Korean skincare
The worldwide trend
Korea has an ancient history of cosmetics use, and today it is an important industry in South Korea. South Korea is one of the top 10 beauty markets in the world, known for innovation, gentle ingredients, and pleasing packaging. In 2020, the market size was estimated to be $6.8 billion, a significant drop from the previous year’s $9.4 billion due to impacts of COVID-19. Despite the overall recession in the domestic beauty industry, the total export of K-beauty products and the balance of trade have increased approximately 16 percent and 14 percent respectively from the previous year. Meanwhile, total imports of cosmetics in 2020 went down 2.8 percent from 2019 and was valued at $1.1 billion. On a country-by-country basis, France ($433 million) was the largest exporter to Korea in 2020, followed by the U.S. ($337 million) and Japan ($161 million).