K-Beauty’s First US National Week: Meet the Architect

The vibrant world of Korean beauty recently achieved a significant milestone, earning a dedicated spot on the US National Day Calendar with the inaugural National K-Beauty Week, held from May 11 to 17. This recognition serves as a powerful tribute to K-beauty’s undeniable influence and growing status as one of the most dynamic forces in the world’s largest beauty market.

Spearheaded by global K-beauty distribution leader Landing International and major beauty retailer Ulta Beauty, the week-long celebration featured engaging promotions across key US cities. The festivities culminated in a prestigious Nasdaq Closing Bell ceremony in Times Square, led by Landing International founder and CEO Sarah Chung Park.

For CEO Park, this landmark week heralded K-beauty’s official coming of age on American soil, signifying the beginning of an exciting new phase for the industry.

“Our aim was to create an event that would uplift the entire K-beauty industry, much like Amazon Prime Day, providing a dedicated week for all K-beauty brands to capture widespread attention,” Park explained in an exclusive interview with The Korea Herald.

“We are actively preparing to involve more retailers next year, ensuring K-beauty promotions can extend across an even broader range of retail channels.”

Park embarked on her journey in the beauty sector in the late 2000s, officially establishing Landing International in 2014. The company initially began as an innovative platform designed to connect global brands with suitable retailers.

“We developed a platform to streamline communication between brands and retailers. However, for the platform to truly deliver value, transactions were essential, which prompted our strategic move into distribution,” Park elaborated.

The timing proved fortuitous for Landing International, as it coincided with the initial surge of K-beauty’s popularity in the US around 2015, a period when Korean skincare began captivating beauty editors and early adopters alike.

Since then, Landing International has played a pivotal role in introducing renowned brands like Cosrx to American retail. The company has successfully placed over 225 Korean beauty brands on the shelves of prominent American retailers, including industry giants such as Ulta Beauty, Target, Walmart, and even Military Prestige Marketing, which supplies the US military resale system.

According to Park, K-beauty is currently navigating its “second wave,” characterized by a strategic shift from merely focusing on innovative products to deeply understanding and engaging with consumers themselves.

“During the first wave, K-beauty piqued the interest of editors and media, but direct consumer demand wasn’t as robust,” she observed. “Today, consumers are actively and enthusiastically seeking out Korean beauty products.”

The pervasive influence of social media and the accessibility of e-commerce have fueled a global appetite for Korean culture, propelling the K-beauty category into overdrive and significantly accelerating its expansion across America, Park detailed. The US now accounts for the largest share of Korea’s overseas cosmetics sales, comprising just over one-fifth of the nation’s record $7 billion in exports during the first half of 2026.

While K-beauty’s competitive edge remains rooted in its tangible innovation—whether through unique proprietary ingredients, advanced patented formulations, or distinctive product designs—the industry’s forthcoming phase will be defined as much by its expanding breadth as by its continuous novelty.

“We initially focused on skincare, expanded into color cosmetics last year, launched haircare this year, and wellness is our next frontier,” she revealed. Park noted that wellness has become a burgeoning obsession among American consumers, a segment that Korean brands are only just beginning to actively cultivate.

Park firmly believes that the US market has yet to fully realize its immense potential for K-beauty. This conviction was further strengthened earlier this year when top Ulta Beauty executives, including CEO Kecia Steelman, visited Seoul for crucial strategy discussions with leading Korean beauty brands, hosted by Landing International.

“I believe the market’s growth is still progressing slowly relative to its true potential,” she stated.

In this context, Park rejects the notion of viewing the K-beauty market as a finite “fixed pie” to be fought over, even as competitive pressures intensify.

“Each distributor brings its unique area of expertise to the table,” she explained. “Some, like us, specialize in offline retail, while others excel in different distribution channels.”

What she advocates for is less energy spent on Korean brands undercutting each other and more focus directed towards collectively expanding the category itself. Park summarized this collaborative mindset with a familiar proverb: “a rising tide lifts all ships,” emphasizing that industry-wide growth ultimately benefits every player.

“The true competition lies in persuading consumers who are already loyal to Western beauty brands to embrace and choose K-beauty,” she asserted.

However, this optimism comes with an important caveat. Korean companies, Park contends, frequently misinterpret overseas markets, largely due to a fast-churning product cycle in Korea that often clashes with the slower-moving, more established markets like the US.

“In Korea, trends evolve very rapidly, whereas in the US, ‘hero products’ tend to remain hero products for extended periods,” she pointed out, cautioning that the constant replacement of bestselling products can inadvertently diminish lasting brand equity.

She highlights Cosrx’s snail mucin essence as a prime example of this phenomenon. While Korean consumers have largely transitioned to newer ingredients, this particular product continues to be one of Cosrx’s strongest US sellers, years after its initial launch.

Applying this robust philosophy to its international strategy, Landing International is now eyeing Latin America and the Middle East as its next significant opportunities, with Mexico showing particular promise, bolstered by Ulta’s regional expansion. Europe has also become more accessible following Ulta’s acquisition of the British retailer Space NK, Park noted, opening new avenues for K-beauty growth.