Not Your Average_ Charlotte & David Cho.

Hi everyone, it's Julie Young here for Korean American Story, again in Not Your Average. Today I'm sitting down with Charlotte and David Cho of SoFo Glam. Thank you so much for joining us today, you guys. Really appreciate it. And we also, you know, I always force my interviewees to drink. So, cheers! So, let's start from the beginning. You were born in California. David, you were born in Korea. And how old were you when you came here? I was about two. My dad was in the U.S. Army. He met my mom in Korea when he was stationed here, actually. They met at church, and then he got stationed in Kansas, so we moved from Korea to Kansas. What part of California did you grow up in? Orange County, Fullerton. Yeah, I've heard of it. And Charlotte, you were born in California. Southern California, near L.A., and then I went to Korea after college. I knew I had no obligations, and so I just went out there, and then I fell in love with the country. And so I went back to get a real job back in California, and then I just had that wanderlust, and I knew I wanted to get back to Korea, and I wanted to live there for a few years. And you kind of had a really cool job at Samsung. Yeah, I was really lucky. It was during the time that Samsung was heavily recruiting people from the States, so I got picked up to head the international PR team at Samsung. And how did your parents feel about you going to Korea? They were really confused because they immigrated to California 35 years ago, and it was a lot of hardship. They were kind of confused, and they were wondering, we sacrificed so much to give you guys so many opportunities in the U.S., and then here you are going back to Korea and trying to live where we left. And so David, you were back in Korea because you were in the Army, right? What was really important for me is to try to make it back to Korea and kind of reconnect with where I came from, where my parents considered home. And I was able to extend there for about five years. Personally, though, was there any type of identity, interesting identity thing that went on where you were like, I'm Korean, this is my motherland, but I'm American? My heart is like, I really want to reconnect and see what it's like. And so when I went, I didn't know what to expect. Everybody was very welcoming. When they found out I was a Korean American, they were all very proud. Like, oh, here you are serving your country. Remember, you're Korean too. You're serving for us as well. Do you speak Korean? Yes, but not well enough. It got better when I was in Korea. Charlotte's much better than I am. I'm not fluent. I wouldn't call myself fluent, but I got a lot better after living there. And so when you first got there, what were your expectations, and then what was it really like? I mean, I was pretty much fresh out of college. I had one year of work experience, but I've never worked at a big company before, and I met my direct boss. He actually spoke some English, so that was really comforting. And then I found out the rest of the team didn't speak any English. So then I got scared again. I didn't sign up for this, but I actually prefer the fact that, you know, I wanted to get into the culture. I wanted to learn Korean. So it didn't matter to me, and I had a great time. They treated me so well, and I felt like I kind of was surrounded by cousins and uncles and aunts. I just felt like it was like a big family. Did you ever think your future would be in skin care and beauty and, you know, that whole arena? I was focused on pursuing a career in PR and marketing. The beauty in Korea was just a whole other world. A whole other level. A whole other level, and I just learned so much. And the difference of Korean beauty and then American-style beauty was so different that it completely changed the way I took care of my skin, and I saw results. And so, actually, Dave and I, whenever we'd go back home, all our friends would ask us to bring home beauty products. Every time I'd come back, they would ask me for the same stuff. And so that's when kind of the idea took off, and we started to realize that there was no way to get these products if you were living in the U.S. There's always kind of like a freaking mortar-like, mom-and-pop type of shop that has, like, Japanese stuff as well. It's overpriced. You know, two, three times, like, the actual price. Now, did you always want to go to business school, or was that something that you thought would be a good idea for having a business? Well, it was actually always in the back of my mind. Like, my goal was to actually get my master's to go back to West Point and teach. I got into the school I wanted to, but the Army said, no, too bad, you're actually going to go somewhere else. So around that time is actually when we started Soko by Eminence. But my whole path kind of changed, but I was planning on staying in the military. I kind of told myself I'd stop doing it once it stops becoming fun. When was the spark when you were like, I think we can make a business out of this? It was when our friends were asking us for these products, and that's when we realized there was a gap. There wasn't, like, a streamlined process. You would have to wait weeks to get it, make the prices affordable as if you're shopping in Korea. We wanted to really explain the products and how they're used. I told Dave, like, I wish there was something that would link us to Korea. So, Charlotte, you just recently published The Little Book of Skin Care, the sunscreen thing. Because I always knew it was super important, but the way that you lay it out... I have been using sunscreen every day since I read this book, girl! Like, I'm not joking. So how did the book come about? As we launched Soko Glam and we started to gain a little bit of traction, a lot of beauty editors and publications have asked me to write articles. You have a perfect voice for it, you're like the spokesperson for it, so have you ever considered writing a book? And I was like, no. I've written 500 to 700 word articles, but I've never written a book, I've never thought about it. And during that time, I was in esthetician school. That was night school, and then plus we were writing Soko Glam, and so I was like, there's no way. A publisher actually reached out to me a month later and said, hey, the same thing, would you consider writing a book? And then I was like, that's kind of weird. A publisher actually reached out. So I told the agent, the agent's like, okay, the time is now. The next thing you know, HarperCollins had basically said that we want to do it, and I was really happy with them because they were on the same timeline that I wanted to be on. And you were saying that part of your mission and sort of passion is that you want people to understand that. Yeah, my main goal for the book was to really, truly give the reader an understanding of why Korean beauty is such a big thing. Number two is I really wanted them to fall in love with Korea as a culture because I feel like Korean beauty is not just about a product or a technique. It's really about the whole background. I really wanted them to think of skincare as a fun, enjoying activity rather than a dry, boring subject where they have to think about it and it's very negative. You think about banishing wrinkles or fighting acne. It's really about taking care of your skin and enjoying the process. Do you want to talk to us about some of these products that you've brought to share with us? Yeah, so I think what really gets people excited about Korean beauty is that there are categories that they've never even heard about before. The essence, what do I do with that? So this is an essence, the Missha Time Revolution Essence, and it's great because it helps your skin naturally brighten. It's really hydrating, and what it does, it helps your skin's cellular turnover go faster. There's amazing sheet masks. You place it over freshly cleansed and toned skin. It's made out of microfiber, which is like a cotton-like material. You put it over your face. This helps your skin mingle with ingredients, so your skin is really absorbing all the essences. It marinates into your skin. Pretty much marinates into your skin, and you peel this off after 20, 30 minutes, and then your skin is just hydrated, dewy, plump with moisture. So these are really effective, and I think people are obsessed with it because of that. I do them pretty often. I was going to say, and that's why you're glowing. The 10-step process, what's the most important part? I really think cleansing is huge. You mentioned this earlier. Removing your makeup thoroughly is so key to clear skin. A lot of these cleansers are really popular. The Beauty Water from Sonopark, the Neogen, Real Calendula Cleansing Water is really popular as well. If you have impurities left on your skin, whether it's pollution, makeup, even your excess oils, that's going to lead to breakout. The Double Cleanse starts with an oil-based cleanser, and what the oil does, it helps gently remove any excess oil impurities. That's usually makeup, that's usually sunscreen, and also pollution is oil-based. Then you follow that up with a water-based cleanser, and the water-based cleanser helps remove any of the leftover impurities, usually sweat or dirt. It's just a surefire way to make sure your skin is clean. Charlotte's the certified esthetician, but you'd be surprised. I would get asked, not just from girls, but also from guys. They'll whisper, like, Hey, babe, can I ask you a question? I'm like, yeah, ask me a question. What is it about? Is it school? Then he's like, whoa, I need some skin tips. Is there anything else you want to share with us? I think that Korean products are really known for their amazing packaging. This is a lip tint, but you can stack them together like Legos. I feel like in the U.S., that doesn't really happen as much. What really made Korean cosmetics so innovative is because the women are so on top of their skincare routines. They know exactly what their skin needs, so when they try a product, there's no BS. If Korean products were just about a trend or one certain product, it would die out in six months. But because these products actually are formulated really well in a very advanced way, and they work, and people are seeing results, that's why it's sticking around. I mean, even this toning pad is awesome because you cleanse your skin and then you tone, but it's multitasking because it has basically crisscross threads that really help exfoliate your skin. Oh, nice. So you're not only toning, but you're exfoliating. Oh, I love it. This is a lip balm from Tony Moly. I mean, Tony Moly's known for their really, really adorable packaging, and I think that there's always, for every woman, a little girl inside that loves cute things, so I think they really do a good job. This is a low-pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser, and the great thing about this cleanser is that we know the Cosrx brand. We've met the CEO. We actually are curating Cosrx in the U.S. He created this because he got feedback from his customers, and they said, we'd really like a low-pH cleanser, and they made it. It speaks volumes to how innovative and how receptive Korean cosmetic companies are to feedback. It's done. Like, we've arrived. Like, Korean beauty has arrived. I mean, a lot of companies are actually reaching out to us because they're like, okay, we're not a Korean brand, but how can we embrace this trend? How can we make this product, which is not Korean, part of the trend? How do you feel about your success? I don't think we see ourselves as successes. Like, we don't really look at it that way. We just feel so lucky to be in this situation. You know, people ask us, like, oh, competitors, like, how do you feel about now Target carrying these products? Like, what are you going to do about that? And we actually partner with them. We partner with Birchbox. We partner with Sephora. And it's this collaborative effort because if we don't work together, then it will be a trend, and it will die. But if we work with these big retailers, it's going to become more mainstream. I love it when I get feedback from the book, when people tag me on Instagram, and they say, hey, you know, I really want to visit Korea now. That's all I want to hear. I love that. That's awesome. So Charlotte has an amazing section in the back of this for anyone who has not visited Korea, where you list out, like, the places you don't want to miss, which I'm totally taking with me when I go in March. So what do your parents think about your success? Like, do they get it? I have, like, the most chill parents. Like, my parents don't flip the regular mold of, like, you must be a lawyer, doctor, go to Harvard, you know. Like, this is kind of, like, a passion-driven project, and also to be able to do it with Charlotte, like, that's, like, very special to us. And you guys work well together, husband and wife? Yeah, I mean... I mean, if I was to say, like, there hasn't been a bump in the road, like, I'd be lying. Like, I think it's just, like, a beautiful thing that we can share this, and whenever the story is over, like, we can, like, look back, and I think it will be all, like, amazing memories that we'll have. And I have to say that my parents, after he graduated from Columbia Business School, when they found out he was going to do SoCoGlam, they're like, what? Now they're totally fine. I mean, they get that we're very passionate about this. So, hopes and dreams for how this continues? I love the fact that I get to be a part of a team and be a part of building that team. So, my hopes and dreams for SoCoGlam is that when the SoCoGlam story is all written and told and over, I hope people remember us, not so much for, like, what we did or what we achieved, but, like, how we did it. If that can happen one day where people kind of say that, like, SoCoGlam team, they're, like, amazing, they're honest people, they do things right, and, you know, they're people that I would follow, that, to me, would be the biggest compliment. I want to take advantage of the fact that my parents did sacrifice so much to come here and, you know, give me the best of both worlds. So, they gave me amazing opportunities in the U.S., and I think those opportunities gave me the chance to also pursue SoCoGlam, merge those together, and then, you know, create something that really helps both countries. What about hopes and dreams for your own, for just personal? You'd eventually like to have kids one day. I mean, we're kind of in a startup mentality right now where we really have to grind and puzzle and keep it going. I want to have four. Oh, whoa. I like kids, but I think he's delusional. Yeah, you're going to have to move out of New York. Let me tell you. I grew up with a really small family, so just having a big family, that would be so fun. I guess we'll take it one at a time. Thank you so much for sitting down with me. This was so fun, and I love it. Continued success, and I'm empty, so I'm not going to convey you, but thank you so much, Charlotte and David. Thank you for having us. Thank you so much. Did we finish the soju? Is it gone?