In 2020, a teenage girl in Paris searched: "How to get BTS skin"
That year, the same search term: Increased 570% in USA, 820% in Europe, 1,200% in Southeast Asia
In 2025, that girl: Uses 10 Korean cosmetics, does skincare while watching K-dramas, saving up for Korean dermatology appointments.
This is the beauty revolution created by K-Culture.
New Beauty Standards Created by K-pop
Men wear cosmetics too?
K-pop changed the world's beauty concepts.
K-Beauty Icons: Girls' Generation (skin radiance), BTS (global skincare revolution), BLACKPINK (Glass Skin symbol)
What K-pop Changed
Normalization of Male Beauty: "Men wearing cosmetics?" -> "Men should take care of their skin too"
Result: Male cosmetics market growing 7% annually, 70% of teenage males use skincare products
Globalization of Glow Makeup: Coverage -> Glow, Matte -> Dewy
Aspiration Created by K-Dramas
Is that actress's skin real?
K-dramas showed Korean beauty as everyday life.
Representative Cases
Crash Landing on You (2019): Son Ye-jin's skin inquiries flooded, global search "Son Ye-jin skincare routine"
Itaewon Class (2020): Kim Da-mi's natural makeup, no-makeup makeup trend
The Glory (2023): Song Hye-kyo's youthful look, "Song Hye-kyo treatment" search increased 1000%
COVID Period (2020-2022): K-drama viewing increased 1,860% -> K-Beauty sales increased 340% -> Medical tourism waiting list increased 200%
SNS Influencer Spread
Starting with unboxing!
K-Beauty went viral through SNS.
Platform-specific Influence
YouTube: "Korean Skincare Routine" 1 billion+ views
Instagram: #kbeauty 15 million+ posts
TikTok: K-Beauty video total views 20 billion+
Viral Formula: Before/After, ASMR elements, Unboxing, Routine disclosure, Honest reviews
Global Influencer Network: Korea -> USA/Europe -> Local language -> Global consumers
Iconization of Korean Wave Stars
If my favorite idol uses it...
Korean Wave stars are living advertisements.
Brand Ambassador Effect
BTS x Mediheal: 340% global sales increase after ambassador contract, worldwide sold out
BLACKPINK x Chanel/Dior: Lisa MAC, Jennie Chanel Beauty, Rose YSL Beauty
Son Heung-min x Dr.Jart+: Male beauty normalization, successful European market entry
Ripple Effect: 1 star mention -> 24-hour SNS spread -> 1,000% product search increase -> Order surge -> Sold out -> Greater buzz
Perfect Timing Created by COVID
Stuck at home, what to do? Watch K-dramas...
COVID exploded K-Culture.
2020-2022 Timeline
2020 First Half: Global lockdown, OTT consumption surge, Netflix K-content boom
2020 Second Half: Crash Landing on You - Squid Game hit, K-pop online concerts
2021: "Might as well do skincare at home", YouTube tutorials exploded
2022: Borders open, Korea-bound flight bookings surge, medical tourism waiting list record high
2019 vs 2024: Foreign patients 490K -> 1.17M (2.4x), K-Beauty sales $8B -> $18.9B (2.4x)
Cultural Impact by the Numbers
The miracle created by K-Culture is this
Music created curiosity, dramas created aspiration, SNS created spread, COVID created opportunity, and products created satisfaction
The result:
Korean beauty is now the **global standard**
K-Beauty is a **category** itself
Glass Skin is the **universal goal**
The world no longer asks "What is K-Beauty?" Instead they ask **"Which K-Beauty is right for my skin?"** This is the revolution created by culture. And this revolution continues.