"COVID-19 Sparks Surge in Skin Interest... South Korean Skincare Product Exports Hit Record High"

Public Exports Increase by 24.4%... Growing Interest from the US, Japan, and Other Overseas Markets

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), interest in skincare has increased, and last year, South Korea's skincare product exports exceeded 5 billion dollars, marking an all-time high.

According to the 'Promising Items AI Report: Skincare Products' released on the 28th by the Korea International Trade Association's International Trade and Commerce Research Institute, last year's export volume of Korean skincare products was recorded at 5.7 billion dollars (approximately 6.3 trillion won), a 15.9% increase compared to the previous year. The export volume of skincare products, which was around 3.594 billion dollars in 2017, increased to 4.534 billion dollars in 2018 and 4.919 billion dollars in 2019. This growth is attributed to the prolonged use of masks and difficulties in going out due to COVID-19, which heightened consumers' interest in skin trouble care and spread the trend of self-care at home.

The largest export destination for Korean skincare products was China, with last year's export volume increasing by 24.4% year-on-year to 2.942 billion dollars. In the case of Japan, exports increased by as much as 78.5% compared to the previous year, and Vietnam and the United States also significantly expanded their imports of Korean products by 20.0% and 14.7%, respectively. In particular, the Korea Trade Association explained that Korea's market share in skincare products reached 29.6% in Japan and 13.1% in the United States, nearly catching up with France, a major competitor.

Analyzing import market indicators of 58 major countries, the markets with the highest export potential for Korean skincare products were China (92.8 points), Hong Kong (85.2 points), Singapore (84 points), and the United States (80.7 points) in that order. Although China has a high import customs clearance index, which consumes a lot of time and cost when importing products, skincare product imports have increased by an average of 49.3% annually over the past three years, and Korea's market share within the skincare product import market is over 20%, making it the most promising market. The Korea Trade Association forecasts that it is expected to grow by more than 10% annually in the future.

Kang Seong-eun, a researcher at the Korea Trade Association, said, "With increased interest in skincare due to COVID-19, purchases of Korean products with excellent quality at reasonable prices are expanding mainly through online channels," adding, "If product development aligned with trends such as using eco-friendly packaging materials or clean beauty without harmful ingredients and non-face-to-face marketing strategies are combined, skincare product exports will continue to expand in the future."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.