Decoding how Korean beauty becomes global business.

Musinsa opened a 1,262-square-metre beauty store in Hongdae, Seoul on 11 September 2026, four days after filing for a listing on the main Korean bourse. The reading that followed was that Olive Young's grip on K-beauty distribution had loosened. Olive Young's own half-year numbers point the other way: its share of Korean beauty retail reached 21.5% in the first half of 2026, up from 18.8% a year earlier and the highest it has recorded. The second gateway opened while the firs