Elise Hu moved to Seoul, South Korea to set up an NPR bureau and report on the geopolitical tensions of the mid-2010s. But her new book, Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital, focuses on a different, albeit inescapable, part of life there – beauty standards and the industry driving them. In today's episode, Hu speaks with NPR's Brittany Luse about the consumerism, gender politics and technological advances that drive the booming beauty culture, and explains why the rest of the world should be paying attention...for better or worse.

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