SEOUL: South Korea’s outbound shipments of cosmetics jumped sharply from a year earlier in the first five months of the year, making beauty products the country’s top consumer export item, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing government data.
Combined outbound shipments of Korean beauty products came to US$5.6 billion during the Jan-May period, up from US$4.6 billion recorded a year earlier, according to data released on Sunday by the trade, industry and resources ministry.
The ministry said demand for South Korean cosmetics has continued to expand in Europe and the US, despite a decline in exports to China, traditionally one of the country’s largest overseas markets.
Notably, cosmetics became the top export item among the country’s five major consumer goods categories — agricultural and fishery products, cosmetics, fashion apparel, household goods and pharmaceuticals.
Over the past three years, agricultural and fishery products had consistently ranked as the largest export category among the five consumer goods sectors.
South Korea’s cosmetics exports surpassed the US$10 billion mark for the first time in 2024, before reaching an all-time high of US$11.4 billion in 2025.
