If there is one thing that is undeniable in the beauty industry right now, it’s that K-beauty is everywhere. Whether we’re talking about products from Korean brands or products from US brands manufacturing in Korea, you can’t throw a PDRN mask in a shopping center without hitting a retailer stocking K-beauty: Ulta Beauty, Sephora, Nordstrom, Costco, Target, and the list goes on . . .
To call this K-beauty renaissance a “second wave” is misleading. Waves crest, and then they break and retreat. The demand for K-beauty continues to build, and combined with the explosive popularity of K-Pop and K-Pop Demon Hunters (the latter is so mainstream it was featured in a McDonald’s Happy Meal), it’s safe to say Korean culture is having more than a moment.
Sarah Chung Park, founder and CEO of Landing International (Landing), a US growth partner and distributor for K-beauty brands, is ready to celebrate this success with National K-Beauty Week (May 11 - 16), a weeklong love letter to Korean culture and everything K-beauty. The week’s festivities will include Landing and Ulta Beauty ringing the NASDAQ closing bell together, sensorial influencer events, and Ulta Beauty in-store gift-with-purchase activations in New York, California, and Florida.
If anyone has a lot to celebrate, it’s Park. Landing is responsible for bringing 17 indie K-beauty brands to Ulta Beauty’s curated shop-within-a-shop, K-Beauty World. And Landing’s brand partners are also available at Target and JCPenney.
Park, who has been in the K-beauty business for 20 years, is also a bit of a queenmaker in the K-beauty realm. During the first wave in the mid-2010s, no one had heard of COSRX. “It took us three years for people to understand what snail mucin was,” Park told BeautyMatter. But she helped scale the brand, and when Amorepacific acquired a controlling stake in the company in 2023, Park felt as if she were sending one of her babies off to college. And of course, she’s eager to make one of her current indie brands the next COSRX. (This reporter’s bet is on Mixsoon.)
Park sees the biggest difference between now and the first K-beauty wave is that during the first wave, it was about products and innovations that already existed and were popular in Korea. Now, the US gets a new K-beauty product at the same time as Korea, or within a matter of months rather than years, according to Park.
The US K-beauty market was valued at $3.84 billion in 2025, is estimated to reach $4.35 billion in 2026, and is projected to reach $11.84 billion by 2034, according to Market Data Forecast. “Last year, the US overtook China as the largest K-beauty market,” Park said. “And that has never happened before.”
One of the main reasons Park created National K-Beauty Week was to emphasize the category’s inclusivity. “For one thing, K-beauty is typically an affordable alternative, so it makes skincare and makeup more accessible.” K-beauty makeup brands are also mindful of inclusivity by launching foundation ranges with 20-30 shades, according to Park. “These brands are really making even the foundation an inclusive moment.”
The other overarching reason Park orchestrated National K-Beauty Week is to show pride in Korean culture. “We wanted to have a moment nationally where we could all recognize the impact that K-beauty has had on the beauty industry and on consumers. And that was sort of the impetus to create National K-Beauty Week,” Park said. “I’m a true believer that all ships rise with a rising tide. And I love this momentum and opportunity to just celebrate K-beauty and the Korean culture.”
Monday, May 11
Event: Morning Lavender Influencer Event (11 AM – 1 PM)
Location: Tustin, CA
Tuesday, May 12
Event: Ulta Beauty In-Store Activations: Shoppers get a National K-Beauty Week Bag GwP
Locations: California, Florida, New York +
Friday, May 15
Event: NASDAQ Bell Ringing: To celebrate K-beauty’s global influence in partnership with Ulta Beauty, executives from Landing and Ulta Beauty will ring the closing bell.
Location: New York
Event: PlayLab Lipstick Activation: Giveaways
Location: Pasadena, CA
Saturday, May 16
Event: Sloomoo Institute Influencer Event (10 AM – 2 PM): Immersive, sensory-driven experience blending skincare, color, and haircare through hands-on education.
Location: Los Angeles
