Why I studied at MASSTIGE HAIR Academy and not at Juno Academy

In short. A hairdresser planning to study in Seoul usually chooses between two things: a large academy with a ready-made programme, or small-scale training with one particular teacher. I chose the second: MASSTIGE HAIR Academy and Hong Jihoon. The academy is meant for Korean hairdressers, the format is one-to-one, he put the programme together around my question, the practice was on a live model, and he stayed in touch afterwards. Below is an honest comparison of who each one suits, and how to get there from abroad.

Two academies, two different jobs

The Juno figures come from the academy's official website and from published group-trip programmes, checked on 5 October 2026. The prices cannot be compared directly: 18,443,000 won is a six-month course, while 350,000 ₽ is two days of one-to-one training.

Why I chose MASSTIGE

It is an academy for Korean hairdressers, not a stream for foreigners. It teaches people who work in Korean salons, and the programme is built for them. That was the main thing for me: I wanted to see what a Korean hairdresser is taught, not a version arranged for visitors.

A one-to-one format and a programme built around my question. In March 2026 I joined a group seminar on restorative Korean digital perm with Beati solutions. In August I came back for one-to-one training, and Hong Jihoon put the programme together around my question: what happens to the digital perm on different hair, how to do a root perm and how the cold perm works with Korean solutions. On a ready-made course there is simply no way to ask that.

Practice on a live model, not on a mannequin. A mannequin is what you need to set your hand and the winding pattern. But its hair behaves differently: it does not respond to the solution and the heat the way living hair does. My practice was on a live model, and that is a different thing.

The head of the academy teaches it himself. Hong Jihoon is Creative Technical Director of the academy and head of the MASSTIGE HAIR salon, with 30 years of practice. He has written two books, was the first in Korea to teach the Zone & Section system and runs seminars for Korean solution manufacturers. So I was learning from the person who sets the programme, not from someone retelling it.

Working with the solutions you will use afterwards. I trained with Beati solutions, and those are the ones I use in my own studio. When a course runs on one set of solutions and your salon has another, some of the conclusions have to be worked out again from scratch.

The teacher stays in touch. After the training you can write and ask. That turned out to matter more than any polished presentation: the questions come up not during the course but a month into the work, when you reach a client with difficult hair and need to check a decision with someone.

A price that is stated openly. Our training in Seoul costs 350,000 ₽ per participant; the participant pays for flights and accommodation. I give that figure straight away, before any conversation.

Who Juno suits better

Juno Academy is a large and well-respected school, and in many cases choosing it will be the right call.

If you need a long systematic programme from the ground up, Juno has a six-month designer course running five days a week. That is a different job: not one technique but the profession as a whole - women's and men's cutting, perm, colour, styling and upstyling.

If a document from a well-known chain matters to you, the Juno diploma is recognised. If you are more comfortable in a group than one-to-one with a teacher, the group format is exactly that: colleagues beside you, other people's work to watch, questions asked together. And if you are going for cutting, Juno has a strong cutting side, including through its partnership with Sassoon.

I was not choosing "the best academy in general" but the one that solves my problem: one technique, in depth, with one particular teacher. These are different products, and they can only be compared fairly by the job they do, not by the length of the programme or the fame of the name.

A short check to run before the trip: say in one sentence what you want to be able to do when you get back. If the answer sounds like "learn the profession", you need a long programme. If it sounds like "understand one technique to the end and see why the teacher makes the decisions he makes", you need a one-to-one format - and then it matters who exactly teaches you, not whose name is on the door.

What no Korean school will give you

Neither MASSTIGE nor Juno will teach you to work with Slavic hair. The Korean school teaches on Korean hair and says so plainly: a teacher from Seoul has no ready recipe for our hair, and does not promise one.

I went through that part myself, back in Moscow. The first procedures after March produced a wave, but not the one I had seen at the academy: the pattern was weaker and it held less well than I expected after the seminar. The clue came from a Korean client - on her hair the same technique and the same solutions gave exactly the Seoul result. It became clear that the method did not need changing; it needed tuning to different hair. That was the question I took back to Seoul in August.

This is why the course on 25 November in Moscow is taught by two of us: Hong Jihoon demonstrates the technique, and I cover what changes on Slavic hair. More on how training at a Seoul academy works is in How they teach perm in Seoul.

How a hairdresser from Russia gets into MASSTIGE

Classes are held in Korean and are meant for local hairdressers, so signing up on your own is difficult: you need an organiser and interpreting.

I organise the training at MASSTIGE HAIR Academy and travel with the participant: I interpret into Russian and accompany them on both days. The interpreting is not a formality here: the question "why did you choose this setting for this hair" has to be asked and answered on the spot, otherwise the lesson turns into a demonstration without explanations. The next training is in January 2027: two days with Hong Jihoon, 350,000 ₽ per participant. Flights and accommodation are paid by the participant. The dates are arranged with you. Details and booking are on the page Training in Seoul with Hong Jihoon.

If you are not ready to fly to Seoul yet, Hong Jihoon comes to Moscow: the Korean perm course on 25 November 2026, one day, 150,000 ₽. How to choose training in general is covered in Where to learn Korean perm.

Questions and answers

How does MASSTIGE differ from Juno? MASSTIGE is a small academy for Korean hairdressers: the training is one-to-one, the teacher builds the programme around your request, and the practice is on a live model. Juno is a large chain with ready-made programmes: a six-month designer course for Korean students and short 1-3 day courses for foreigners.

What language is used for teaching in Korea? Korean. On Juno's group programmes for Russian-speaking hairdressers there is an interpreter, included in the programme price. On our training at MASSTIGE I interpret myself, and interpreting and accompaniment are included in the price.

Is the practice on a model or on a mannequin? In the published Juno group-trip programmes the practice is on mannequins. My practice at MASSTIGE was on a live model.

How much does training in Seoul cost? Our training in January 2027 is 350,000 ₽ per participant: two days of one-to-one training, interpreting into Russian and accompaniment. Flights and accommodation are extra. The price of Juno's six-month course on the academy website is 18,443,000 won, textbooks included and materials extra; the price of the short courses for foreigners is not published.

Is a certificate issued? Yes. After the training in Seoul a Korean academy certificate is issued. Mine is certificate No. 344, signed by Hong Jihoon, and the scan is open on my page.

Can I study with Hong Jihoon in Moscow? Yes. On 25 November 2026 he teaches the Korean perm course in Moscow, and the day before, on 24 November, a day of Korean haircuts. These are separate courses; you can take one day or both.