Are your favorite K-beauty products actually popular in Korea? Here’s what to know

Korean skin care is everywhere right now, but not all K-beauty is created equal. Some of the viral products you see all over social media in the U.S. aren’t nearly as buzzy with Korean shoppers, which raises the question: Which K-beauty products are actually popular in Korea and why do they usually differ from bestsellers in the States? I spoke to Dr. Jane Yoo, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City, to find out.

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Below are K-beauty products that are actually popular with Korean shoppers, including recommendations from Yoo and bestselling products from Korean beauty retailers like Olive Young. I checked the retailer’s Korean websites to see the bestsellers that differ from the popular products on the store’s American website (more on that below).

Yoo, who has eczema, participated in a U.S. clinical trial for this cream, and she says her skin felt and looked soft after applying it, and she even used it to soothe the blisters on her feet after running the Sydney Marathon. It has skin barrier-strengthening ingredients like ceramides and squalane, and has soothing vitamin E that’s great for sensitive skin, according to the brand. Yoo also loves using it after heavy-duty runs and workouts: “It was a godsend after the Sydney Marathon to use on my feet, which had developed blisters,” she says.

This Torriden serum has a lightweight texture and is great for combination and dehydrated skin, says Yoo. The hyaluronic acid in the formula has a low molecular weight, meaning it has smaller molecules that help your skin absorb the serum faster and more effectively. It also includes panthenol helps to soothe redness and layers especially well underneath makeup, according to the brand.

Anua’s PDRN collection is one of the most popular lines on Olive Young’s Korean website, and this hydrating facial mist is ideal for anyone looking to tap into the glass skin trend. The water-based spray has hyaluronic acid to moisturize your skin and PDRN, a popular K-beauty ingredient that helps boost collagen and reduce inflammation. You can throw this in your gym bag to hydrate your skin after a workout, or use it to freshen up throughout the day.

Yoo loves these cooling and hydrating sheet masks, which are made without alcohol or added fragrance. The masks are especially useful for soothing skin and reducing any puffiness or swelling, according to the brand. For best results, the brand recommends leaving the mask on for 20 to 30 minutes after cleansing.

This serum has spicules, which are small, needle-like structures that help ingredients absorb into your skin more effectively. They also increase cell turnover, which helps to improve texture and reduce the look of pores, according to the brand. The serum is mild enough to use daily, and has centella asiatica to calm irritated skin. It also includes exosomes, which help to carry proteins and lipids to your skin cells, making it especially helpful for issues like inflammation and fine lines.

This retinol serum is a bestseller on Olive Young’s Korean website, and includes pure retinol along with a peptide complex to help reduce the look of fine lines and pores, according to the brand. It’s also hypoallergenic, making it a safer retinol choice for those with sensitive skin, and has a thin, lightweight texture that makes it easy for your skin to absorb.

This cream made our list of the 100 best acne-safe products for its soothing ingredients, including niacinamide to help reduce breakouts and ceramides to keep skin hydrated. It also has soothing cica and tea tree leaf water, making it an excellent option for sensitive skin.

Mediheal’s toner pads are gaining popularity in the U.S., but they’re already everywhere in Korea. These toner pads from the brand’s acne-care line are great for those dealing with stubborn breakouts. The thin gauze sheets are soaked in 98% pure madecassoside, which is a derivative of centella asiatica, that gently exfoliates. The pads are noncomedogenic (meaning they don’t clog pores) and are safe for sensitive skin, according to the brand.

I chose the products on this list based on the guidance given to me by Dr. Yoo, who suggests making the distinction between domestic bestsellers and what she calls “export brands,” along with paying attention to certain product types and ingredients.

• Brands: Yoo says it’s important to know the difference between “export brands” and the domestically bestselling brands that Korean consumers are actually buying in their day-to-day lives. Export brands refers to those that tend to dominate the social feeds and K-beauty conversations in the U.S. and Europe, like Cosrx, Medicube and Beauty of Joseon. I compared rankings from national bestsellers at Olive Young’s Korean website to the same list on its U.S.-based website, along with K-beauty top-seller lists from big beauty retailers like Ulta and Sephora.
• Ingredients: There are also specific ingredients that Yoo says are very popular in Korea right now. For example, PDRN (polydeoxyribonucleotide, a salmon-DNA-derived regenerative ingredient) is mainstream in Korea but still a niche, “trendy” ingredient in the U.S., says Yoo. Fermented ingredients like rice ferment filtrate and galactomyces, which is a fermented yeast, are much more embedded in everyday Korean skin care compared to Western skin care, she says.
• Product types: Products that are often seen as optional in skin care, like toner pads, ampoule treatments and sheet masks are also much more routine in Korea, says Yoo. “In the U.S., these are still read as ‘extra steps’ rather than staples,” she says.

The biggest difference between American and Korean skin care is the regulations, says Yoo. In the U.S., sunscreen is regulated by the Food & Drug Administration as an over-the-counter drug rather than a cosmetic like it is in other countries. “Korea regulates cosmetics including sunscreen as ‘functional cosmetics,’ which gives formulators access to newer, more photostable UV filters and lets them build lighter, more serum-like textures,” says Yoo. Although bemotrizinol (BEMT), a chemical sunscreen filter, was recently approved by the FDA in June 2026, “we’re still missing 10+ filters approved in other countries,” she says.

The regulatory differences between the countries also explain the differences in approaches to and philosophies behind product formulations. “Korean formulation tends toward layering multiple lightweight products (essence, ampoule, cream, for example) to build hydration and barrier support gradually, while American formulations lean toward fewer products at higher single-active concentrations aimed at a specific concern,” says Yoo (for example, salicylic acid cleansers or vitamin C serums).

Korean and U.S. ingredient lists are usually ordered differently or have varying names from country to country, so comparing products sold in Korea versus the U.S. may be misleading. “In some cases, the U.S.-market version is a genuinely different, reformulated product to meet FDA rules,” says Yoo. For example, the FDA recently approved Bemotrizonol (known as BEMT or Tinosorb S, internationally) as a sunscreen filter, which means U.S. versions of K-beauty sunscreens can now include it, though the international versions have already used it for years. Before this, Korean sunscreens sold in the U.S. had to change the formulas and replace the filter with approved ingredients like zinc oxide or avobenzone; now, the original Korean versions can be sold in-stores.

Yes, the brands that are popular in Korea differ from the popular brands here, according to Yoo. “What trends on U.S. TikTok and [at retailers like] Sephora and Ulta skews toward brands built for export; they exist largely to serve international demand, and their marketing is built around that audience,” she says. The brands actually purchased and used by Korean consumers only somewhat overlap with the popular K-beauty brands sold in America, which is why it’s important to take what you see on socials with a grain of salt. “‘Popular in K-beauty content’ and ‘popular in Korea’ are related but not the same thing,” says Yoo. So, you shouldn’t treat U.S. TikTok trends as a read on Korean consumer behavior, she says.

Frequently asked questions

Experts advise against overloading your skin care routine and trying too many products at once. In our K-beauty guide, Dr. Claire Chang, a board-certified cosmetic dermatologist at Union Derm in New York City, says that it’s best to try one new product at a time and check for results and your skin’s tolerance levels before trying another. “You don’t have to do a 10-step approach; three, four or five steps are all fine if that is all your skin needs,” she says.

You can buy Korean skin care from online and brick-and-mortar retailers like Sephora and Ulta. You can also shop a wider selection of K-beauty at specialized retailers like Soko Glam, Olive Young and YesStyle. However, formulations may still differ from their Korean versions — you may have to book a flight for the real deal.

At NBC Selected, we work with experts who have specialized knowledge and authority based on relevant training and/or experience. We also take steps to ensure all expert advice and recommendations are made independently and without undisclosed financial conflicts of interest.

• Dr. Jane Yoo is a board-certified dermatologist and Moh’s surgeon in New York City, along with a clinical assistant professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the founder of PLLC / Clinical Research Center of New York.

I am an associate SEO reporter for NBC Selected, covering beauty and wellness topics including guides to the best Korean skin care, J-beauty products, K-beauty ampoules and more. For this piece, I interviewed a board-certified dermatologists for advice and expert recommendations on all things Korean skin care (that’s actually popular in Korea).

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