Korean cosmetics are selling like hot cakes in Japan despite the weak yen, which makes imports more expensive.

According to the Korea International Trade Association, Korea exported 66.5 billion yen worth of cosmetics to Japan in the first 10 months of this year, surpassing French makeup products to rank No. 1. Next came French, U.S. and Chinese cosmetics.

Top Korean brand Amore Pacific closed down high-end stores in Japan in 2014 because sales were failing, but Korean TV dramas and pop music became immensely popular in Japan during the coronavirus pandemic thanks to Netflix and sparked a craze for other Korean products.

Fourteen Korean cosmetics brands ranked among the top 20 bestselling makeup products on Tuesday on Japanese online shopping platform Qoo10, which has 20 million users.

Small and mid-sized brands like Bonajour and VT Cosmetics performed particularly well, accounting for 12 out of the 14 Korean brands. Health and beauty chain CJ Olive Young’s sales of small and mid-sized Korean cosmetics makers on Rakuten and Qoo10 surged 132 percent on-year.

A CJ Olive Young staffer said, “Cosmetics from small and mid-sized Korean companies are touted as being good quality and affordable on Japanese online communities.”

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