Both hilarious and ingenious, the Korean muffler is very popular in Seoul and is intended to protect against the winter cold. The accessory popularized by an influencer on TikTok is now starting to be exported abroad.
If it's true that creativity comes from compulsion, then the cold seems to be South Koreans' greatest muse. As winter and its blanket of snow take over the streets of Seoul, the city's residents resist. The sub-zero temperatures there even cause strange fruits to grow on young people's noses. She parades with an accessory that is as popular as it is confusing: the heated nose cloth. The object of the crime looks like a kind of transparent plastic ball that is attached behind the head and covers the nose. What's the point? Compared to other parts of the human body, the nose tends to cool down more quickly. Because it's mostly made of cartilage tissue, it doesn't contain enough insulating fat to keep you warm. This type of facial dome thus creates a pleasant microclimate for the wearer.
Relatively little known in the rest of the world, the nose scarf gained its breakthrough and won popularity on TikTok following a post by content creator Jeff Kimie (more than 408,000 subscribers), who specializes in videos narrating his daily life in Korea. In a video that has been viewed more than 6.4 million times, the influencer looks back on the country's harsh winters and explains the origin of the name of the hairpiece that is shaking the internet. A scarf is called mok do ri while the nose scarf is called ko do ri. The video inspired TikTok users from cold regions of the world like Scandinavia to adopt it in turn. The accessory is even available on marketplaces like Etsy or Alibaba.
The trend has gained traction thanks to its functionality, ingenuity and strong comedic potential. The piece, with its original design and adjustable shape as desired, is reminiscent (for the more eccentric) of Snapchat's dog or pig filters. The Ko do Ri is increasingly becoming the way to go out dressed up every day to seriously brave the cold snaps.