[2026 Cosmetics Day] K-Beauty, Now the World’s No. 2 Cosmetics Exporter — ChoiceDx AI Skin Analysis at Seoul Plaza

Beyond Products to Experience — Exploring the Next Competitive Edge of K-Beauty on the Global Stage

September 7 marked a meaningful occasion to celebrate the achievements of Korea’s cosmetics industry and discuss its next stage of growth.

The 2026 Cosmetics Day commemorative ceremony, hosted by Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), was held at The Plaza Hotel in central Seoul.

Cosmetics Day commemorates September 7, 1999, when Korea’s Cosmetics Act was enacted. Following its designation as a statutory commemorative day last year, this year marked the second official celebration. Under the theme “Confident K-Beauty, In Full Bloom,” around 300 representatives from government, the National Assembly, industry, and academia gathered to reflect on K-Beauty’s achievements and discuss its next step into global markets.

The significance of this year’s event is also clear in the numbers.

In 2025, Korea recorded USD 11.4 billion in cosmetics exports, surpassing the United States to become the world’s second-largest cosmetics exporter after France. In the same year, Korea’s cosmetics trade surplus reached USD 10.1 billion, exceeding USD 10 billion for the first time.

The momentum has continued into 2026.

Cosmetics exports reached USD 7.0 billion in the first half of 2026, the highest first-half figure on record and a 27.3% increase year over year. Exports to the United States reached USD 1.45 billion, accounting for 20.7% of the total and making it Korea’s largest cosmetics export market.

The direction behind these numbers is clear.

K-Beauty has moved beyond the stage of discussing its potential and has become one of the major growth engines shaping the global beauty market.

Experiencing K-Beauty Today at Seoul Plaza

Alongside the official ceremony, a K-Beauty Experience Zone was held at Seoul Plaza, giving local and international visitors an opportunity to experience the latest K-Beauty products and technologies firsthand.

Ten companies, including Cosmax and Kolmar Korea, participated in the corporate exhibition zone, while public institutions including the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the Korean Intellectual Property Office, and the Seoul Metropolitan Government presented the industry’s competitiveness and future direction.

Rather than simply displaying products, Seoul Plaza became a place where visitors could experience K-Beauty technologies directly.

At the Kolmar Korea exhibition area, visitors experienced a beauty journey spanning skincare, sun care, and cleansing, together with an opportunity to assess their skin condition.

As part of this experience, ChoiceDx AI Skin Analysis by ChoiceTech Korea was used.

The role of ChoiceDx was clear.

Before introducing a product, the experience began by understanding the customer’s skin and using the results as a reference point for experiencing products and technologies.

Before the Product, Understand the Skin.

The customer experience that ChoiceDx has proposed for offline retail and experiential spaces was also brought to life at Seoul Plaza.

Kolmar Korea’s K-Beauty Technology Meets ChoiceDx Skin Analysis

Kolmar Korea is one of Korea’s leading cosmetics ODM companies, having helped establish the ODM model within the domestic cosmetics industry while building strong capabilities in research, development, and manufacturing. According to the company’s disclosures, more than 95% of its cosmetics business is operated through the ODM model.

At Seoul Plaza, skin analysis and product experience were connected to help visitors engage with these product technologies in a more direct and personal way.

The experience began not with the product, but with the skin.

01. Before the Product — Start with the Skin

Visitors used the ChoiceDx Skin Analyzer to review key skin characteristics, including pores, wrinkles, and pigmentation.

The goal was not simply to display more numbers.

It was to give customers a meaningful point of reference for asking:

“What should I pay attention to in my skin right now?”

02. K-Beauty Technology — Experience Products After Understanding the Skin

After reviewing their skin condition, visitors could directly experience the skincare, sun care, and other cosmetic technologies presented by Kolmar Korea.

Instead of beginning with a product recommendation and explaining why afterward, the process began by understanding the skin first and then experiencing products within that context.

The same product can take on a different meaning when customers view it through the lens of their own skin.

03. Experience & Feedback — Creating a Conversation Between Skin and Product

The role of ChoiceDx does not end with presenting an analysis result.

Visualizing the skin condition can create a shared reference point for questions and consultation on site.

First understand the skin, then experience the product technology.

By combining Kolmar Korea’s product technology with ChoiceDx Skin Analysis, the offline exhibition space moved beyond being a place where visitors simply “see products” to a place where they “experience products through the lens of themselves.”

K-Beauty’s Next Competitive Edge Is Helping Customers Choose

Korea’s cosmetics exports exceeding USD 11.4 billion and reaching the world’s No. 2 position show that K-Beauty has already established significant product competitiveness in the global market.

The next question naturally follows:

What comes after the product reaches the world?

Is introducing more good products enough?

If K-Beauty has already established strong product competitiveness globally, the next stage of competition may lie in how effectively consumers are helped to discover the products that are relevant to them among an expanding range of choices.

As brands, categories, and SKUs continue to grow, customers gain more options.

At the same time, choosing becomes more complex.

Alongside the question,

“What is a good product?”

another question becomes increasingly important:

“Which of these products is relevant to me?”

ChoiceTech Korea believes that this kind of experience that helps customers choose will become increasingly important in offline retail.

Online, consumers already have access to a vast amount of information.

They can read reviews, watch videos, search ingredients, and compare prices.

What makes offline retail different is the ability to move beyond information and experience something directly.

Measuring the skin, understanding the results, asking questions on the spot, and experiencing products firsthand.

Skin Analysis can become one way to begin that journey.

Rather than simply showing customers more products, ChoiceDx aims to provide a Skin Analysis Solution that helps them understand where to begin among many choices.

The Next Goal for K-Beauty, Shared by Government and Industry

At this year’s Cosmetics Day ceremony, attention was focused not only on what the industry has already achieved, but also on what comes next.

In a video message, Prime Minister Han Sung-sook outlined plans to internationalize Korea’s cosmetics approval standards, reduce export barriers caused by regulatory differences, and support more companies in growing into global brands.

MFDS Minister Oh Yu-kyoung also emphasized continued communication with the industry and support for the sustainable growth of K-Beauty in global markets as cosmetics become an increasingly important national industry.

This year, government awards were also presented to recognize individuals who contributed to cosmetics safety management and industrial development, highlighting both the achievements of the industry and the people behind them.

Cosmetics Day is becoming more than a commemorative event. It is increasingly serving as a symbolic occasion that reflects Korea’s recognition of K-Beauty as a major export industry with global competitiveness.

From Seoul to the Global Beauty Market

Seeing customers experience ChoiceDx at Seoul Plaza may appear to be one small moment.

But as Korean cosmetics continue to expand into stores around the world, the question of how local customers will understand and choose those products will become increasingly important.

For ChoiceDx, global expansion is not simply about increasing the number of devices supplied overseas.

What matters more is whether real customers can naturally use skin analysis, whether the results can serve as a starting point for consultation and product discovery, and whether this experience can become a repeatable operating model across different countries and retail environments.

ChoiceDx at Seoul Plaza during the 2026 Cosmetics Day event represents one moment in that broader journey.

As K-Beauty, now from the world’s second-largest cosmetics exporting country, moves toward its next stage, more products will reach more consumers and create even more choices.

ChoiceDx believes that the beginning of that choice should be understanding the customer’s own skin.

For Retailers, Beauty Brands & Global Partners

ChoiceDx can be considered for a variety of environments, including K-Beauty retail stores, beauty select shops, brand flagship stores, department stores, pharmacies and derma beauty stores, pop-up and experiential stores, professional consultation spaces, exhibitions, and brand events.