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Video: That Time We Tried Pore Vacuuming In South Korea

South Korea in recent years has become the hot place for beauty product innovation, and it is often called the cosmetic surgery capital of the world.

By some estimates, South Korean women spend twice as much of their income on beauty products and grooming as American women — a figure that would be even higher if Korean beauty treatments weren't so affordable. (Treatments like facials and eyelash extensions can run as low as a third the typical U.S. price.)

One of the hot treatments for faces these days is pore vacuuming — also known as aqua peel facials — which I don't want to describe too much. You can see for yourself.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Elise Hu is a host-at-large based at NPR West in Culver City, Calif. Previously, she explored the future with her video series, Future You with Elise Hu, and served as the founding bureau chief and International Correspondent for NPR's Seoul office. She was based in Seoul for nearly four years, responsible for the network's coverage of both Koreas and Japan, and filed from a dozen countries across Asia.