Korean culture
初美, "the beginning of beauty": the story of the name CHOMI
Our name is two syllables with Korean roots: 初 (cho), the beginning, and 美 (mi), beauty. Here's what each one means, where you'll meet them in Korean, and what the name stands for.
22 October 20265 min read
Every name on a box tells a small story. Ours fits into two syllables: CHO and MI. Read together, they mean "the beginning of beauty", and that idea sits at the heart of everything CHOMI does, from the first product you try to the routine you build around it.
Two syllables with Korean roots
Korean is written in Hangul, but a large part of its vocabulary comes from hanja, the Chinese characters that shaped many Korean words. Each character is read as one Korean syllable and carries its own meaning, and both halves of our name are among them. Learn them once and you'll start spotting them everywhere, from street signs to the labels on your skincare.
You'll hear it in 초봄 (cho-bom), early spring, and 초여름 (cho-yeo-reum), early summer. Our favorite is 초심 (cho-sim), literally "the first heart": the intention you had when you started something. "Don't lose your first heart" is a common Korean expression, a reminder to stay true to why you began.
This one lives all over the beauty world. 미인 (mi-in) is a beautiful person, 미용 (mi-yong) is beauty care, and on Korean skincare boxes you'll find 미백 (mi-baek), the word for brightening. If you've read our guide to Korean labels, you've already met it.
Why MI is in capitals
Sometimes we write our name as choMI, with the second syllable in capitals. It's a small way of putting 美, beauty, in the spotlight. In Arabic it's written تشومي, and whichever way you write it, it means the same thing: beauty, from its first step.
Every routine starts with a first step. CHOMI is that first step towards beauty.
What the name stands for
- Beauty begins with healthy skin. In Korean beauty, skin comes first and makeup second, so our journal, our routines and the expert all start there.
- From the source, first-hand. CHOMI began with two Saudis, an engineer and logistics specialist and a pharmacist, who travelled to Korea to find products at their origin and follow everything new.
- Every beginner is welcome. Whether this is your first sunscreen or your tenth serum, there's always a first step, and we're here to help you take it.
- 초심, the first heart. Staying true to why we started: authentic products, explained honestly, with clear ingredients and clear expiry dates.
So the next time a box with our name arrives at your door, you'll know what it says: this is where beauty begins. And every beginning, like every good routine, is worth taking one gentle step at a time.
Where many routines begin
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