The Rise of K-Beauty

Korean cosmetics now sit alongside food, music and television as part of what is called the Korean Wave, or Hallyu. The industry has deeper roots than the recent boom suggests, and its growth can be followed through a company history, a product format and a set of official export numbers.

From camellia oil to a cosmetics house

The best-known company in the story is Amorepacific. According to a Korea Herald account of the company's history, it traces back to Yun Dok-jeong, who sold camellia hair oil in Gaeseong, in present-day North Korea. In 1932 she opened a shop called Changseong Store and added products such as facial cream and powder. Her son Suh Sung-whan founded Pacific Chemical Industries in 1945, described as Korea's first cosmetics manufacturer. The company made its first export, to Ethiopia, in 1964 and adopted the English name AmorePacific in 2002. Camellia oil, a traditional hair and skin ingredient, is the starting point; the long list of other traditional ingredients is covered elsewhere in this section, for example ginseng in beauty and rice water.

Hallyu and the export decade

By the mid-2010s Korean press was describing a "K-beauty boom" tied to Hallyu fervor. A 2016 Korea Times report counted registered cosmetics sellers in Korea rising from 591 in 2010 to 3,840 in 2015. It also noted the growth of contract manufacturers that make products for other brands, with industry watchers estimating that market at 1 to 1.5 trillion won a year. Fan interest in dramas and pop music is a plausible driver, and Korean officials and media have said so, but nothing in the sources reviewed here isolates its effect from price, product quality or retail strategy. For the parallel story in food, see Korean food abroad.

BB creams and cushions

Two product formats are closely tied to Korea's reputation. BB cream, a tinted cream combining makeup and skincare, did not originate in Korea, but Korean brands reworked it into an everyday product and helped make it known worldwide.

The cushion compact is better documented. The Korea Times reports that AmorePacific created the first cushion compact, the IOPE Air Cushion, in 2008. It holds liquid foundation in a sponge inside a compact. The same report says AmorePacific receives royalties from Dior for using the sponge, and describes a patent dispute in which Korea's Supreme Court in 2024 rejected AmorePacific's request to recognize its patent on the sponge. Cushion foundations are now made by many brands.

Export figures

The numbers below come from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) as reported in the press, so they are product shipments rather than brand revenues.

• 2024: The JoongAng Daily reports record cosmetics exports of $10.28 billion, up 20.3 percent from 2023, making Korea the world's third-largest cosmetics exporter, behind France ($23.26 billion) and the United States ($11.2 billion). It passed Germany ($9.08 billion). Shipments reached 172 countries.
• Destinations: China remained the largest buyer at $2.49 billion, but its share of Korean exports fell from 53.2 percent in 2021 to 24.5 percent in 2024. The United States took $1.9 billion and Japan $1.04 billion.
• 2025: The Korea Herald, citing estimated MFDS figures, reports about $11.4 billion, up 12.3 percent, with the United States ($2.2 billion) the largest market, ahead of China ($2 billion), and shipments to 202 countries.
• Into the US market: Korea.net notes that, according to the US International Trade Commission, Korean cosmetics exports to the United States reached $1.7 billion in 2024, overtaking France at $1.3 billion as the top supplier.

What the numbers do and do not say

Skincare is the core of the category. In 2024 basic skincare, such as lotions, creams and serums, made up 58.7 percent of domestic production by value, per the JoongAng Daily's report of MFDS data. The growth also reflects smaller, newer brands and the contract manufacturers behind them, not just one famous name. Taste and routine habits spread alongside the products, a theme taken up in the K-beauty routine and K-beauty vocabulary.