Make-up artist helps give departed a beautiful ending
South Korea's Lee Jong-lan defines her clients as those who are breathing and those who aren't
Lee Jong-lan has made up the faces of some of South Korea's greatest living superstars, but these days her clients are as likely to be dead.
Since joining the make-up industry, Lee has pampered the appearances of countless artists, including singer Kwon Bo-ah, who performs as BoA, and actor Song Seung-hun.
But after she worked on the face of a relative who died in 2001, she took up funeral art professionally and in 2010 founded the Korea Funeral Make-up Association, the only such organisation in the country.
"The only difference is that one person is breathing and another is not," Lee said with a laugh, though she admitted that making up the dead often involved extra work, such as reconstructing an accident-damaged face and covering scars and discoloration with opaque paint.
"I want to combine the two to make funeral make-up more natural and beautiful," she said during a visit to attend the Asia Funeral and Cemetery Expo and Conference in Wan Chai last week.
Lee recalled how, after working with her deceased relative, she went on to teach the skill in universities. She founded the association and established a professional qualification system.