K-Culture & K-Beauty

Lesson overview

This B2 ESL lesson explores how K-beauty transformed from a niche trend into a global economic powerhouse. Students learn vocabulary related to Korean culture and the beauty industry, then watch a video analyzing why Korean skincare and cosmetics gained worldwide popularity. Discussion activities compare beauty standards across cultures and examine how K-pop and Korean media influenced global beauty trends. The lesson combines vocabulary building with cultural analysis, making it perfect for students interested in Korean culture, beauty routines, or international business.

Teaching guide

Lead-in

This opening activity gets B2 students thinking about Korean culture before diving into the lesson. You’re basically activating their schema by showing them a word cloud with terms like “discipline,” “innovation,” “perfection,” and “self-care.” Then you shift to visuals of K-pop groups, K-dramas, Korean food, K-beauty products, and Korean fashion, asking which trends are most visible in their country. This works really well because most students already have some exposure to Korean culture through social media or streaming platforms, so they’ll have opinions to share. The goal here is to create natural conversation and build interest in the topic while introducing key ESL vocabulary related to K-culture. Keep it conversational and let students share what they already know about K-pop, Korean skincare, or Korean shows.

Vocabulary preview, Definitions

Here you’re introducing eight essential phrases that students will need throughout the lesson: booming business, gain popularity, fierce competition, gush about, emerge, mainstream movement, elaborate ecosystem, and strategic national asset. Students first check off which terms they already know and try explaining them in sentences. This self-assessment helps you gauge their starting point. Then you provide clear, accessible definitions that connect directly to K-beauty and Korean culture. For example, “fierce competition” is defined as very intense rivalry between companies, which students will see repeatedly when discussing the Korean beauty industry. This ESL lesson vocabulary section builds the linguistic foundation students need to discuss how K-beauty became a global phenomenon and why Korean skincare routines gained popularity worldwide.

Preview discussion, Video, Questions

Before watching the 3:35 minute video “How K-beauty went from viral trend to economic powerhouse,” you ask three preview questions to activate prior knowledge about K-beauty, multi-step skincare routines, and Korean beauty products. This primes students for the content and gives them a reason to watch attentively. The video itself explores how South Korea became a major player in the global cosmetics industry and why K-beauty is so innovative. After viewing, students answer four comprehension questions about Korea’s recent achievements in cosmetics, the level of innovation compared to other beauty industries, why competition is so fierce in the Korean market, and the overall impression the video gives. This B2 level ESL activity combines listening comprehension with critical thinking about Korean culture and the business ecosystem behind K-beauty trends.

Matching, Vocabulary practice

The matching exercise has students connect sentence halves to practice the new vocabulary in context. For example, they match “K-beauty has become a booming business because…” with the correct ending that explains its growth. This reinforces meaning and shows how these phrases function in real sentences about Korean beauty culture. Then comes a rephrasing activity where students take eight sentences written in simple English and rewrite them using the target vocabulary. For instance, “The K-beauty industry has grown rapidly” becomes a sentence using “booming business.” This ESL vocabulary practice is crucial because it moves students from recognition to production, ensuring they can actually use terms like “mainstream movement” and “elaborate ecosystem” when discussing K-pop, Korean skincare, or other aspects of Korean culture in their own words.

Cultural facts, Discussion

This section presents four statements about appearance and beauty standards in Korean culture. Students read facts about including photos on job applications, skincare routines being common for both genders, privacy around beauty discussions, and the connection between grooming and professionalism. One fact is false, and students must identify it, which creates engagement and critical thinking. Then you move into discussion questions that ask students to reflect on what these facts suggest about Korean society, compare beauty standards in their own culture, consider why competitive societies might value appearance more, discuss whether caring about appearance can be empowering, and analyze how global K-beauty trends influence local beauty norms. This works well for B2 ESL students because it combines cultural awareness with opinion expression, moving beyond simple comprehension into deeper analysis of how Korean culture and K-beauty have shaped global beauty standards.

Homework

For homework, students prepare a two-minute presentation about one Korean beauty trend, whether it’s skincare routines, K-beauty makeup techniques, or a specific social media trend related to Korean cosmetics. They need to explain what the trend is, why it became popular, how it connects to Korean culture, and whether it would work in their country. The assignment requires them to use at least three vocabulary items from the lesson, which reinforces the ESL vocabulary while giving them freedom to explore an aspect of K-culture that genuinely interests them. This kind of homework assignment works beautifully for B2 students because it combines research, vocabulary application, and presentation skills, while keeping the focus on authentic Korean beauty trends they might actually follow or want to try.