"Just Makeup" PD Shim Woo-jin conveyed its success and impact.
On the 18th at a café in Samcheong-dong, Seoul, an interview was held with Coupang Play variety show Just Makeup PDs Shim Woo-jin and Park Seong-hwan.
Coupang Play variety show Just Makeup is a large-scale makeup survival show in which makeup artists who represent K-beauty globally, beyond Korea, fiercely compete with their own styles.
On the 7th, the finale was released, spectacularly concluding the long journey of the survival contest for the single K-beauty legend title. Since its release, it ranked first in variety show viewing satisfaction (source: Consumer Insight), was Coupang Play's most popular title for five consecutive weeks, received an IMDb rating of 8.5, entered the top 10 OTT rankings in seven overseas countries, and generated explosive global responses, closing with the title of the most talked-about variety show of the second half of 2025.
That day, Shim PD cautiously answered about production costs, "We spent a lot. The budget was fixed, so we tried to do as much as possible within it," and Park Seong-hwan PD said, "Personally, this was the project I was most nervous about before it was released. We spent this much money. It had to do well. The pressure was big. It cost much more than variety shows made at regular broadcasters," drawing attention.
In particular, production company Studio Slam had previously succeeded with Culinary Class Wars, Sing Again, and the Crime Scene series. Asked whether there was an influence from Culinary Class Wars, Shim Woo-jin PD said, "It would be a lie to say we weren't influenced. We referenced it a lot. Even a friend who was an assistant director actually edited for our program. Meanwhile, I think we pondered what would be the biggest difference. Anyway, since the previous work was greatly successful, we wondered what we should do even if its shadow loomed," he began.
He added, "The biggest difference is that the results are visible. Culinary Class Wars had the fun of wondering what that would taste like. We, on the other hand, show the result, and viewers wanted to feel, 'I prefer that.' I think we held many meetings to escape the large shadow," and he said, "When we started, we thought it couldn't be helped. After winning at the Baeksang Arts Awards and so on. From the company's perspective, they might dislike something that comes out too similar. We held many meetings to do something of our own differently."
He also spoke about the show's impact on participants after broadcast. "It's not like 'Culinary Class Wars' where reservations are fully booked, but some people said many customers came to their shops. The top three seem to be getting quite a few contacts from here and there. Instead of doing makeup for ordinary people, they seem to be collaborating with models and in similar areas. At the Cheongdam-dong shop, it seems ordinary people came after watching the show," he noted.
(Continued in interview ②)<
[Photo] Provided by Coupang Play
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