Korean Beauty Festival welcomes record hundreds of thousands of international visitors

International visitors pose in front of the welcome center of the Korean Beauty Festival in Seoul. (Source: VKC)

This year's Korea Beauty Festival attracted a record 145,000 visitors from 151 countries during its run, up 30 percent from last year, the Korea Tourism Committee (VKC) said.

The month-long event, which ended on July 18, was jointly organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, VKC and the Korea Tourism Organization.

The festival reflects Korea’s growing appeal as a global leader in beauty and lifestyle. A total of 527 companies participated, 128 more than last year, showing extensive participation from related industries such as cosmetics, fashion , tourism and shopping.

Activities at the festival range from personal business consultations, hanbok (traditional Korean clothing) wearing experiences to demonstrations of innovative medical healthcare services such as eye exams and ear treatments. In just the first four days at the festival center, more than 16,000 visitors participated in hands-on experiences.

The Korean Beauty Festival is organized with multilingual programs, making it easier for international visitors to access the activities. A visitor from Germany shared: “It’s great that you can experience all the K-beauty products here. The variety of programs and the use of foreign languages ​​made it easier to participate.”

International visitors experience free personal color analysis services at the Korean Beauty Festival. (Source: VKC)

The event not only made a cultural mark but also had a significant economic impact.

On the opening day alone, 99 domestic and foreign companies, along with 170 buyers and sellers, held nearly 600 business meetings, resulting in more than 100 contracts and memorandums of understanding, with a total estimated value of 3.16 billion won (US$2.3 million).

According to statistics, more than 72,000 international visitors visited the Festival's welcome center in Seoul, while the "K-beauty trend destinations" welcomed more than 56,000 visitors.

Promotions from airlines and travel businesses helped sell about 149,000 discounted airline tickets and more than 8,300 K-beauty-themed travel packages.

The survey results showed that 98% of international visitors were satisfied and appreciated the variety of K-beauty brands and the hands-on experiences. Of the participating businesses, 90% expressed satisfaction, especially small brands that saw this as a rare opportunity to directly reach global consumers.

This year's festival has clearly demonstrated the limitless potential of K-beauty as a combination of culture, tourism and industry, said a VKC representative, adding that the Committee will continue to leverage this appeal to attract more international visitors in the future.