About K-BeautySum

What you’ll find here

• An ingredient dictionary: the Korean name printed on the label, the English INCI name, and any Korean rules.
• A label decoder that translates Korean ingredient lists, dates, sizes and claims.
• Guides to sunscreen labels, functional cosmetics and shopping and the tax refund in Korea.

How we check facts

Korean ingredient names, English INCI names, CAS numbers, purposes and limits come from the Korea Cosmetic Association’s ingredient dictionary (kcia.or.kr/cid), which publishes the standard ingredient names used on Korean labels. Label rules, functional claims and the tax refund rules are read from the laws themselves on Korea’s official law site. Each page lists its sources and the date we checked them. When we explain what an ingredient is, we keep to what it is and what it is used for — we don’t promise results.

Not medical advice

This site explains labels. It is not medical advice. If a product irritates your skin, stop using it; for skin conditions, see a doctor.

Independence

We are not affiliated with any brand, shop or government agency, and nobody pays for a mention. To cover our costs, the site may show ads from Google AdSense. Ads are labelled as ads, we don’t choose them, and advertisers have no say in what we write. There are no affiliate links. Our privacy policy explains the advertising cookies.

Spotted a mistake?

Email [email protected] with the page and what you found. We fix confirmed errors and update the date.

Sister sites

KoreaSum calculates life in Korea for foreigners, MenuSum explains Korean menus, KoreanSum conjugates Korean verbs, and ClinicSum shows clinic prices in Korea.