Talitha Koum founder hopes to make her brand better known in Korea, overseas

Talitha Koum Founder Chai Moon-sun. [Courtesy of Talitha Koum]

Chai Moon-sun, the eldest granddaughter of Aekyung Group Chairwoman Jang Young-shin, is hoping to advance into the U.S. with her cosmetics brand Talitha Koum after products become better known in South Korea.

Chai founded the startup Talitha Koum, which means “Girl, Rise Up” in Hebrew, with six others and launched a vegan cosmetics brand with the same name last year after two years of product development.

Brand products have started to be sold at Hyundai Department Store and Sephora in the first half of this year.

“Once the brand becomes better known in the country, I am hoping that it advances into the U.S. and be recognized,” Chai said, during a recent interview with Maeil Business Newspaper.

Chai majored in art but she pursued business and marketing after having spent time with her grandmother and learning from her.

After graduating from college, Chai worked at Maeil Dairies Co.’s research and development team as an intern before receiving management training while working at the marketing team of Aekyung Group.

After marriage and childbirth, Chai decided to take on a new challenge instead of returning to the family business.

“I’ve always suffered from intractable keloid skin conditions and extremely sensitive skin,” she said. “I wanted to create healthy products not only for my own skin, which became more sensitive due to repeated treatments for this hereditary condition, but also for my children who may inherit this genetic disorder.”

During the teenage years, Chai searched for various treatments that could help improve her symptoms and came across white dandelions.

She discovered that white dandelion, known for its anti-inflammatory properties, was suitable for inflammatory conditions.

“Someone suggested I try white dandelion juice when my skin problems became more severe and when I tried it and experienced positive effects, I was determined to develop skincare products myself,” she said.

Chai visited many research labs across the country with white dandelions in hand. One of the labs accepted her proposal and from then on she started developing cosmetics.

The lab proved the effectiveness of white dandelion in strengthening the skin barrier through experiments, and extracted effective ingredients by culturing cells from the placenta, which is the most concentrated part of white dandelion.

“Talitha Koum has a biblical meaning but it also means that we want to be there when someone is struggling and wants to give up,” Chai said.