Students view Amorepacific through fresh eyes

The moment Claudia Patino Pichaud set foot on Jeju Island last Thursday after a flight from Seoul, she sighed in relief. She was finally home – in a sense.

Winners of a reporting competition co-hosted by the Korea JoongAng Daily and Amorepacific explore a tea farm at the Osulloc Tea Museum in Seogwipo, Jeju Island, last Thursday. The sponsored trip was part of the first “K-campus x Amorepacific Student Ambassador” program, a collaboration between the paper’s K-campus project and the beauty and cosmetic giant. [DANIELA GONZALES PEREZ]

JEJU ISLAND – The moment Claudia Patino Pichaud set foot on Jeju Island last Thursday after a flight from Seoul, she sighed in relief.

She was finally home – in a sense.

Originally from Chile, Pichaud commenced her Korean journey on the southern resort island three years ago when she enrolled in a Korean language program at Cheju Halla University.

She is now a master’s student majoring in international relations at Ewha Womans University.

The swaying palm trees, moist air and fierce sunlight were familiar to Pichaud as she arrived on the island. She assumed she would find the same comfort during her planned visit to the Osulloc Tea Museum in Seogwipo on the southern half of Jeju, where she had previously wandered as a local.

Pichaud was among six university students, mostly foreigners, who participated in a sponsored two-day trip to Jeju Island last week after winning a reporting competition co-hosted by the Korea JoongAng Daily and Amorepacific.

Over the past semester, Pichaud and the five students participated in the third student reporter program of the paper’s K-campus project, which had 15 particiants in total.

K-campus is an online platform for international students offering guidance on life in Korea.

Towards the end of the program, a competition was held in collaboration with the global beauty and cosmetic giant, and the winning groups were rewarded with a free trip to Jeju to explore the island and a tea museum showcasing Amorepacific’s premium tea brand, Osulloc.

K-campus student reporters and organizers participate in the Osulloc Premium Tea Course class at the Osulloc Tea Museum. [KIM JEE-HEE]

For the competition, each group had to visit and produce news content on either Amore Seongsu, an Amorepacific flagship store in Seongsu-dong, eastern Seoul, or the House of Sulhwasoo Bukchon, the skincare brand Sulhwasoo’s flagship store in Bukchon, central Seoul.

The competition and Jeju trip combination was dubbed the “K-campus x Amorepacific student ambassador” program, the first of its kind.

On Jeju Island, the winners were treated to a guided tour around the Osulloc Tea Museum and joined a special tea class where they learned about the brand’s sustainability values and how to brew loose-leaf tea.

Osulloc sources its tea leaves exclusively from three farms on Jeju Island.

“The last time I came here, I simply dropped by during a hike in the area,” Pichaud recalled. “I just had green tea and ice cream.”

A tea set handed out during the tea class [DANIELA GONZALES PEREZ]

After the 80-minute course (which is also open to the public with a nearly $40 participation fee), the Chilean said she now sees both Jeju and Amorepacific in a different light.

“It was eye-opening,” she remarked. “I lived in Jeju before, but it is different coming here as a tourist and having someone explain the brand’s identity to you.”

Mireia Martinez, a Spanish exchange student at Seoul National University, said it was interesting to see how tea leaves could also be used to make cocktails, mentioning that she created one during the tea course.

“With Osulloc, I ended up seeing it as a very efficient brand that has a lot of values and has been able to maintain tradition while making itself a spot in the global market,” she said.

Ryu Ji-hyo, the sole Korean student reporter on the Jeju trip, echoed Martinez’s positive sentiments.

“My perspective of Amorepacific, in general, was that it's a big company with lots of its own cosmetic brands, and that was pretty much it,” said Ryu, who studies political science and diplomacy at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul.

“But after visiting the House of Sulhwasoo Bukchon and the Osulloc Tea Museum and [experiencing] everything they showcased to us, it was very nice to see that it’s not just a company targeting makeup. It’s a company that wants to share values that progress as the company grows further.”

The third K-campus student reporter program will conclude in early August, with applications for the fourth edition opening later that month.

BY LEE SUNG-EUN [lee.sungeun@joongang.co.kr]