Hi, I'm Joanne. The Storyteller.

The other day, my therapist said,  You know? Here's how I would describe you. You are a storyteller. Over the past several months, we have been working on "filling the bucket." What do I mean by that? The "bucket" is my identity. And in lieu of filling it with achievements, awards, and milestones, we've been—very slowly—trying to fill it with things I love, things I am. Because all the things I do? They are merely... evidence of the things I am. They do not form identity. Rather, they evidence identity. I was raised to prize achievement and productivity above ALL things. And thus, it's been difficult, to say the least, to change the way my brain works. I am trying so very hard to identify and value the things I am, over the things I do. I founded Korean Vegan Beauty, because I love animals, because I am vegan.  I founded The Korean Vegan, because I love kimchi, because I am Korean and vegan. But when Dr. Seth called me a "storyteller," I assumed it was because he'd Googled me. I've been called the "Storytelling Chef" for years, now. It's "part of my brand." But when I said as much, he gave me the classic "deer in headlights" look and said, I have no idea what you're talking about. He continued, I'm calling you a storyteller because it's so obvious from the way you speak. Even in our sessions. You lay everything out, from beginning to end. You tell a story. If you're reading this, I have no idea whether you found me because you follow The Korean Vegan, bought one of my cookbooks, or randomly googled "Korean vegan beauty products." But, I wanted to introduce myself (or reintroduce, as the case may be) and tell you that Dr. Seth was more right than he realized. I am a storyteller. And over the past year, I've been writing the story of my life. Not just mine. But my mother's. My grandmother's. I've had hours and hours and hours of conversations with my mother. I've delved deep into historical archives regarding North Korea, South Korea, and The Korean War. I've tried to retrace the steps my family took from a small fishing province in North Korea to Busan to Jeolla-doh and Chicago, Illinois. And through that journey, I discovered an inheritance waiting for me in the ruins. Uncovering it has been simultaneously joyous and painful, full of wonder and grief. Because our choices are almost never black and white. And neither are we. Regardless of why you're here, I'm just glad you are. And I'm thrilled to share this cover and this moment with you.

One of my favorite content creators, Nik Few, recently came by for an impromptu dinner party at my home. I made burritos. I really like burritos. I made them with Korean BBQ "steak," smothered in Korean BBQ sauce. I also made roasted potatoes and cauliflower and finished the meal off with some blueberry cobbler. It was marvelous. But, that's not really the point of this story. While waiting for dinner, Nic mentioned how much he loves KVB's Vegan Collagen Skin Cream. How he could feel it working the minute he put it on. How his father even commented on how good his skin looked these days. This is not uncommon. I've also fielded my fair share of compliments since using our Skin Cream and the reviews we've received are just as good. But it wasn't until I started really looking into our ingredients--particularly our vegan collagen--that I understood why our Skin Cream works so well. So here are some random things you should know about collagen and skincare. Does Topical Collagen For Your Skin Even Work? Unless you can make collagen molecules small enough to penetrate the skin, topical collagen is not going to replace the collagen your body loses as you age. However, collagen is still valuable as a topical agent because it creates a film over your skin—a good one. It binds water and holds it in the upper layers of your epidermis, and thus visibly plumps and smooths your skin. Those fine lines and wrinkles soften because of the hydration that collagen provides. "Vegan Collagen?" Doesn't Collagen Come From Animals? Vegan collagen is USUALLY an oxymoron and a little bit of “fake news.” Here’s why: Collagen, definitionally, is a protein typically found in ANIMALS—their skin, bone, connective tissue. So, all those products out there claiming to contain “vegan collagen"? They probably don’t. They likely contain “collagen builders”—a cocktail of amino acids and vitamins that give your body the tools to MAKE your own collagen. It’s not bad science, but it isn’t actually collagen. What About KVBeauty's Vegan Collagen? Science has cracked the code on how to make collagen—not just the tools for your own body to make it—without animals. How? If you’re vegan, then you’re probably already very familiar with nutritional yeast. Well, it turns out you can use its cousin, pichia pastoris, to make collagen without animals. This is the collagen contained in every bottle of Korean Vegan Beauty Skin Cream. How Effective is Vegan Collagen? As is often the case, vegan collagen is even MORE EFFECTIVE than animal collagen. Why? Animal collagen varies depending on the source animal: its age, its species, its health, even its diet. But ours? It’s the same quality protein every time with the same genetic construct every time. You know what you’re getting with every jar. Another reason it’s better? Well, kinda like cow’s milk, animal-based collagen isn’t HUMAN. But our recombinant collagen? It expresses on a HUMAN COLLAGEN SEQUENCE, so its molecular structure is closer to what your skin already makes—certainly closer than pig collagen. This means a far lower likelihood of irritation, inflammation, or an allergic reaction. And then of course, have you seen how collagen is extracted from these animals? Trust me, it’s not pretty. You don’t want something with that karmic energy on your face and Korean Vegan Beauty? It’s all about making you pretty—from the inside out!