Perfumers are compared to composers in music, or painters in art. Instead of notes and colors, however, perfumers use fragrances to create their works of art. Lately, Korean perfumers have been hard at work to come up with unique scents that can accentuate the busy lives of those living the emerging lifestyle known as ?ell-being, or the pursuit of a healthy body and mind.
In the past, the perfume business has been dominated by France (with fragrances from famous perfume designers Chanel, Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, etc.), but these days Koreans are making inroads into the perfume design business. Such is the case of ?alimard, the French perfume design studio, which opened its local representation last year.
Chung Mi-soon, the president of Galimard Korea says that during a trip to France, she was so impressed by Galimard? perfume design studio that she wanted to bring its perfume design training system to Korea. That? how she started Galimard Korea. At first, the French head office did not respond to inquiries, thinking that Korea cannot be a good market for perfume design. But Chung didn? give up and continued sending faxes and e-mails until she finally won the contract. She said she couldn? stop crying when she first opened the studio.
The Galimard training system is made up of three courses in scent training (remembering various scents), according scents, and image training, respectively. To become a perfumer, first of all, one must have a very sensitive nose. Chung says, ?erfumers have to distinguish various scents. A good sense of smell is a gift, but more than 50 percent of the ability can be acquired by practicing.
After completing these three courses, one can work as a professional perfumer. In Korea, there are two kinds of perfumers: the ones who work in cosmetics, perfume, food and many other companies (mostly men), and freelance perfumers like Chung.
Asked about the nature of her work, Chung says, ? give special consultations, even to people who can? recollect a scent they really like. I remember one customer who came and asked me to find the smell of his past lover who passed away. She adds, ?eople sometimes do not use perfumes because they haven? found the right perfume for them. I? sure that if they find the right one, they will want to use perfume. Chung wants to emphasize through these experiences how important the role of perfumers really is.
These days many college students are interested in perfumes, too. There is a joint club named ?erfume Designers where students study about scents. The club originally consisted of students from the College of Arts and Design, but now they are working together with about 250 students from different departments and universities. Some members of the club want to be perfumers. ? simply liked perfumes since I was in high school. It has always been my dream to become a fragrance designer, says Kang Hyun-seo, (Seoul National Univ., 3) the President of Perfume Designers. The club holds regular seminars and invites professional perfumers to the meetings to learn from their real life experiences.
If you are thinking about whether you have what it takes to be a perfumer, take Chung? advice: ?f you have patience, endurance and love for scent, become a perfumer. You will find yourself through scent. It? very attractive.
springi02@ewha.ac.kr
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