducted by a design director, not a doctor, and estimates center on filler and collagen injections. Lamuqe was quoted 28 million won, including 9 million won for filler alone. Ppoyongnyong, a YouTuber with 430,000 subscribers, received an estimate of 18.2 million won.
Definition is the standard of the Chinese influencer look—if you want to avoid cosmetic-surgery side effects
The Wang Jing style sharply emphasizes particular facial structures. The height of the forehead and glabella, support around the cheekbones and even the position of the inner eye corners are set almost like a formula. Wang Jing-type faces seen on Chinese social media have strong contours and pronounced depth. The problem is that the trend is encouraging excessive treatment. Comments such as ‘shiny at rest but bumpy when smiling’ and ‘filler has weight, so it sags over time’ are not uncommon. Some clinics even advertise surgery using implants as free of side effects, heightening safety concerns. A culture prioritizing quick results ends up putting the final look ahead of medical balance.
What if you want a fashionable face that photographs well on social media, but feel uneasy about excessive surgery? The most practical and safe alternative is lifting treatment. Ultherapy and Thermage effectively refine facial contours naturally and offer quick recovery. Ultherapy’s ultrasound energy encourages collagen production deep in the dermis to address cheek sagging beneath the cheekbones and an indistinct jawline. Thermage uses radiofrequency to increase surface firmness and smooth fine wrinkles and laxity. Combining the two as appropriate defines contours without overdoing them, creating a clear impression in photos and videos.
To refine the basic appearance of the skin, tone-brightening procedures can lighten the overall complexion. Pico toning and V laser reduce pigmentation and even the skin. If enlarged pores and sebum are concerns, Silky Pore Injection or skin Botox can make the surface more uniform. Shining Rejuran, Re2O using human-derived dermal tissue, and skin hydration injections strengthen the barrier and add clear radiance. An appropriate combination can create a naturally refined impression and defined facial contours without surgery.
China’s wanghong experiences and Wang Jing-style cosmetic surgery attract people through elaborate presentation and quick results. But safety and naturalness call for a medical approach suited to your own face instead of copying a trend outright. Behind dazzling social-media faces also lies the shadow of excessive procedures and side effects. For those who want to enjoy trends while caring for themselves healthily, dermatological procedures may be more practical than surgery.