한국국제교류재단

Anyone who is friends with their hairdresser is bound to be happy.There’s nothing more fortunate than having a lasting relationshipwith a good hairdresser. Lee Chun-suk is a hairdresser with aparticular talent for turning customers into old friends. The way shedoes it is simple and ordinary.

Lee Chun-suk gets to her workplace in Imundong,eastern Seoul, at 10 o’clock in themorning. The sign out front reads “LeeJeeun Salon.” The name is the one she chose forherself, not her given name. In the center of the100-square-meter space is a mirrored wall withfour chairs facing it on either side. The time it takesfor all eight chairs to be filled with customers isdifferent each day. Yesterday, there was a constantstream of customers from the time the doorsopened and lunch had to be delayed. But today, thecustomers all came flooding in at around the sametime in the afternoon.

Regulars Catch Up and Unwind
In one corner of the shop there is a large table.It’s set up as a resting place for customers. Peoplewaiting their turn, people with their hair all wrappedup in cling film while the hair dye takes effect, peoplewith colorful rods of different sizes danglingfrom their hair; they all sit around this table, flickingthrough magazines, looking at their phones, orenjoying a sweet nap. On the table are snacks andrefreshments like coffee, fruit, sweets, biscuits, andchocolate. Apparently, in the winter there is evena box of sweet potatoes kept in the corner and asmall oven on the table to roast them in.
Lee Chun-suk, who turned 62 this year, began hairdressing as a professionwhen she was 26 and hasn’t stopped since. After setting up shop in nearbySeokgwan-dong and working there for many years, she had to move toImun-dong when her old neighborhood was knocked down for redevelopment.

For decades, salon owner LeeChun-suk has placed the greatestimportance on keeping eachand every strand healthy whenstyling her customers’ hair. Shebelieves that making a goodfirst impression relies on havinghealthy hair.

Despite the move, most of her customers came with her and have remainedloyal regulars over the years. For them the salon is not just a place to get a haircutor a scalp massage, it’s a place to share the occasional snack, catch up ongossip, and de-stress.
“We’ve probably got more customers who come to our salon from far andwide than from our immediate surroundings. They come from places not far offlike Uijeongbu, but also from cities as far away as Cheonan, Daejeon, and evenGwangju. You see, they don’t come just to have their hair done. They come tomeet people, to talk about this and that....” Lee explains with a bright smile.
The Korean term for someone who works with hair has long been miyongsa,meaning “beauty technician.” Lately, however, a growing number of peoplein this profession are using the English term “hair designer.” But, for Lee, theKorean term with its meaning of “a person skilled in making the whole appearancebeautiful” is still more appealing. In the same way, Lee’s real name “Chunsuk”feels warm and familiar now, though back in the old days, she felt like itwas too old-fashioned to put on the sign outside her salon and so chose “Jeeun”as a more modern-sounding name.
With her robust body, agile movements, and radiant complexion, it’s difficultto tell Lee’s age at first sight. “I guess I have been so busy creating beautifulhairstyles for my customers over the years that I haven’t had time to age,” shejokes. “When I’m working with hair, I feel calm and at peace. And then, when I’mputting the finishing touches on someone’s hairstyle, I feel a certain joy — a profoundsatisfaction.”

What’s Even More Important than Style
The first thing she takes note of when she seessomeone is the state of their hair.
“I’m really particular about the health of my customers’hair. I won’t let them have a perm morethan three times a year,” she says. “They’re my customers,so if their hair gets all frazzled it’s me whohas to deal with the damage. The thing is, no matterhow great their style or how nice their clothes are,unhealthy hair makes a person’s whole appearanceshabby.”
Lee has plenty to say on the science of beautifulhair.
“Hair ages and gets worn down. If you look at itunder a microscope, the core of each hair is full ofholes. For hair to be healthy, you need to fill thoseholes with good proteins and keep it slightly acidic.If someone’s hair is healthy, all it takes is a good cutto give it a great look. The way hair is dried is important,too. The best way is to bend your head forwardand towel dry, softly but thoroughly.”
When she was younger and seizing every opportunity,Lee even ran a separate salon inside a weddinghall in the well-off neighborhood of Gahoedong.She made so much money that she put millionsof won in the church collection basket andenjoyed the luxury of being a VIP customer at herfavorite department store. “With money, after acertain point, it doesn’t matter how much you earnbecause it has no meaning of its own. I realized thatthe only thing that remains is the moment of satisfactionwhen you have d a beautiful hairstylefor a customer. Most customers fall asleep whileI’m doing their hair. Then, whether I’m cutting orgiving a head massage or whatever, I feel totallyrelaxed too,” she says.

A Vocation Discovered at an Early Age
Lee Chun-suk grew up in a seaside village nearGangneung. She already enjoyed styling otherpeople’s hair as a high school student and wouldalways be combing her friends’ hair. “Most days,Chun-suk would re-do my pony tail for me. It wouldalways look prettier and more stylish when she didit,” recalls a customer and old high school classmate. Another friend from herhome village says, “I just couldn’t forget Chun-suk’s skills, so since we wereyoung she’s the only person I’ll have do my hair.”
Lee explains how she started out. “After graduating from high school, I wasworking in an office when a relative brought me a set of electric hair tongs asa gift from a trip to Japan. If I styled my hair with them in the morning, peoplewould tell me all day long how amazing my hair looked. It got to the point whereother female employees would come to the accounts department where Iworked, asking me to do their hair. I wondered if it might be a better way for meto make a living, so I took evening classes after work. Back then, the list of candidateswho passed the hairdresser certification exam was posted on the noticeboard outside Seoul City Hall. Two-hundred people took the exam and only 11got through. The competition was that fierce.”
Lee opened her first salon in 1981 and the years have since passed by in aflash. Women who frequented her salon when they were pregnant would showup again as mothers with their babies in tow. The babies would cry, but it didn’tbother Lee because she had also raised her own two children in the salon. Herdaughter, now a university student, stops by whenever she has time to lend ahand.

Always Learning
“Including the assistants, we have seven employees. Three of them havebeen with us for over 20 years. They all have their own regulars,” Lee says. “Idon’t pay them a salary, but I simply provide the tools, products, and the space.They operate like individual businesses and contribute a small part of what theyearn to the running of the salon. They’re experienced and good at what they do,so they probably take home about 3.5 to 4 million won a month. I earn muchless than that. I’m not as young as I was, so really I’m grateful when regularscome in asking for me to do their hair. That’s what keeps me at it.”
When Lee first opened her salon, “Yoon Si-nae hair,” the sphinx-like discohairstyle sported by the popular singer, was the most coveted look. Whetherthe hair was permed or set, hair styling was all about creating volume, and theskills of hairdressers were judged accordingly. It was a time when just a permwas not enough; it had to be a perm that emphasized the curls for maximumeffect and kept its shape for as long as possible. People walking the streets withnaturally straight hair were considered completely lacking in style. Gradually,however, preferences have been changing towards a more natural look, and agrowing number of people these days avoid the perfectly styled salon look. Ofcourse, Lee’s preferences have changed with the times, too.

Lee talks with a first-time customer about how she wants herhair done. With each customer, Lee’s task begins by listeningcarefully to their ideas and considering what will work best.

“If we are not to lose out to the big name salon franchises, small independentsalons like ours have to be one step ahead of the trends. You have to cutyour customers’ hair the way they want it, but at the same time, the results haveto exceed their expectations. Even with perming, new techniques and technologiesare being developed every year. Cutting techniques change even more often. You have to keep learning and mastering newskills to give your customers a new and fresh feelingevery time they come by,” Lee says, adding thatjust recently, she attended a seminar to learn thehairstyles that are popular in Italy this year.
She goes on, “Most of my customers are olderwomen, so it’s important to make their hair looklightweight. ‘Light and youthful!’ That’s the mottofor this year. The more conservative a customer isabout her hair, the more important it is to cut it withthe latest techniques. That’s the only way to make itlook somehow attractive when they style their hairat home. For customers who don’t like change or following trends, it’s the subtle gift of a slight change. Even with the same shortstyle, the way you cut it makes a world of difference.”
The proportion of customers who simply entrust their hair to the hairdresser’shands and those who ask for a particular shape or style is always aboutfifty-fifty. Many people come in asking to have their hair done exactly like that ofan actress or model seen in a magazine. At such times, if it’s a style that won’tsuit the person’s features or facial shape, the hairdresser needs to know how togently persuade her to go for something else.
Just by feeling someone’s hair, Lee can now tell whether that person is thestubborn type or can embrace a new style. “Being a hairdresser isn’t just aboutworking with hair, it’s about touching people’s hearts,” she says. “Whether customerschatter while they’re having their hair done or stay completely silent, thehair salon is a space of healing. It’s for the same reason that I set up such a bigresting space and lay on plenty of snacks. For a perm or color treatment, customershave to spend two or three hours in here. At least for that time, I wantthem to be able to relax and feel like, ‘Ah! This is the most comfortable place inthe world!’”
Tomorrow, Lee Chun-suk will again begin her day opening the doors of hersalon at 10 o’clock in the morning and laying out snacks for her customers.