Korea's Cosmetics Exports Hit Record High as Skincare Trend Spreads

According to data released by South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) on July 2, cosmetics exports in the first half of this year totaled 7 billion dollars, up 27.3% year-on-year — the strongest first-half performance on record. The United States led destination markets with 1.45 billion dollars (20.7% of the total), rising a sharp 41.5% from a year earlier, while China held second p

lace at 1.01 billion dollars (14.4%) despite a 6.6% decline, followed by Japan at 580 million dollars. By product type, basic skincare accounted for most of exports at 5.48 billion dollars, up 25.0%, in contrast to color cosmetics (720 million dollars) and body-cleansing products (340 million dollars), which fell 4.2% and 20.6% respectively. In the U.S. market alone, skincare exports jumped 48.6%

to 1.1 billion dollars, driving much of the overall growth. The pattern shows up on store shelves too. A trend report that CJ Olive Young, the country's largest K-beauty retail chain, published last December found that even within the makeup category, searches for skincare-related keywords such as "soothing," "barrier" and "hydration" rose more than 150% year-on-year. Interest in basic skincare i

s spreading into color cosmetics, body care, hair care and beauty supplements, with brands increasingly building soothing ingredients into color products. For visitors browsing Korean beauty stores, keeping an eye out for color cosmetics labeled "hydrating," "soothing" or "barrier-strengthening" lines up with the current trend — useful shorthand for deciding which shelves to check first when shopp

ing time is limited. This article was reported by the Korea Tourism Times staff based on data released by South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and CJ Olive Young. Korea Tourism Times Editorial Desk