Who would have thought that serums infused with snail mucin—the sticky substance it secretes—would become a part of skincare routines around the world?
Well, it happened — and sticky elasticity is key, according to a viral TikTok challenge promoting the serum. It made its producer, the small South Korean label CosRX, go global. It is now owned by Amorepacific, the largest cosmetics company in the country.
The rapid spread of that sticky serum tells you how wildly successful K-beauty has become. Fueled by viral content and trends, it is one of the biggest industries in South Korea, where the pressure to look near flawless has always been huge in a highly competitive society.
The domestic market alone was valued at around $13bn (£9.6bn) in 2024, with sales of some products expected to grow at double-digit rates. And the rest of the world is just as obsessed with K-beauty—which is perhaps not surprising, given that it’s part of the Hallyu, or Korean Wave, that made K-Pop and K-dramas a global phenomenon.
K-beauty brands now occupy entire sections at global retailers – from Sephora to Boots to Walmart. In the first half of 2025, South Korea has overtaken France, the birthplace of modern cosmetics, to become the world’s second largest exporter of beauty products after the United States.
Search for “Korean skincare” on TikTok, Instagram or YouTube and you will be greeted with a flood of content from influencers, some of whom have hundreds of millions of followers. They dissect ingredient lists, film unboxings, and record “Get Ready With Me” videos built around ideas like “glass skin,” sheet masks, and, of course, snail mucin.
“There are so many products and brands, and oftentimes you’re exposed to millions of them as a consumer — it’s very saturated and competitive,” said Liah Yoo, a beauty influencer and founder of US-based K beauty brand Krave Beauty.
At the heart of K-beauty’s rise is a relentless pace of innovation. New formulations appear every few months, often designed to spark the next online obsession.
Ten-step skincare routines, overnight “water sleeping masks” and headline-grabbing ingredients like salmon sperm were once considered niche or unappealing. Today, many are staples in bathroom cabinets from London to Los Angeles.
Social media has been central to this change. Products launched in Seoul are instant on TikTok and Instagram in the US, UK, India and Australia.
There are growing concerns, however, about the social impact of beauty ideals, particularly on young people. Experts warn that constant exposure to online skin care content can fuel anxiety and overspending.
K-pop star Yoona is promoting one of the most famous beauty brands in South Korea [Getty Images]
“We are fully aware that excessive use or abuse of social media can lead to adverse reactions,” said Kim Seung-hwan, chief executive of Amorepacific, adding that brands need to strike a careful balance in how they use online platforms.
The challenge will only increase as the industry expands to include Western multinationals.
L’Oréal acquired a South Korean conglomerate that included the Dr.G brand in late 2024, saying the deal will help meet growing demand for effective yet affordable K-beauty products.
Other global firms are increasingly incorporating popular ingredients associated with Korean brands such as centella asiatica and rice water into their own lines.
Many of South Korea’s big beauty brands are part of the country’s powerful conglomerates, or chaebols.
Amorepacific accounts for about half of the domestic market. Its portfolio ranges from premium brands such as Sulwhasoo to global market names such as Laneige, eco-oriented labels such as Innisfree and fast-growing independent brands. But even as a chaebol, Amorepacific says it looks to smaller independent brands for fresh ideas.
Influencer Aylen Park and her mother attend a Korean beauty event organized by Amorepacific and Sephora in New York [Getty Images]
“Through the CosRX founder and team, we were able to learn their approach to formula innovation and how to respond more quickly to consumer needs,” said Amorepacific’s Mr. Kim. “These lessons have since been integrated into our broader organization.”
In 2024, Amorepacific had a revenue of approximately $3.2 billion. LG Household & Health Care, another major conglomerate, had sales of $2.1 billion. The scale of the industry also continues to show in South Korea’s export figures.
Exports rose 15 percent in the first half of 2025 to a record $5.5 billion, largely driven by strong sales in the US and Europe, putting the country on track to surpass $10 billion in annual beauty exports.
For Mr. Kim, all customers are not the same.
“In countries like Japan, Korea and China, there is more interest in things like flawless skin. In Europe perfume is the main category, and in the US makeup is more popular,” he said.
“However, things are changing,” he added, pointing to growing interest among Western consumers in youthful-looking skin and sun protection, particularly as awareness of climate change and UV exposure grows.
To meet ever-increasing demand, South Korea’s approximately 30,000 beauty brands rely on a highly sophisticated industrial ecosystem.
They are supported by original development manufacturers, or ODMs, who handle research, formulation and production for thousands of labels.
Amorepacific is the largest cosmetics company in South Korea [Getty Images]
Even large conglomerates outsource some product lines, while smaller names depend heavily on ODMs to move quickly and keep costs down.
Cosmax, one of the largest manufacturers, supplies products for approximately 4,500 brands from factories in South Korea, China, the US and Southeast Asia.
In 2024, it accounted for just over a quarter of South Korea’s cosmetics exports, worth $10 billion.
This allows products to go from being conceptualized to being sold in just six months—a process that can take one to three years for many Western brands.
Automation helps reduce costs. The BBC visited a sprawling Amorepacific factory outside South Korea’s capital, Seoul, where several workers oversaw fully automated production lines bottling Laneige’s Water Sleeping Mask and CosRX’s Vitamin C 23 Serum.
Speed, however, comes at a cost. Intense competition has contributed to thin profit margins and high business failure rates. According to government data, more than 8,800 cosmetic brands have gone out of business in recent years.
“South Korea has a great infrastructure that can help you build a brand quickly, but developing a successful brand is another story,” Ms Yoo said. “It comes down to your brand ethos, your identity and how different your products are to anything else on the market.”
As competition intensifies, brands face increasing pressure to be more transparent and focus on the ingredients and effectiveness of their products rather than celebrity endorsement.
“We’re not just buying from the big brands now. We’re actually talking about the ingredients, where it comes from, what it does,” said Mia Chen, a prominent beauty influencer. “A lot of Korean skincare is derived from natural ingredients and we all want that on our skin without the side effects.”
Sydney Sweeney is the global ambassador of the Amorepacific Laneige brand [Getty Images]
The industry is also shaped by its changing market.
China is no longer the largest overseas buyer as its own brands erode the dominance once enjoyed by Japanese and Korean imports.
For the first time in 80 years, Amorepacific’s business in North America surpassed that of China last year, Kim said, adding that the firm also expects growth in Japan, Europe, India and the Middle East.
The US remains a key market, importing more beauty products from South Korea than anywhere else. But President Donald Trump’s 15 percent tariffs on Korean imports have raised some uncertainty.
Olive Young, South Korea’s largest cosmetics retailer, which plans to open its first store in the US this year, has imposed a 15% tariff on US orders. Amorepacific said it would only consider price increases on a case-by-case basis based on discussions with retail partners such as Sephora and Walmart.
But the firms have the support of the South Korean government, which designated K-beauty a strategic national asset in December, promising to support production and exports.
It’s a telling vote of confidence in an industry that started as a viral trend and is now an economic force.
Additional reporting by Jaltson is like this Chummar and Juna Moon
