Samjong KPMG has classified Korea’s cosmetics industry as “very positive” in its 2026 economic and industry outlook report, ranking it among the strongest of 23 major sectors surveyed even amid broader global economic uncertainty, citing export diversification as the key factor sustaining the industry’s growth trajectory.
The report identifies Southeast Asia as the region likely to deliver the strongest overseas growth in 2026, with exports to the region projected to climb as much as 18 to 20 percent, led by basic skincare and dermatologist-branded product lines. That growth would extend a run in which Korean cosmetics exports crossed 10 billion dollars for the first time on record, a milestone Korean beauty industry officials have pointed to as evidence the sector has moved beyond a single breakout moment into sustained, structural export growth.
The United States has emerged as the strongest-growing single market over the past two years, with K-beauty’s consumer base there expanding beyond its original core of Korean-American communities into mainstream millennial and Gen Z shoppers discovering Korean skincare through social media and mainstream retail rather than ethnic community channels. China, by contrast, is expected to be flat to down as much as 5 percent, reflecting the report’s broader characterization of the Chinese market as having shifted from a “growth driver” to a “selective, risk-managed” market requiring more targeted strategy rather than broad expansion.
Together, the regional projections paint a picture of an industry successfully diversifying away from overdependence on any single export market, a structural shift Korean cosmetics officials had explicitly pursued in response to years of volatility tied to Chinese market conditions and diplomatic tensions.
Source: News1, “K-Beauty’s Record-Breaking Year Fuels Rosy 2026 Expectations,” citing Samjong KPMG’s 2026 industry outlook.
