Hello, my name is Myeong Jo Lee. I founded the original skincare company that would become Saranghae Skincare

“All I tried to do was to start taking tiny steps. Everything else I left up to my God”

Myeong Jo is the spiritual matriarch of Saranghae and Peter’s mother.

Myeong Jo’s desire to help her sister heal burn scars led to the creation of our first generation sang hwang mushroom cream. Today in its 8th generation, the Firm & Lift Regeneration Cream is our most enduring and most popular product.

"When I started I knew I wanted to find the solution in nature, nature always finds a way.. ”

Myeong Jo grew up in poverty during the Korean War and like every Korean at that time, tried to survive by any means possible. Early in her twenties and by a stroke of luck, she was hired as an assistant at AmorePacific, South Korea’s first and now largest skincare company. At AmorePacific she would take on many roles, eventually learning and honing her craft from some of Korea’s best skincare formulators.

Becoming a female entrepreneur in a patriarchal society that was 1970s South Korea was no easy endeavor. Shut out from distributors and retailers who did not believe a woman should be running her own business, she built her company from the ground up, selling her formulations door-to-door and through word of mouth. Although eventually she gave up the business to immigrate to Canada, her legacy lives on as her son and daughter-in-law, Peter and Andrea make it their mission to revive the brand that she loved so much.

Now in her 80s, Myeong Jo loves golf, hiking in nature, and doting on her beloved grandchildren. Myeong Jo is no longer active in the business but still loves to talk shop with Peter & Andrea from time to time.

Thank you, Myeong Jo, for blazing a path for female entrepreneurs and taking the leap of faith that would go on to help hundreds of thousands of men and women around the world.

The Saranghae Story

“Saranghae Means I Love You ”

'Sa - Rang - Hae' means 'I love you' in Korean.We are a Korean Beauty company that marries ancient Asian medicinal philosophies with modern anti-aging science.

Our journey started when our spiritual founder Myeong-Jo Lee originally wanted to create a skin cream to help her sister heal from burn scars. After 2 years of trials, Myeong-Jo found that not only did her formulation help heal scarring, it reduced wrinkles, and improved skin firmness and resiliency.