Cosmetic exports top $5.6 billion in first 5 months, Seoul's top consumer export item

Tourists look at comestic products at an Olive Young store in Seoul on Nov. 24, 2025. [YONHAP]

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, government data showed Sunday.

Combined outbound shipments of Korean beauty products came to $5.6 billion during the January to May period, up from $4.6 billion recorded a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources.

Related Article

The ministry said demand for Korean cosmetics has continued to expand in Europe and the United States, despite a decline in exports to China, traditionally one of the country's largest overseas markets.