Crowds gather at the Men's Beauty popup store set up by CJ Olive Young on Hongdae Festival Street in Mapo District, Seoul, Aug. 31. Korea Times photo by Park Jun-seok

On the afternoon of Aug. 31, a long line formed stretching over 50 meters outside the building of Soo Karaoke on Hongdae Festival Street in Mapo District, Seoul.

It wasn't a crowd waiting to sing. Instead, in the sweltering heat above 30 degrees Celsius, they were eagerly awaiting entry into CJ Olive Young's "Men's Beauty" popup store.

Inside, the store was packed with customers trying out products, leaving barely any room to move. Young men were seriously testing moisturizers that combined hydration, sun protection, and skin tone correction, as well as lip balms with a natural tint. Many were purchasing items recommended by their girlfriends.

This was CJ Olive Young's first male-focused beauty popup since the company's inception. Initially, organizers were unsure about its success, given the prevailing question of "Why would men wear makeup?"

To mitigate this perception, they even set up a booth for razor brand Gillette at the entrance. However, their cautious approach proved unnecessary.

Over 10 days (Aug. 30 to Sept. 8), the popup attracted more than 12,000 visitors. On Sept. 7 alone, around 2,000 people showed up.

A company spokesperson said, "80 percent of the visitors were men," confirming the potential of this burgeoning market.

Kim Jung-won, who runs a YouTube channel with 320,000 subscribers, explains men's makeup techniques. Captured from YouTube

Untapped potential

The men's cosmetics market in Korea is beginning to flourish.

While a full-face makeup routine remains uncommon among men, industry insiders observe a growing trend among young men in their 20s who prefer low-intensity grooming focused on brightening skin tone or covering blemishes.

Responding to this demand, some cosmetics companies have been quick to release products that blend basic skincare with makeup effects, setting the stage for a new market segment. This has led major cosmetics brands to expand their men's product lines.

Kim Jung-won, a 26-year-old who runs a men's grooming YouTube channel with 320,000 subscribers, is a firsthand witness to the untapped potential of the men's cosmetics market.

He started uploading videos about skincare, hairstyling, and makeup tips for men back in 2019, but the intitial response was lukewarm. His channel stayed at around 10,000 subscribers for years, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, when the "No Mask" era arrived in 2023, his subscriber count began to soar, with inquiries from young men in their late teens to early 20s, asking questions like, "I want to groom myself, but I don't know where to start."

Sensing the growing demand for accessible products, Kim launched his own men's cosmetics brand, Doingwhat, in July of the same year.

Indeed, young men are opening their wallets for beauty products.

A company that launched a men's skincare line in 2022 recently reported monthly sales of over 1 billion won ($750,000) just through CJ Olive Young, surpassing 10 billion won in annual sales with its men's line alone.

Another company's tone-up lotion, which offers hydration, sun protection, and skin correction in one, has been selling over 10,000 units each month, thanks to positive word-of-mouth.

A CJ Olive Young spokesperson said, "Given the still-prevalent sentiment against men wearing makeup in society, there is a high demand for low-key grooming products that can be used just like a lotion."

A popup store held by Musinsa during the Beauty Festa in Seongsu-dong, Seongdong District, Seoul, on Sept. 6. Korea Times photo by Park Kyung-dam

Surge in sales

Fashion platforms like Musinsa, popular among men in their 20s and 30s, have also seen a surge in sales of men's grooming products. From January to August of this year, sales of five major men's brands, including Dashu and Forbeaut, jumped nearly 150 percent compared to the previous year.

To tap into this trend, Musinsa even set up a dedicated men's beauty zone at its largest offline event, "Musinsa Beauty Festa IN Seongsu," held in Seongsu-dong from Sept. 6 to 8.

Similarly, Daiso, a household goods store, reported a 154 percent increase in men's cosmetics sales from January to July this year.

At Lotte Department Store, 10 percent of visitors to their skin analysis service, "Beauty Salon," are male.

Cosmetics companies are increasingly bolstering their men's product lines in response to this growing demand. Amorepacific's "BeREADY," a brand targeting men in their 20s, is a prime example.

The brand's "True Tone Lotion," which combines skincare, sunscreen, and BB cream functions, became the best-selling product in the men's categories on both Olive Young and Musinsa shortly after its launch in July 2023.

An official at ODM manufacturer Cosmax said, "We are receiving a growing number of inquiries from various brands about manufacturing men's cosmetics."

An industry insider said, "Men in their late teens to early 20s have a noticeably stronger desire to groom themselves than the generation just above them in their late 20s."

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.