"I Want Korean Nationality"?K-Beauty Dominates Don Quijote in Japan amid Soaring Popularity [K-Wave 3.0] ⑦

Korean Wave Spreads Across Tokyo
K-Beauty Becomes Part of Daily Life... Japanese Brands Also Embrace "K-Beauty"
K-Fashion Accelerates Expansion in Japan Driven by Fandom Culture
K-Food Gains Popularity in Korean Towns... Still Faces Challen

Last month on the 12th, a queue for the 'Yunth' popup in front of Atcosme Tokyo. Photo by Jaehyun Park

Last month, Japan's largest beauty select shop, Atcosme Tokyo (@cosme TOKYO), was bustling with a queue of people waiting to enter the popup store for the Japanese beauty brand Yunth. Located in Harajuku, a shopping district frequently visited by Japanese Millennials & Gen Z and tourists, the store featured a large photo of BTS member V, which caught the attention of visitors. Yunth selected V as its ambassador on October 29 last year. As a result, some visitors mistakenly believed Yunth was a K-beauty brand. Even a Yunth popup staff member referred to it as a "Korean brand." At the popup, Ms. Shibata (22) said, "I thought it was a Korean brand because V is the model," expressing her surprise. This shows that as K-beauty gains popularity in Japan, there are now local brands presenting themselves as Korean cosmetics.

At the Matsumoto Kiyoshi Shibuya branch, one of Japan's three major drugstores, K-beauty brands occupy about 10 out of 30 displays, while at Hands Shibuya, they make up about half. Especially at Don Quijote Shibuya, a popular destination for tourists, over 80% of the cosmetics displays are K-beauty products. The products highlight ingredients such as 'PDRN' and rice germ, and the packaging features Korean text to leverage K-beauty in marketing. At convenience stores like Lawson, FamilyMart, and 7-Eleven, K-beauty products such as Rom&nd and Torriden were also easily found.

"Every K-Cosmetics Welcome"... K-beauty Ranks No. 1 among Imported Cosmetics in Japan

In Japan, sales of Korean cosmetics began to surge from 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. During the pandemic, social distancing led to increased viewing of global video platforms such as Netflix, YouTube, and TikTok, which boosted affinity for Korea through K-pop and K-dramas, and this translated into demand for K-beauty. At the time, the phrase "Every K-Cosmetics Welcome" became popular.

With overseas travel blocked, Japanese consumers flocked to online shopping malls such as Qoo10 Japan, which sell Korean cosmetics, and even the typically closed-off local distributors began offering K-beauty products in offline stores. Later, major brands like Anua and TirTir launched aggressive influencer marketing campaigns locally, achieving great success. This was because K-beauty established itself in Japan as "cost-effective cosmetics" (high performance for the price).

According to the Korea Cosmetic Industry Institute, K-beauty exports to Japan reached a record high of $1.08747 billion last year. Since 2022, Korean cosmetics have overtaken France to become the number one imported cosmetics in the Japanese market.

Ms. Shiori (32), whom we met at Atcosme Tokyo, said, "I first discovered K-beauty through social networking services (SNS). I know all the K-beauty brands on these shelves. Compared to Japanese cosmetics, Korean products are more affordable, so I can try various options, and above all, Korean products are cute." Filipino tourist Ms. Ilimendoza (31) filled her basket with several Dalba mist serums and explained, "A contestant from 'Physical: 100 Asia' used Dalba mist serum and their skin improved, so it has become explosively popular in the Philippines. My daughter and friends asked me to buy some, so I picked up several." She added, "Korean products have good ingredients like collagen, and the quality of their sheet masks is excellent."

Korean Fashion Companies Expanding into Japan... "Price, Design, and Quality Are Competitive Strengths"

The popularity of K-beauty is expanding into K-fashion. Hyundai Department Store opened a regular store on the 4th floor of Parco Department Store in Shibuya, Tokyo, known as the "street of youth." This location operates popups introducing new Korean fashion brands every two weeks, and last month showcased K-fashion brands ORR and Hieta. At that time, the ORR store attracted a steady stream of female customers in their 40s.

After successfully hosting K-fashion popups since 2024, Hyundai Department Store was offered a regular store by the department store management. Ms. Megumi (41), whom we met at the ORR store holding a shopping bag with a coat, said, "K-fashion has good design and quality, and is 10-15% cheaper than Japanese brands, making it a rational choice. However, there still aren't many K-fashion brand stores in Japan, which is disappointing."

View of the 'Hieta' store on the 4th floor of Parco Department Store in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Even during weekday mornings, the footsteps of women in their teens and twenties continued. Photo by Jae-Hyun Park

Recently, K-fashion has shown significant growth potential in the Japanese online market. As Millennials & Gen Z, who are accustomed to smartphones, increasingly use Korean fashion platforms, the market is expanding. In Japan, the "Oshikatsu" (fan activity) culture makes influencers highly influential, and as they frequently wear Korean fashion, it leads to "Ditto consumption" (celebrity-following consumption). Ms. Momo (20), whom we met at a K-fashion popup, said, "When buying clothes, I often mimic the outfits worn by influencers or am influenced by idols. Korean brands feel trendy in their design, so I often refer to the outfits worn by my favorite celebrities."

In Japan, K-fashion brands discovered via Korean SNS among late teens to early twenties are now spreading to mothers in their 50s. Additionally, among people in their 30s and 40s, K-fashion is quickly spreading through word of mouth in the workplace. Ms. Aoba (21) said, "Since COVID-19, I buy clothes online. I learned about Korean brands online, and these days I mainly shop on Musinsa."

According to global market research firm Statista, the Japanese fashion market is worth about 72 trillion won (approximately $50.6 billion), more than double the size of Korea's. As a result, fashion platforms such as Musinsa and W Concept are opening popup stores locally to promote K-fashion brands. Han Sanghoon, head of The Hyundai Global Team at Hyundai Department Store, explained, "With the domestic fashion market saturated and brands feeling growth limits, we saw an opportunity as the number of foreign customers steadily increased after opening The Hyundai Seoul, which led us to expand into Japan."

Kim Hyunju, head of brand marketing at Musinsa Japan, said, "Korean culture is trending across K-food, K-fashion, and K-beauty. Among locals, some even say they wish they had Korean nationality."

In fact, around Shin-Okubo Station in Shinjuku, Tokyo's largest Korean town, Korean-language signs for stores such as Dongdaemun Yupgi Tteokbokki, Sulbing, Sinchon Seolleongtang, Hong Kong Banjeom, and Nene Chicken line the streets, and Korean marts, chicken shops, and street stalls are packed with customers. In particular, the "Yoajeong" store, which went viral on SNS, had a queue of mostly women in their teens and twenties. Ms. Rino (16), whom we met there, said, "I ordered the exact menu I saw on TikTok. I first encountered Korean food through dramas, and I think Korean cuisine feels unique and sophisticated." At Korean marts, even "Biyotte," a yogurt from Seoul Dairy Cooperative that has not received official import approval, was being distributed. Seoul Dairy has not yet received a certificate of suitability for imported food for Biyotte from Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare quarantine office. Due to delayed quarantine procedures, some Korean marts distributed the product through unofficial channels.

Weekend afternoon scene of the Korean Town in Shin-Okubo, Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, Japan. Korean brand stores such as Sinchon Seolleongtang and Hong Kong Banjeom have lined up one after another. Photo by Jae-Hyun Park

A queue in front of the 'Yoajeong' store in the Korean town of Shin-Okubo, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan. Photo by Jaehyun Park

However, K-food has not yet fully penetrated into "home-cooked" meals. In most local Japanese supermarkets, except for a few popular products like Milkis, Bong Bong, and Buldak Bokkeum Myeon, it is difficult to find Korean products in the processed food section. Kim Hyungwoo, Head of Operations at CJ Food Japan, commented, "Japanese cuisine is mostly sweet and mild, while Korean cuisine offers a wide spectrum of flavors, including spicy and salty. I believe that although people have not yet experienced K-food, once they do, demand will increase significantly."