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Skin, K-beauty, Korea trips and the beauty industry — ask and share
China fell from 19.6% to 14.4% of K-beauty exports. Time to pull back?
If there's one number export teams stared at in the H1 data, it's this: China's share dropped from 19.6% to 14.4%. Exports there fell 6.6% to $1.01B. China once took close to half of Korea's cosmetics exports, so opinion
0 0Namdaemun Market
Namdaemun Market is a huge distribution center visited by 500,000 people a day and Korea’s largest traditional market. Having been established as a street market since the mid-Joseon period, Namdaemun Market is as large
0 0Mangwon Market
With over 40 years of tradition, Mangwon Market is a representative traditional market in Seoul where you can fill up happily and deliciously even on a small budget. Q’s Chicken Gangjeong, where you can taste a variety o
0 0'Cruelty-free' claims and China sales: the Paula's Choice lawsuit
News that Paula's Choice was being sued over animal-testing claims was shared on r/30PlusSkinCare, with a link to the complaint. It's a class action filed in March 2024 in the US District Court for the Western District o
0 0Jeju Dongmun Market: the day market and the night market are two different trips
Dongmun Market in Jeju City is the island's largest and oldest permanent traditional market, and it genuinely runs as two different places depending on the hour. By day it's a working local market; after dark, especially
0 0Tongin Market
Sejong Village was once a center where Joseon-era artists such as Chusa Kim Jeong-hui gathered, and in modern times it was also a hub where writers including Lee Sang were active. Originating as a public market built dur
0 0Sinyung Market
Since 1953, following Liberation, Sinheung Market has operated for 70 years, bringing together people of different nationalities and cultures to create its own distinctive atmosphere. Rather than the image of a typical m
0 0Gwangjang Market
As one of the liveliest traditional markets in Seoul, it is also easy for travelers to visit because it is located in the center of the city. This traditional market, which formed in the early 20th century and has a long
0 0CHICOR Gangnam Station: inside Shinsegae's hyper-personalized beauty flagship
One minute's walk from Exit 11 of Gangnam Station, on the first floor of 408 Gangnam-daero, Shinsegae's beauty-edit chain CHICOR opened a roughly 130-pyeong (about 430 square meter) flagship on June 27, 2025. It replaced
0 0'Medical grade', 'professional', 'clean': which label words mean anything?
An esthetician on r/Esthetics shared a long explainer, first written for a heated Facebook group, on which skincare terms carry weight and which are marketing. The core argument: outside prescription products, brands dra
0 1Korean skincare for blackheads in Chile: worth it or just marketing?
On r/ChileFemenino, someone said she already has a basic routine with decent products (cleanser, moisturiser, sunscreen), but her real struggle is breakouts and blackheads. She'd seen that Korean cleansing oils and certa
0 0Dongdaemun General Market
Opened in 1970, Dongdaemun General Market has shared the joys and sorrows of Dongdaemun Market for more than 40 years. It is a large specialty market selling fabric for clothing, clothing notions, accessories, and some b
0 0K-beauty exports hit $7B in H1 2026, with the US now above 20%
Korea's cosmetics exports reached a provisional $7 billion in the first half of 2026, up 27.3% year on year and the best January–June on record. By market US: $1.45B (+41.5%, 20.7% share) China: $1.01B (−6.6%, 14.4% shar
0 0Mangwon Hangang Park: how to picnic by the Han River without overplanning it
Mangwon Hangang Park is one of the string of riverside parks that line the Han through Seoul, on the Mapo-gu side near where Mangwon-dong meets the water. It's less monumental than the parks near Banpo or Yeouido, and th
0 0Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong: where do you usually buy K-beauty?
Even within the Chinese-speaking world, K-beauty shopping habits differ a lot. We'd like to collect how it works where you live. Things to share Your main channel: e-commerce platforms, cross-border sites, drugstores, de
0 0Seoul Yangnyeong Market
Seoul Yangnyeong Market is Korea’s largest comprehensive Korean medicine complex, with more than 800 herbal medicine-related shops. All kinds of medicinal ingredients from across the country gather here. Seoul Yangnyeong
0 0One year of the 15% US tariff: how did you adjust your pricing?
It's been a year since the 15% US tariff on Korean goods took effect on Aug. 7, 2025. What happened then In the first 10 days of August, cosmetics exports to the US fell 37.2% month on month to $36.9M Basic skincare near
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0 0Where did "fair = beautiful" come from? A Thai forum debates it
On Pantip, someone asked a question many Thai readers recognise: today most people seem to prefer fair skin and link it with beauty, so where did that start? Did people in the Ayutthaya era, before much contact with fore
0 0Boontheshop Cheongdam
Opened in 2004 as Korea’s first luxury multi-store, Boontheshop Cheongdam was upgraded and redesigned by architect Peter Marino in 2014. Boontheshop Cheongdam is an iconic space in the Cheongdam area and a global fashion
0 0Skincare trends estheticians would happily retire
Estheticians on r/Esthetics were asked which skincare trend they'd happily see disappear. The original poster opened with 20-step routines promoted by unqualified influencers, noting that clients often arrive having over
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