[Choi Ji-hye's Trend 2025] K-Brands Riding the Short-Form Wave, Going Global with TikTok

"Isn't that something only kids use these days?"

Generally, TikTok is perceived as a playground for teenagers. In South Korea, TikTok's global influence is not fully felt because, unlike other social networking services, it does not cover a wide range of age groups. However, K-brands that recognized TikTok's impact early on are accelerating their expansion into overseas markets through this platform.

TikTok is not just an option but an essential survival strategy for brands aspiring to enter the global market. With K-content at an all-time high in global standing, the most effective way for our brands to knock on the doors of international markets is through TikTok. If you dismiss it as just a platform for sensational short-form videos, you may miss the perfect timing. This article explores how K-brands are successfully establishing themselves in overseas markets through TikTok, examining the unique features of TikTok marketing with concrete examples and exploring its limitless potential.

First, K-brands have turned consumers into their most powerful marketers through TikTok. User-Generated Content (UGC), where countless users voluntarily participate in simple brand-driven missions (challenges) to create and spread content, is more authentic and impactful than any advertisement.

The numerous K-beauty challenges on TikTok exemplify this. A representative case is COSRX. The COSRX Advanced Snail Mucin Essence gained viral popularity through the #SlapSnailChallenge, which highlighted the sticky texture of snail mucin. To further boost participation, COSRX provided motion-based TikTok camera filters, increasing user engagement. The snail challenge later evolved into a dance challenge (#SnailDanceChallenge), leading to a massive sell-out of the product.

According to 2024 data, the cumulative views for the COSRX snail challenge exceeded 1.3 billion, with more than 20,000 influencers participating. Encouraged by these results, COSRX began recruiting "TikTok Supporters" to create challenges for specific products, allowing not only micro-influencers but also beginners aspiring to become creators to participate.

Second, K-brands are leveraging TikTok's unique algorithm to conduct sophisticated, interest-based targeting. TikTok's algorithm operates on a content graph rather than a social graph. In other words, recommendations are based not on who made the content, but on what type of content it is and what content the user has shown interest in. TikTok's engagement-based recommendation algorithm was selected by MIT in 2021 as one of the top 10 breakthrough technologies. As a result, only content that users find interesting is exposed to them, making it easier for companies to reach customers who are genuinely interested in their products. Additionally, even if the content is an advertisement, it tends to have high engagement and low resistance, making product placements effective.

While marketing targeting Generation Z dominates TikTok, Sempio gained attention by targeting middle-aged and older consumers. Focusing on the differentiated concepts of "warm home-cooked meals" and "family," Sempio shared homemade recipes. More than just recipes, their videos incorporated emotional keywords such as "family," "mom's touch," and "memories." For example, scenes of a mother cooking for her child or preparing dinner for her husband after work resonated deeply with the middle-aged audience. Riding TikTok's algorithm, Sempio's content reached the 40s and 50s demographic, resulting in a 2.5-fold increase in TikTok followers over three months.

Third, K-brands are utilizing TikTok not only as a marketing platform but also as a commerce channel. In September 2023, TikTok officially launched its integrated commerce platform, TikTok Shop. What makes TikTok Shop special is that, unlike other social networking platforms, users can purchase products directly within the app. There is no need to leave the app to access external links. Users can instantly buy products they discover while watching videos. By eliminating all friction and drop-off points in the purchasing process, TikTok Shop enables seamless one-stop shopping and immediate consumption, presenting a significant opportunity for K-brands.

In fact, TikTok boasts a very high purchase conversion rate. Even when limited to the beauty sector, the total gross merchandise value (GMV) of the beauty category on TikTok Shop in the United States reached $1.83 billion (approximately 2.5 trillion won) over the past 12 months, making it the highest-grossing single category.

TikTok is no longer just a simple social networking channel. It is the optimal incubator and accessible communication gateway for K-brands seeking to expand overseas. The viral power of challenges that drive voluntary user participation, sophisticated interest-based targeting, and the convenience of TikTok Shop, which seamlessly connects discovery and purchase, are powerful advantages that no other platform can match. Even now, countless K-brands are spreading around the world through TikTok. Will you join this massive wave, or will you just watch from the sidelines? Now is the moment to realize your dream of global expansion.

Choi Ji-hye, Research Fellow, Seoul National University Consumer Trend Analysis Center