{"id":305910,"date":"2026-02-19T10:13:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T10:13:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/305910\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T10:13:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T10:13:10","slug":"k-pop-broke-taboos-by-being-inclusive-now-k-beauty-is-starting-to-do-the-same","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/305910\/","title":{"rendered":"K-pop broke taboos by being inclusive. Now, K-beauty is starting to do the same"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n These days, attend any K-pop concert \u2013 whether it\u2019s Blackpink or BTS \u2013 and you\u2019ll find a crowd of diverse fans coming from all over the world and singing along, even though the songs are primarily in Korean. It\u2019s a telling symbol of South Korea\u2019s push to diversify and reboot its economy through the global spread of Korean culture \u2013 also known as \u201cHallyu\u201d or the Korean Wave. Yet, despite today\u2019s outsized international interest in K-culture, one facet that some new, eager fans haven\u2019t been able to fully enjoy is K-beauty.\n <\/p>\n

\n Despite being one of the nation\u2019s 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\u2019re also almost exclusively promoted by thin, young, extremely fair-skinned models. It\u2019s a narrow approach that is arguably outdated amid the progress made by global beauty companies, where inclusive marketing and product design have become essential to customer loyalty and revenue.\n <\/p>\n

\n 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\u2019s male idols have long fostered diverse expressions of masculinity. They have no qualms about wearing clothes largely viewed as feminine \u2013 like skirts, corsets or heels \u2013 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.\n <\/p>\n

\n Yet diversity and inclusivity in the country more generally have lagged. A 2025 report by South Korea\u2019s 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 media.\n <\/p>\n

\"G-Dragon<\/p>\n

\"Felix<\/p>\n

\n When it comes to beauty standards in South Korea, there are multiple factors to consider, such as the country\u2019s 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\u2019s needs.\n <\/p>\n

\n As one user on Reddit wrote<\/a>, \u201cI have a friend who works as a data analyst at a luxury makeup company, and of their 30+ shades of foundations\/concealers, only six shades make up 95% of foundation\/concealer sales. So, for their brand, investing in this wide shade range costs way more money\u2026 and the sales from these shades is frankly not worth the cost to develop and produce.\u201d They added: \u201cEven when they produce fewer units of the unpopular shades, those still never sell out.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Speaking to CNN, Hye Jin Lee, clinical associate professor of communication at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism in Los Angeles, said: \u201cIt\u2019s 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\u2026 as it is increasingly exported and marketed to consumers worldwide.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

\n 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%, nearing the country\u2019s threshold for a \u201cmulticultural society\u201d). 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\u2019 upcoming \u201cArirang\u201d world tour, for example, is expected to generate tens of millions of dollars for local economies.)\n <\/p>\n

\n Links can be seen between the popularity of K-beauty \u2013 a sector estimated by research firm Mintel to be worth more than $90 billion \u2013 and the rise of Korean culture internationally. \u201cThe visibility and visual culture of K-pop and K-dramas reinforce perceptions of K-beauty\u2019s effectiveness and help sustain popular narratives around Asian skincare and aging, as demonstrated by the internet slang, \u2018Asian don\u2019t raisin,\u2019\u201d said USC Annenberg\u2019s Lee \u2013 a phrase implying that people of Asian descent age slowly and maintain youthful skin.\n <\/p>\n

\n 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 \u2013 and share her experience on social media. \u201cThis generated significant media and public attention in Korea, and it was widely discussed as a sign of K-beauty\u2019s growing global visibility beyond traditional K-culture audiences,\u201d said Lee.\n <\/p>\n

\"Following<\/p>\n

\n 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 US, with shipments hitting $1.7 billion. Today, Korean beauty brands are sold widely in stores across America, including Costco, Target and Sephora \u2013 the latter in January 2026 signed a notable partnership with Olive Young, prompting the K-beauty retailer to open its own stores in the US 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.\n <\/p>\n

\n 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 Cr\u00e8me de la Mer, had until recently struggled to shop for K-beauty in person and initially bought the products online \u2013 only to run the risk of long shipping times or unknowingly buying a fake.\n <\/p>\n

\n 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\u2019s international clientele, K-beauty is requested \u201cpredominantly by Western women,\u201d Riley said.\n <\/p>\n

\n 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.\n <\/p>\n

\n For Melissa Alfer, it was her children\u2019s 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. \u201cAt every K-pop concert or event, I see so much diversity in the crowd. Girls with darker skin tones, with hijabs, Latinas, Afro-Americans,\u201d Alfer said. \u201cThere is a lot of enthusiasm from people of color for K-pop and K-culture, but they\u2019re not always represented when it comes to K-beauty.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\"K+Brown,<\/p>\n

\n K+Brown\u2019s first product is a biomimetic serum, designed to improve moisture in darker skin. And while it won\u2019t 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.\n <\/p>\n

\n 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 UK and US, said Alfer). She added that the brand has also received over $500,000 from investors, as well as support from the South Korean government \u2013 which, after reviewing their business plan and pitch, provided an office in Seoul and visas to work in the country.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cGirls with darker skin tones, with hijabs, Latinas, Afro-Americans\u2026 There is a lot of enthusiasm from people of color for K-pop, but they\u2019re not always represented when it comes to K-beauty.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Melissa Alfer, co-founder of K+Brown, a skincare brand for melanin-rich skin\n <\/p>\n

\n 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 \u2013 then only available in three shades: \u201cporcelain,\u201d \u201civory\u201d and \u201csand.\u201d In the local Korean market, a three-shade offering was not unusual, but as Tirtir was expanding across the US 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\u2019s 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.\n <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n The expansion of foundation shades was \u201ca direct response to listening more closely to our customers,\u201d Monica Park, head of Tirtir\u2019s global business division, told CNN over email, acknowledging that the initial shade range \u201cdid not fully reflect the diverse community engaging with our brand.\u201d The upshot has been \u201cbroader adoption, stronger consumer trust and increased repeat purchase behavior,\u201d Park said. \u201cAs we continue to expand internationally, inclusivity has become an even more important guiding principle in how we scale.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n 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 \u2013 making it a must-visit destination for tourists in recent years. Meanwhile, Jung Saem Mool Beauty, named after its famous founder \u2013 a Korean celebrity makeup artist \u2013 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.\n <\/p>\n

\n As Mintel\u2019s director of insights for beauty and personal care Andrew McDougall notes, K-beauty has \u201cbecome this mainstream global force.\u201d However, \u201coutside 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,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n

\n For K+Brown\u2019s Alfer, creating an inclusive brand is a no-brainer. \u201cHistorically it\u2019s been quite complicated to find your way as a person of color when it comes to K-beauty,\u201d she said. \u201cWe want to be the Katseye of beauty,\u201d she added, referring to the girl group featuring members from diverse backgrounds<\/a>. \u201cA brand that\u2019s going to talk to all these people.\u201d\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"These days, attend any K-pop concert \u2013 whether it\u2019s Blackpink or BTS \u2013 and you\u2019ll find a crowd…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":305911,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[93,61,60,278],"class_list":{"0":"post-305910","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-music"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=305910"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305910\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/305911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=305910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=305910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=305910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}