Cosmetics exports last year set a record-high KRW 11.4 billion. Shown are visitors on Aug. 28, 2025, receiving explanations on beauty products at the Seoul Beauty Week held at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul's Jung-gu District. (Lee Jeongwoo)

By Aisylu Akhmetzianova

Cosmetics exports last year broke a record high.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Jan. 9 said such shipments as of late last month grew 12.3% from 2024 to KRW 11.4 billion.

Every month last year broke all-time highs for exports. September saw them surpass KRW 1.1 billion for the first time to KRW 1.15 billion, up 26% from the same month the previous year.

The largest market was the U.S. (USD 2.2 billion), followed by China (USD 2 billion) and Japan (USD 1.1 billion), with the top 10 markets accounting for 70.7% of such exports. The number of export destinations also shot up from 172 in 2024 to 202 last year.

By product type, skincare items led all others in value with USD 8.54 billion, accounting for 11.6% of the annual figure, followed by color cosmetics with USD 1.51 billion (12%) and cleansers USD 590 million (27.3%).

aisylu@korea.kr