Currently, when attending any K-pop – whether it’s Blackpink or BTS – you’ll find a diverse crowd of fans coming from all over the world and singing along, even though the songs are mostly in Korean.
It’s a telling symbol of South Korea’s effort to diversify and restart its economy through the global spread of Korean culture – also known as “Hallyu” or the Korean Wave.
However, despite the current enormous international interest in K culture, one facet that some new and enthusiastic fans have failed to fully enjoy is .
Despite being one of the country’s main cultural exports, K-beauty has sometimes struggled to reach a broad audience. When it comes to concealers, foundations, and other makeup products from Korean beauty brands, the shade range has historically been limited, focusing on fair to medium skin tones. They are also promoted almost exclusively by thin, young, extremely fair-skinned models.
It’s a narrow approach that is, admittedly, obsolete amid the progress made by global beauty companies, where inclusive marketing and product design have become essential to customer loyalty and revenue.
This also seems at odds with the strides idols have made in challenging stereotypes. From the colorful, laid-back hairstyles of Korean boy band Stray Kids, or the non-binary wardrobes of pioneering singers like Big Bang’s G-Dragon and ATEEZ’s Seonghwa, K-pop male idols have long promoted diverse expressions of masculinity.
They are not afraid to wear clothes widely seen as feminine – such as skirts, corsets or heels – and openly use makeup and skin care. (In fact, members V and Jungkook were last year named ambassadors for Korean makeup brand Tirtir and Chanel Beauty, respectively.) They also often express vulnerability and emotion, defying traditional Western associations of masculinity with stoic toughness.
However, diversity and inclusion in the country, in general, lagged behind. A 2025 report from South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism found that just over 38% of respondents (4,974 adults nationwide) did not know what cultural diversity meant. Meanwhile, 54% had developed stereotypes or prejudices against certain cultures or groups through the 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 generated a lot of debate in recent years. While some argue that all brands should adopt inclusive practices, others argue that this can be performative and doesn’t truly meet 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 out of their 30+ foundation/concealer shades, just six shades make up 95% of foundation/concealer sales. So for their brand, investing in this wide range of shades costs a lot more money… and the sales of those shades are frankly not worth the cost of development and production.” They added: “Even when they produce fewer units of the unpopular tones, they still never sell out.”
Speaking to CNNHye 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 created primarily for the domestic Korean market. K-beauty (and Korean culture more broadly) has only become a global trend in more recent years, which in turn has raised new questions about inclusivity… as it is increasingly exported and marketed to consumers in everyone.”
K-beauty goes beyond K-pop
South Korea is gradually becoming a more heterogeneous society, with international marriages and a more global workforce leading to a growing foreign-born population (which by 2025 has surpassed 5%, approaching the country’s threshold for a “multicultural society”). The popularity of South Korean-born pop groups has also created vast international fan bases 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).
Connections can be seen between the popularity of K-beauty – an industry 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 the effectiveness of K-beauty and help support popular narratives around skin care and Asian aging, as demonstrated by the internet slang, ‘Asian don’t raisin,’” said USC Annenberg’s Lee — a phrase that suggests 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 a point of purchasing K-beauty products from local retail giant Olive Young — and sharing her experience on social media. “This generated significant media and public attention in Korea, and was widely discussed as a sign of K-beauty’s growing global visibility beyond traditional K-culture audiences,” Lee said.
The increasing ubiquity of K-beauty products outside of Korea is also allowing for broader following. In 2024, South Korea surpassed France as the largest exporter of beauty products to the US, with shipments reaching $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, leading the K-beauty retailer to open its own stores in the US for the first time this year. Concept stores dedicated to K-beauty have also been opening in European cities ranging from Paris to Warsaw, while local retailers and pharmacies have expanded their K-beauty offerings.
The Beauty Edit Mayfair, an independent beauty boutique in central London, has introduced K-beauty masterclasses and facials for the first time in 2025. Founder Sherille Riley, who previously worked as an esthetician for luxury brands such as La Prairie and Crème de la Mer, until recently had difficulty purchasing K-beauty in person and initially purchased the products online – risking long shipping times or unknowingly purchasing a fake.
A growing number of customers were also asking for K-beauty products, she said, which prompted her to source them for her store. One misconception, Riley notes, is that there is interest only from clients of Asian descent. Despite The Beauty Edit Mayfair’s international clientele, K-beauty is requested “predominantly by Western women,” Riley said.
A long waiting list, but no products
As K-beauty becomes increasingly sought after around the world, it will need to cater to a wider range of customers beyond Korean, or even East Asian, skin tones.
For Melissa Alfer, it was her children’s love of K-pop that inspired her to quit 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, African-Americans,” Alfer said. “There is a lot of enthusiasm from people of color for K-pop and K culture, but they are not always represented when it comes to K-beauty.”
K+Brown’s first product is a biomimetic serum designed to improve hydration in darker skin. And although it won’t launch until the end of February, it has already accumulated a waiting list of several thousand people, according to Alfer. Her decision to launch skincare aligns with traditional K-beauty regimens, which prioritize long-term skin health, hydration, and skin barrier protection over covering imperfections with makeup.
The plan is to sell directly to customers through its website and eventually expand into third-party retail (there is already interest from stores in the UK and US, Alfer said). She added that the brand also received more than $500,000 from investors, as well as support from the South Korean government – which, after reviewing its business plan and presentation, provided an office in Seoul and visas to work in the country.
Local brands are also starting to adapt. K-beauty brand Tirtir has been operating since 2016, but in 2023 it gained global attention for its Mask Fit Red Cushion foundation – at the time available in just three shades: “porcelain”, “ivory” and “sand”. In the local Korean market, a three-shade offering was not uncommon, but as Tirtir was expanding across the US and Europe, it drew the ire of influencers in the West who struggled to find a shade match. In 2024, the brand announced that it would add six more shades, bringing the total to nine. Today, Tirtir’s cushion foundation comes in 40 shades, although custom offerings (available upon request) mean it can go up to 150, making it one of the most inclusive in the K-beauty sector.
The expansion of base shades was “a direct response to listening more closely to our customers,” Monica Park, head of Tirtir’s global business division, told CNN in an email, acknowledging that the initial range of shades “did not fully reflect the diverse community that engages with our brand.” The result was “wider adoption, greater consumer confidence and increased repurchase 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 that features labels owned by K-beauty giant 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 beauty and personal care insights, Andrew McDougall, notes, K-beauty “has become this dominant global force.” However, “outside of Korea, there is a much greater demand for diversity and representation. If the K-beauty market can adapt, this will see it grow even further,” he said.
For Alfer, from K+Brown, creating an inclusive brand is a no-brainer. “Historically, it’s been quite tricky finding 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 that has members from diverse backgrounds. “A brand that will speak to all these people.”
