K-pop broke taboos by being inclusive. Now, K-beauty is starting to do the same

A row of cosmetics stores on the Myeongdong shopping street in Seoul. (Kyodo News/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

These days, attend any K-pop concert – whether it’s Blackpink or BTS – and you’ll find a crowd of diverse fans coming from all over the world and singing along, even though the songs are primarily in Korean. It’s a telling symbol of South Korea’s push to diversify and reboot its economy through the global spread of Korean culture – also known as “Hallyu” or the Korean Wave. Yet, despite today’s outsized international interest in K-culture, one facet that some new, eager fans haven’t been able to fully enjoy is K-beauty.

Despite being one of the nation’s top cultural exports, K-beauty has struggled at times to cater to a broad demographic. When it comes to concealers, foundations and other makeup products by Korean beauty brands, the shade range has historically been limited, focusing on light-to-medium skin tones. They’re also almost exclusively promoted by thin, young, extremely fair-skinned models. It’s a narrow approach that is arguably outdated amid the progress made by global beauty companies, where inclusive marketing and product design have become essential to customer loyalty and revenue.

It also feels at odds with the advancements made by K-pop idols in challenging stereotypes. From the colorful, floppy hairstyles of Korean boy band Stray Kids, or the non-binary wardrobes of trailblazing singers like G-Dragon of Big Bang and Seonghwa of ATEEZ, K-pop’s male idols have long fostered diverse expressions of masculinity. They have no qualms about wearing clothes largely viewed as feminine – like skirts, corsets or heels – and openly use makeup and skincare. (Indeed, BTS members V and Jungkook were last year appointed ambassadors for Korean makeup brand Titir, and Chanel Beauty, respectively.) They also often express vulnerability and emotion, challenging traditional Western associations of manhood with stoic toughness.

Yet diversity and inclusivity in the country more generally have lagged. A 2025 report by South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism found that just over 38 per cent of respondents (4,974 adults nationwide) did not know what cultural diversity meant. Meanwhile, 54 per cent had developed stereotypes or prejudices against certain cultures or groups through media.

When it comes to beauty standards in South Korea, there are multiple factors to consider, such as the country’s ethnic homogeneity, due in part to its historically strict attitude towards immigration, and cultural preferences. Whether K-beauty should be more inclusive is a topic that has sparked much debate in recent years. While some assert that all brands should adopt inclusive practices, others argue that it can be performative and does not truly serve people’s needs.

As one user on Reddit wrote, “I have a friend who works as a data analyst at a luxury makeup company, and of their 30 plus shades of foundations/concealers, only six shades make up 95 per cent of foundation/concealer sales. So, for their brand, investing in this wide shade range costs way more money… and the sales from these shades is frankly not worth the cost to develop and produce.” They added: “Even when they produce fewer units of the unpopular shades, those still never sell out.”

Speaking to CNN, Hye Jin Lee, clinical associate professor of communication at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism in Los Angeles, said: “It’s important to consider the context in which Korean beauty products were initially developed and marketed. They were primarily created for the domestic Korean market. K-beauty (and Korean culture more broadly) has only become a global trend in more recent years, which has, in turn, raised new questions about inclusivity… as it is increasingly exported and marketed to consumers worldwide.”

K-beauty beyond K-pop

South Korea is gradually becoming a more heterogeneous society, with international marriages and a more global workforce leading to an increasing foreign-born population (which in 2025 exceeded 5 per cent, nearing the country’s threshold for a “multicultural society”). The popularity of pop groups born out of South Korea has also created vast, international fanbases that have become a major driver of tourism (BTS’ upcoming “Arirang” world tour, for example, is expected to generate tens of millions of dollars for local economies.)

Links can be seen between the popularity of K-beauty – a sector estimated by research firm Mintel to be worth more than US$90 billion – and the rise of Korean culture internationally. “The visibility and visual culture of K-pop and K-dramas reinforce perceptions of K-beauty’s effectiveness and help sustain popular narratives around Asian skincare and aging, as demonstrated by the internet slang, ‘Asian don’t raisin,’” said USC Annenberg’s Lee – a phrase implying that people of Asian descent age slowly and maintain youthful skin.

When White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt visited Korea last year for the APEC Summit, she made sure to purchase K-beauty products at local retail giant Olive Young – and share her experience on social media. “This generated significant media and public attention in Korea, and it was widely discussed as a sign of K-beauty’s growing global visibility beyond traditional K-culture audiences,” said Lee.

The increasing ubiquity of K-beauty products outside Korea is also enabling a broader following. In 2024, South Korea overtook France as the top exporter of beauty products to the U.S., with shipments hitting $1.7 billion. Today, Korean beauty brands are sold widely in stores across America, including Costco, Target and Sephora – the latter in January 2026 signed a notable partnership with Olive Young, prompting the K-beauty retailer to open its own stores in the U.S. for the first time this year. Dedicated K-beauty concept stores have also been opening in European cities ranging from Paris to Warsaw, while local retailers and pharmacies have been expanding their K-beauty offerings.

The Beauty Edit Mayfair, an independent beauty boutique in central London, introduced K-beauty masterclasses and facials for the first time in 2025. Founder Sherille Riley, who previously worked as a facialist for high-end brands like La Prairie and Crème de la Mer, had until recently struggled to shop for K-beauty in person and initially bought the products online – only to run the risk of long shipping times or unknowingly buying a fake.

A growing number of customers were also asking for K-beauty products, she said, which prompted her to seek them out for her store. A misconception, Riley notes, is that there is only interest from customers of Asian heritage. Despite The Beauty Edit Mayfair’s international clientele, K-beauty is requested “predominantly by Western women,” Riley said.

A long waitlist but no products

As K-beauty becomes increasingly sought after worldwide, it will need to address a broader range of customers beyond Korean, or even East Asian, skin tones.

For Melissa Alfer, it was her children’s love for K-pop that ultimately inspired her to leave her job as a talent agent and team up with Hugo de Mondragon, a former duty-free consultant, to establish K+Brown, a Seoul-based skincare brand for melanin-rich skin. “At every K-pop concert or event, I see so much diversity in the crowd. Girls with darker skin tones, with hijabs, Latinas, Afro-Americans,” Alfer said. “There is a lot of enthusiasm from people of color for K-pop and K-culture, but they’re not always represented when it comes to K-beauty.”

K+Brown’s first product is a biomimetic serum, designed to improve moisture in darker skin. And while it won’t launch until the end of February, it has already amassed a waitlist of several thousand, according to Alfer. Her decision to launch skincare aligns with traditional K-beauty regimes, which prioritizes long-term skin health, hydration and barrier protection over covering imperfections with makeup.

The plan is to sell directly to customers via its website and eventually expand into third-party retail (already, there is interest from stores in the U.K. and U.S., said Alfer). She added that the brand has also received over $500,000 from investors, as well as support from the South Korean government – which, after reviewing their business plan and pitch, provided an office in Seoul and visas to work in the country.

Homegrown brands are beginning to adapt, too. K-beauty brand Tirtir has been operating since 2016, but in 2023 it gained global attention for its Mask Fit Red Cushion Foundation – then only available in three shades: “porcelain,” “ivory” and “sand.” In the local Korean market, a three-shade offering was not unusual, but as Tirtir was expanding across the U.S. and Europe, it drew ire from influencers in the West struggling to find a shade match. By 2024, the brand announced it would add six more shades for a total of nine. Today, Tirtir’s cushion foundation comes in 40 shades, though custom offerings (available on request) mean it can go up to 150, making it one of the most inclusive in the K-beauty sector.

The expansion of foundation shades was “a direct response to listening more closely to our customers,” Monica Park, head of Tirtir’s global business division, told CNN over email, acknowledging that the initial shade range “did not fully reflect the diverse community engaging with our brand.” The upshot has been “broader adoption, stronger consumer trust and increased repeat purchase behavior,” Park said. “As we continue to expand internationally, inclusivity has become an even more important guiding principle in how we scale.”

Elsewhere, Amore Seongsu, an experiential multi-brand store in Seoul featuring labels owned by K-beauty giant the Amorepacific Group, has a section for creating foundations and lipsticks in custom shades – making it a must-visit destination for tourists in recent years. Meanwhile, Jung Saem Mool Beauty, named after its famous founder – a Korean celebrity makeup artist – recently launched cushion foundations designed for darker skin tones. Seoul-born SPF specialist Beauty of Joseon has resonated with customers internationally for its sunscreen that caters to darker skin tones.

As Mintel’s director of insights for beauty and personal care Andrew McDougall notes, K-beauty has “become this mainstream global force.” However, “outside of Korea, you have a much bigger demand for diversity and representation. If the K-beauty market can adapt, that will see it grow even more,” he said.

For K+Brown’s Alfer, creating an inclusive brand is a no-brainer. “Historically it’s been quite complicated to find your way as a person of color when it comes to K-beauty,” she said. “We want to be the Katseye of beauty,” she added, referring to the girl group featuring members from diverse backgrounds. “A brand that’s going to talk to all these people.”

By Kati Chitrakorn, CNN