• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.197-211
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• 2017

Modernization drastically changed the cosmetic culture of Korea and Japan. A classic case that shows this is the appearance of the term 'Hyangjang (香粧)'. This paper investigated the background to the formation of the term Hyangjang (香粧), and reviewed the aspects of cosmetic culture that changed with the emergence of Hyangjangpum (香粧品), or cosmetics containing perfume. The investigation revealed that the term Hyangjang (香粧) appeared for the first time in Hirano (1899), a literature published in the Meiji period in Japan, and that the new term Hyangjang (香粧) had been formed against the background of advanced Western synthetic perfume and played an important role in contemporary techniques for the manufacture of cosmetics. The term Hyangjang (香粧) and cosmetics containing perfume, or Hyangjangpum (香粧品) were then introduced from Japan to Korea. In Korea, the term 'Hyangjang (香粧)' appeared for the first time in an advertising copy written by Hyeon Hui-un, a pioneer of the Korean modern theater movement during the period of Japanese colonial rule. At that time, cosmetic companies in Korea and Japan were releasing cosmetic products that contained perfume that stimulated a women's desire to purchase them by emphasizing 'fragrance' in their advertising. Existing public tendencies to regard a fragrant smell from a made-up face as vulgar were changing and the public perception of fragrance were also changing. The appearance of Hyangjangpum (香粧品) indicates that the existing cosmetic culture revolving around visual sense changed into a complex cosmetic culture involving olfaction. This change in culture is significant in that it heralded the direction of future development towards cosmetic culture that uses increase combinations of different senses including touch, taste, and hearing.