Founder of Baegayul

Dr. Jo Seok-yong

Founder · Korean medicine doctor · Ph.D. · Seoul

Dr. Jo Seok-yong is a licensed Korean medicine doctor (KMD) and Ph.D., not a dermatologist. He spent more than two decades working with reactive skin at his Korean medicine clinic near Gangnam Station in Seoul.

The origin

For more than two decades, Dr. Jo practiced at his Korean medicine clinic near Gangnam Station in Seoul. Many patients arrived with skin that had been pushed too far.

In 2017 he founded Bluecellab to turn that patient-first logic into a short, balance-first skincare line.

“Baegayul began when I personally formulated a herbal-extract ointment to treat a bride-to-be who was suffering from problem skin. Our products still spread the same way: through the word of mouth of people who have used them.”

Dr. Jo Seok-yong, in a Korean beauty trade interview (translated)

That is the historical origin story from his clinic, told in his own words. Baegayul’s current products are cosmetics, not medical treatments, and are made for how skin looks and feels.

Watch him explain why layered moisture leaves stressed skin, with a transcript, in Oily but dehydrated? The Korean term is soobooji., or read how his balance-first philosophy translates into a minimal Korean skincare routine for reactive skin.

The dispensary

Peony, honeysuckle, dried yellow roots, and a dish of Job's Tears arranged on hanji paper

Job's Tears (율무)

A silky grain, like rice water's sturdier cousin. The foundation of the mask's herbal essence, chosen to support skin's own strength.

The three golden roots (삼황)

Three golden roots that pull nutrients from deep underground. Korean medicine's classic calming trio, and the blend the brand calls its three golds.

Peony (작약)

The world's favorite wedding-bouquet flower, prized in Korean medicine for moisture and nourishment. Grown in the mountain soil of Jirisan, Korea's first national park.

Honeysuckle (금은화)

The vine that survives winter to bloom, silver then gold. Korean medicine's oldest companion for keeping skin calm.

Heritage stories from the brand’s Origin pages, not efficacy claims

The record

2007
The research begins
At his Korean medicine clinic near Gangnam Station in Seoul, Dr. Jo begins researching Korean botanical ingredients, guided by the Donguibogam, Korea's 400-year-old medical encyclopedia.
The turning point
One bride's reactive skin
A bride-to-be comes to Dr. Jo for treatment weeks before her wedding. He personally formulates an herbal-extract ointment for her by hand. She tells others, and demand outgrows the clinic.
2017
Bluecellab incorporated
On August 1, 2017 the research becomes a company, and a brand: Baegayul, built on watering skin, soothing it, and then leaving it alone.
2022
Korea votes
First place, Best New Product at the Hwahae Beauty Awards, voted by Korea's largest skincare review app. The mask then holds #1 in hydrating masks for 13 straight weeks.
2023
The serum's year
The serum takes first place as Best New Product on Hwahae.
International expansion
From Seoul to the world
After earning recognition in Korea, Baegayul expands to Vietnam and the United States.