K-Beauty is big business and now one of Koreaโs biggest exports, up there with K-Pop, K-Drama and amazing Korean food!
Latest reports indicate that for the first time, exports of Korean beauty products were in excess of $10 Billion USD last year.
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Not surprisingly, one of the most asked questions in our South Korea Travel Planning Facebook group is which salons should they go to and which are the best products to buy in stores like Olive Young or InnisFree. We also talk about a couple of new K-beauty brands weโve spotted in Seoul in 2026 like Off Beauty and Berrynew Pharmacy.
So from colour analysis to booking apps, skin tests to scalp treatments, here is our guide to the best Seoul / South Korean K-Beauty treatments and Korean beauty experiences.
This article was originally published on cktravels.com on 13 April 2025.
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Popular K-Beauty stores in Seoul, South Korea
Olive Young
Perhaps the most famous Korean beauty brand, CJ Olive Young has over 1,400 stores across South Korea.
The K-beauty shop Olive Young has become so well known all over the world that many flock to Seoul with empty suitcases just to fill them up with โmiraculousโ moisturiser or blinged body scrubs.
Such is Olive Youngโs popularity with overseas visitors, they now have dedicated Olive Young Global stores (including two in Myeongdong and Seongsu-dong).
These stores are specifically aimed at overseas tourists with all their best-selling lines in massive volumes, signs in English, plus multilingual staff and lots of duty-free shopping kiosks.
In 2025, a brand new 5-floor โOlive Youngโ opened in Seongsu-dong, which might be South Koreaโs biggest Olive Young store!
South Korea Hallyu Tip – remember to bring your passport if you want a tax refund! Travellers to South Korea can get up to 10% off / cashback when you spend between 30,000 KRW to 500,000 KRW.
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Nature Republic
With over 500 K-beauty stores in South Korea alone and a huge product range, youโll see Nature Republic shops everywhere, heavily marketed around its natural ingredients like aloe vera and green tea.
This is also one of the few Korean beauty retailers that has it own stores outside of Asia (a Nature Republic opened in London recently for instance).
Daiso – for cheaper Korean beauty products
Many Korean beauty products can be quite expensive but if you are looking for K-Beauty on a budget, try Daiso, one of South Koreaโs biggest discount retail chains.
Here youโll find body care products galore from moisturisers to face masks, hair care to stick on nail art – but all very cheap!
As well as local K-beauty brands, youโll find branded products like Nivea and Vaseline. Vaseline face masks sell for as little as 1,000 Won per mask whilst other face masks in Daiso start from 500 Won.
If you are staying in Myeongdong, you can do some beauty shopping in the 12 storey Daiso in Myeongdong >
OFF BEAUTY
On our latest 2026 South Korea trip, we noticed new branches of a K-Beauty discount shop brand called OFF BEAUTY (์คํ๋ทฐํฐ).
Promising low low prices and big discounts on K-Beauty products, it has been getting a lot of social media attention. Kind of like a discount warehouse, most OFF BEAUTY (์คํ๋ทฐํฐ) seem to pile cosmetics high (often on palettes or on shelves) and sell them cheap.
Kind of like an Olive Young outlet store but with brands you probably haven’t heard of, weโve seen discounts at OFF BEAUTY as high as 80% off. Apparently they achieve lower prices by purchasing excess stock directly from K-Beauty brands.
As of summer 2026, there are a handful of Seoul OFF BEAUTY branches including Mangwon, Gwangjang Market, Insadong and Myeongdong. In total, there are around 40 OFF BEAUTY branches across South Korea.
Berry New Pharmacy
One chain that has been opening more stores in Korea this year is Berry New ๋ฒ ๋ฆฌ๋ด์ฝ๊ตญ. They are tourist-friendly pharmacies that specialise in K-beauty, OTC medications, dermatological skincare and health supplements.
The stores clearly display their top-selling products and have English language laminated sheets with product recommendations.
Popular items include PDRN creams, scar treatment products and sunscreens.
We watched a few videos and bought some Madeca Time Reverse cream and Anua PDRN cream – we are hoping for some good results!
Berry New Pharmacy prices are not always cheapest though – we were going to buy the Dr Melaxin Eyephalt eye cream from Berry New, but we checked the price in Olive Young and it was much cheaper there – so do compare prices in both the pharmacies and Olive Young.
Weโve visited several Berry New pharmacies in Seoul and Busan including Haeundae, Seongsu-dong and Myeongdong.
Other shops
Other popular Korean beauty retail shops include InnisFree, The Face Shop (founded in the 1940s and a pioneer of the K-Beauty scene) plus big shopping malls in Seoul and South Korea like Shinsegae and Lotte (both of which you can find next door to each other in Myeongdong).
Beware of fake K-Beauty products
One reason why so many people shop at the well known K-Beauty shops like Olive Young is that there are some stores (usually less well known brands) that sell counterfeit beauty products, especially those serums and creams that are very expensive.
To counteract counterfeits, some of the bigger brands have introduced QR codes on the packaging which you can scan to verify they are real (although some have reported fake QR codes now tooโฆ)
So if something seems too good to be true or it is a stall on a street corner, maybe consider whether it wise to buy it.
Popular Seoul K-Beauty make up experiences and hair treatments
If youโd like to just go straight into a Korean / K-beauty experience, there are many salons and providers that offer a range of services, from make-up to perms. Theyโll also give you step-by-step skin care pointers and daily beauty regimen.
There are many advantages of booking a K-beauty session through providers like Klook, Get Your Guide or Trazy is that you can use international debit /credit cards, sometimes get instant confirmation, plus you can check the reviews of each service.
Please note some of these salons may try to upsell you K-beauty products but feel free to decline and seek them potentially elsewhere.
Scalp treatments
Usually a combination of a spa experience plus medicated shampoo to nourish hair, South Korea scalp treatments (scalp regeneration) are very popular.
After careful analysis, your scalp is massaged and often your head is exfoliated before special shampoos and hair products are recommended.
Popular scalp treatment salons in Seoul include Eco Jardin, Green Scalp Treatment and one of our South Korea Travel Planning Facebook group members recommended Moclock in Gangnam:
โ I recently visited Moclock for a scalp/hair spa treatment and I absolutely love it! They did a thorough scalp examination and recommended the perfect treatment for me. Paid $80 for 50 minutes, and I was able to book same-day reservations!โ
Click to book your Moclock Premium Scalp and Hair Loss Treatment Center with Klook, starting from ยฃ52 / $68 USD.
Alternative options include:
EcoJardin: Stem cell head spa experience in Jamsil, Seoul >
Scalp treatment with Lee Moon Won Clinic in Gangnam via Klook (over 2k sold) >
Or get your hair styled without the scalp treatment:
Myeong-dong Hair Styling Experience at Herique (Franck Provost) >
Seoul JUNO HAIR Hongik Univ. Station Branch >
Lulu Korean Premium K-Pop Idol Hair Salon in Gangnam >
And one for the boys:
Boy K-Style Celeb Experience: Hair and Makeup and Photo Shoot >
Colour Analysis
Another common question in our Facebook group is Color Analysis – this is when a specialist helps you coordinate which colors harmonise and highlight your individual skin tone and colour best.
They often look at hair color, jewellery, clothing, glasses styles and eye shades as part of their own unique color analysis. They then give you results and color references which you can incorporate into your daily beauty regimen.
Personal Color Analysis and Makeup by Color Signal in Gangnam (over 4k sold) >
Personal Color, Fashion, and Make-up Analysis Session in Myeongdong with Get Your Guide or Klook.
Colorize Personal Color Analysis in Myeongdong >
Color of You: Personal Color Analysis Experience in Hongdae >
Seoul Personal Color and Body and Face Fit Analysis in Gangnam >
And if you are visiting Busan, check out this Personal Color Analysis (+ Makeup/Fashion Feedback) >
Seoul K-Beauty Make-Up Experiences
The โfoundationโ of good skin can be found in various K-beauty make up experiences most of which include appliance techniques, personally curated skin-care shopping lists plus demonstrations.
K-Beauty Make Up Experience at ROA.MAKEUP >
Hair Styling / Idol Hair / Make-up K-Beauty in Hongdae >
K-Style Make-up and Hairstyling Experience at Normalshop in Gangnam >
Get Your Hair and Makeup Done Like a Korean Celebrity at Jenny House, Gangnam >
K-beauty 101: Skin Care & Make-up Class with a Korean TV Host, Gangnam >
Seoul: K-Beauty Tour / K-pop Hair & Makeup Tour / No.1 shop >
Seoul Hair Styling & Make-Up Experience by Rolling Jay >
K-Beauty: Lienjang Professional Facial Acne & Aqua Peel + Blackhead Care >
Personalized perfumes
Perfumes are another big seller in South Korea and an excellent scentful souvenir of your trip.
You can buy off-the-shelf scents from big brand perfume stores like Tamburins and Diptyque Paris, but many visitors prefer to create their own personalized perfume.
Create your own special scent in a hanok style lab using natural oils >
Make your own perfume with professional guide in Gangnam >
Make your own perfume in Seoulโs Bangbae area >
Seoul Spa Beauty Treatments
Finally, if you want to treat yourself, here are some recommended spa treatments in Seoul.
UNNI Korean Beauty App
We have a list of over 35 apps to consider when travelling to South Korea – the number 1 Korean beauty app is UNNI, which has over 1 million reviews and recommendations from visitors and patients who have undertaken K-Beauty procedures.
You can book procedures via the app plus get real-time consultations – however a few users online have reported what look to be fake reviews plus higher than average prices so always do your research before booking on UNNI.
Korean Photo Booth
Finally, after youโve had your treatment or are looking like a K Beauty queen, be sure to preserve the moment with a selfie snapped in a photo booth.
Time to get โsnap happyโ at a Korean photo booth โ whether you are looking for a superb selfie or glam group shot with your friends or fellow travellers, Korean photo booths are easy to use and inexpensive.
Better yet, half the fun is in the taking of the pictures, with a wide variety of props or backdrops to choose from; just remember not to mess up your new hair or smudge your make-up; you can even be pictured with your favourite K-Pop band or cartoon character.
Literally located on every street corner, read our ultimate guide to using photo booths in Korea >
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