New Korean-Beauty Secret: A Vegan Diet for Anti-Aging and Clear, Glowing Skin

Award-winning South Korean actress Im Soo-Jung is known for her role in the horror movie, A Tale of Two Sisters and her latest romance television series Search: WWW. The actress first launched her career as a model in the 1990s, long before K-Beauty, or Korean Beauty became one of the biggest skincare trends in the US. She was featured in several Korean fashion and beauty magazines in her teens and 20s for her effortless beauty, angelic skin, and long wavy hair. Now Im Soo-Jung is 41 years old and still looks like she is in her twenties. Her fans and others have given credit for her ageless beauty to her vegan diet and skincare routine: She is the spokeswoman for the beauty brand Melexir, and promotes how to have clear skin and clean beauty on her social media.

K-Beauty, which stands for Korean Beauty, has flown off the shelves of stores like Sephora because the skincare products from South Korea often boast the latest technologies and ingredients before they show up in Western products. K-beauty secrets are passed around by skincare lovers and people who want healthy, hydrated, skin that is clear and has a uniform texture, free of age spots, or sun damage. The concept of the sheet mask, which is a best-seller at large beauty retailers and used by celebrities and influencers, was originated by K-Beauty brands. K-Beauty has become an obsession for anyone who wants clear, ageless smooth complexion

Im Soo-Jung proves that clean beauty doesn't only come from a bottle, it's what you put inside your body that helps to reduce inflammation and promote clear, glowing, ageless skin.

The secret to the actresses' youthful glowing skin may lie in her diet. Behind the scenes, Im Soo-Jung follows a strict vegan lifestyle for health reasons and loves the way it makes her feel. She is an advocate for cruelty-free beauty and helps vegan skincare brands by promoting their products on her Instagram with over 372k followers.

Why did Im Soo-Jung decide to go vegan?

Im Soo-Jung started her vegan diet five years ago when she had an allergic reaction to animal protein and dairy. The K-Star chatted about her diet in an interview with Sports Chosun and explained how it was challenging to eat at restaurants first but now she enjoys it more and more and feels healthier because she doesn't consume meat or dairy.

Im Soo-Jung on vegan beauty and cruelty-free skincare.

The actress is Korean's most famous vegan celebrity and recently partnered with Melixir, a vegan skincare company that believes in clean ingredients and healthy skin. The endorsement aligns with the actresses' values and she boasts about the products on her Instagram.

Im Soo-Jung was asked questions related to her skincare routine in a 2019 interview, instead of talking about her 7 years as a spokeswoman for Sk-ii, a Korean beauty company, she answered:  "As I paid more attention to [a] vegetarian lifestyle and animal, environmental protection issues, my life changed. I began using organic products that caused no harm to any animals during their manufacture. I couldn't continue being the model for the brand if I wanted to keep my morals."

Im Soo-Jung's favorite vegan meals.

Im Soo-Jung shares her favorite vegan meals on her social media, so anyone can re-create them to achieve a radiant glow. The actress loves a vegan omelet stuffed with arugula and tomato with a side of whole-grain bread. Make this breakfast at home using JUST Eggs and add your favorite greens for added nutrients.

One of her favorite meals is a vegan Pad Thai that she says is "so good." The dish is made with tofu, noodles, cilantro, scallions, a light peanut sauce, chopped peanuts on the side, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, and a fresh slice of lime to give it a zesty finish.

One of Im Soo-Jung's favorite vegan restaurants is  'Ai Love Nalo in Waimanalo, near Honolulu, Hawaii. There she orders the Kaukau Lūʻau & Bomb Burrito made with Black Beans, Zucchini, Corn, Red Bell Pepper, Mushrooms, Onion, Salsa, Nacho Cheese, Tortilla Wrap, Lettuce, and Ranch Dressing.

A quick meal or healthy vegan snack for Im Soo-Jung is a cup of jasmine rice, chopped squash, a handful of spinach, and crunchy pine nuts.

In this post, she tells fans that she had just completed a 21-day detox of eating 2 plant-based meals a day, and total intake of no more 1 to 1.5 liters of volume a day, which is about 6 cups of food total She also cut out salt, sugar, caffeine, fish, dairy and all processed foods.  This meal was one of her detox meals.

Im Soo-Jung wants to Meet Benedict Cumberbatch and Jessica Chastain.

When Im Soo-Jung found out that Benedict Cumberbatch and Jessica Chastain were vegan she made an Instagram post to express her delight and said she would love to talk to them about veganism and ask questions about vegan restaurants in Seoul.

"I was glad to hear from a vegan friend lately something that was interesting to me. That is, Benedict Cumberbatch and Jessica Chastain are vegan too. I’d really like to talk about vegan life with them someday. I was suddenly curious...when Benedict Cumberbatch came to Korea recently for the premiere of "Avengers: Infinity War", was he able to find good vegan food in Seoul? If he comes to Korea again, I’d like to tell him some good vegan restaurants in Seoul." 

In the meantime, add a vegan diet to your favorite K-Beauty routine, for glowing skin that's ageless.