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Explainer: Americans are hoarding Korean sunscreen. Should they?

Published: 10 Apr. 2025, 06:00 Updated: 10 Apr. 2025, 20:40

KIM JU-YEON
[email protected]

Americans have been "panic buying" Korean sunscreen in case brands stop selling them in the United States. Are their concerns warranted? [GETTY IMAGES BANK]

It’ll keep your skin unbothered, moisturized, happy. It’s lightweight, non-greasy armor that protects all skin tones against invisible, potentially carcinogenic radiation emitted by the sun.

This, of course, refers to sunscreen. Specifically, the Korean variety, which is so well regarded it's become the poster child for lobbying against U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations — and, now, a novelty being hoarded in the United States as fears of a clampdown on "illegal" imports grow.

“This is the only time to stock up before it’s gone — forever,” user maiii.finds said in a TikTok posted in January with over 200,000 views as of press time, in which she compared Round Lab’s Korean and U.S. formulas. The indie brand had been selling its Birch Juice Moisturizing UVLock sunscreen with SPF 50+ PA++++ in the United States. But the brand released a version labeled SPF 45 broad spectrum — with a texture some reviewers said was “thicker and harder to apply” — specifically for the U.S. market in November, with the stated intention of complying with the FDA, and discontinued the previous product.

TikTokers reviewed U.S. and Korean susncreen formulas of brands that released U.S.-only versions approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as an over-the-counter-drug. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The video, among with others like it, threw the skincare community into a panic, with users speculating that perhaps Round Lab's formulas contained prohibited UV filters that legislation would finally enable the FDA to catch. Users on TikTok and Reddit reported “panic buying” SPF products with the same formula as those sold in Korea before brands "stopped selling them altogether." Others, mainly around December, said they'd noticed Korean items “disappearing” from retailers like Amazon.

The nerves weren't unwarranted. In February, Beauty of Joseon pulled four sunscreens, including its Relief Sun and Matte Sun Stick, and released two U.S.-only versions. In March, Skin1004 pulled its sunscreens from its U.S. page entirely.

Misinformation spread as anxieties grew. Many blamed the switch on the FDA’s Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA), which was passed in 2022 but fully took effect last July after a grace period. The landmark law expanded the federal agency’s authority to regulate cosmetics to its widest in more than 80 years, enforcing transparency across the industry's manufacturing, labelling and testing in the industry.

But MoCRA doesn't actually impact SPF products; they're regulated as over-the-counter drugs, rather than cosmetics, and have played by different rules long before MoCRA came into play. Any cosmetics, including foundations and other products not specifically marketed as sunscreen, need to meet the same rigorous standards if they claim to have a reliable level of UV protection.

But that doesn’t mean MoCRA hasn’t impacted Korea's cosmetics manufacturers — or its consumers. The situation is just a bit more complicated than meets the eye.

A shopper tests a skincare product at a shop in Seoul on Jan. 6. [YONHAP]

Are Korean brands really pulling items from the United States in response to MoCRA?

They're certainly trying their best not to— and MoCRA registration has been going fairly smoothly, according to industry insiders.

The act initially created problems in July of last year, notably for smaller businesses. Most cosmetic products and ingredients have not historically required FDA approval for sale in the United States, but MoCRA mandated practices like facility registration and adverse event reporting for the first time, as well as certain manufacturing standards.

Complying was a tough prospect for smaller firms without in-house legal teams, who might've had to establish units or contract with outside consultancies in order to pass MoCRA's screenings, according to Kim Joo-deok, a professor of cosmetic manufacturing at Sungshin Women’s University. That could've led some firms to pause U.S. sales during the grace period.

“There was a lot of confusion in the beginning," said Gong Ji-young, a researcher at the Korea Testing & Research Institute (KTR), who advises Korean companies that are trying to get cosmetics formulas approved overseas. "Firms especially had difficulties in finding a representative in the United States to register with the FDA."

Larger firms were able to draw from their experience dealing with Korea’s tough bureaucracy.

LG Household & Health Care, the manufacturer and distributor behind Belif and The Face Shop, said in a statement that it knew "well in advance" about MoCRA's implications shortly after it took effect.

“Korea is one of the most conservative countries in terms of regulations," an LG H&H spokesperson said. "Having adjusted to it, it was easily applicable to the U.S. system.”

The same went for Amorepacific, Korea’s largest cosmetics firm with over 70 brands, including Sulhwasoo, Innisfree, Laneige and Cosrx.

So then what happened with Round Lab, Beauty of Joseon and Skin1004?

Well, it turns out that the sunscreens that were pulled weren't officially sunscreens — at least, not as far as the FDA is concerned.

To get a product approved as an OTC drug, companies must get screened by the FDA. Many brands didn’t bother with this, instead opting just to sell their sunscreens and hope for the best. This technically constitutes the sale of unapproved drugs, and the FDA is empowered to penalize firms it catches trying to push them through customs — but the agency has historically tended to look the other way, especially when it comes to smaller businesses and firms with a large volume of online sales, which are difficult to police.

Beauty of Joseon sunscreen went viral in the United States for being lightweight, non-sticky and not contain white cast. [BEAUTY OF JOSEON]

While MoCRA doesn't apply to sunscreens, its crackdown on cosmetics appears to have spooked at least some bigger industry players, sparking worries that OTC drugs could be next.

Skin1004 told the Korea JoongAng Daily it had pulled sunscreen from its website because it had "recognized that continued shipments of unapproved OTC drugs to the United States to be risky in the long term." The firm said it had deleted its Amazon seller page last March, just a few months before the expiration of MoCRA's grace period, for the same reason.

Beauty of Joseon also said that it had changed its formula to remove that risk. It stocks its goods at fulfillment centers within the United States, which the FDA monitors more closely than it does direct purchases.

Round Lab could not be reached for comment.

A pedestrian walks by a Olive Young branch in Seoul on March 12. [YONHAP]

Where can U.S. residents buy Korean formulas?

Korean products are still available through global retail channels such as Olive Young’s global mall and Yesstyle, or through direct purchase from manufacturers’ websites. Amazon is also an option — but be careful of counterfeits. The platforms brands still need MoCRA registration for individual cosmetic goods.

Korean formula sunscreen can be purchased at these marketplaces, though international packages going into the United States may be randomly checked by customs. Korean beauty retail heavyweight Olive Young still ships the original Korean formulas from RoundLab, Beauty of Joseon and Skin1004 to the United States.

The retailer does not, however, independently monitor or issue notices on changes to formulas in the brands’ products it sells, so consumers may need to look at the ingredients list closely.

Amorepacific’s global mall and LG H&H ship the same cosmetics to the United States that they make in Korea, with slight difference to elements such as fragrance, but both firms confirmed that those discrepancies are not related to FDA regulation. The exception is SPF: Neither firm ships unapproved OTC drugs to the United States, and any sunscreens they sell in the country have obtained the expensive FDA greenlight (OTC monograph drug facility fees cost $38,000). Most of Amorepacific's formulas are fine in both countries; the company, which is pushing overseas expansion, says it considers U.S. consumers even in the early development stage.

"We developed sunscreen formulas for brands like Innisfree with the U.S. market in mind, so only FDA-approved filters were used in most products in the first place," a spokesperson for Amorepacific said.

The United States is Korea's second largest importer of cosmetics and has been quickly closing in on China, where cosmetics exports have shrunk over the last few years.

Olive Young also only uses ingredients certified by the FDA in its private labels shipped globally, which include Bioheal Boh and Wakemake, according to its spokesperson.

Other manufacturers and distributors take a middle ground: selling FDA-compliant formulas that resemble their Korean versions as much as possible. LG H&H ships U.S- only versions of SPF products that are not sold in Korea.

It’s also a strategy adapted by New York-based Soko Glam, one of the larger retailers specializing in Korean skincare, according to co-founder and chief curator Charlotte Cho.

“You’d be surprised at the Korean formulations that are now designed for the U.S. that are very lightweight, don’t smell like sunscreen and work for all skin types,” Cho said.

A shopper looks at lip tint products at a store in Seoul on Dec. 2, 2024. [YONHAP]

What's coming next under MoCRA?

MoCRA mandates that the FDA regulate fragrance allergens and testing methods for asbestos, a carcinogen, in products that contain talc. Talc is an ingredient found in many cosmetics, including eyeshadow and pressed powder to absorb moisture and make them smooth.

There aren’t many labs that can run comprehensive tests for talc in Korea, potentially raising costs and barriers for smaller companies.

Most cosmetics contain fragrance ingredients. Sales of some products produced by Amorepacific brands may have to be adjusted due to allergen testing, the firm's spokesperson said, adding that the regulation has not been enforced yet.

MoCRA also means more hurdles for Olive Young, which has been preparing to open brick and mortar stores in the United States. Brands have been asked to show their MoCRA certification to sell their items at Olive Young's U.S. stores, according to KTR researcher Gong.

A draft outlining how testing for talc will go was released this month, said Gong. She expects it to roll out towards the middle of this year.

A visitor looks at beauty products displayed at a booth at the Kurly Beauty Festa 2024 on Oct. 10, 2024. [YONHAP]

Will prices go up?

Hikes to the prices of Korean cosmetics will be “inevitable” under new trade barriers, according to Kim.

While quite a bit of confusion still surrounds the “reciprocal” tariffs the Donald Trump administration announced on April 2, firms are preparing.

Many small- and medium-sized enterprises contract with original design manufacturers like Kolmar Korea, Cosmax and Cosmecca Korea, which operate plants in the United States that could potentially allow them to sidestep tariffs.

But even those facilities must import certain ingredients from overseas. Chemists told Allure in January that they expected packaging, which many brands get from China, to be hit especially hard. Ingredients that U.S. suppliers don't provide, such as coconut oil and vanilla, will also be taxed, making the prices of such containing products likely to rise.

Tariffs are unavoidable for firms like Amorepacific and LG H&H that do not have production facilities in the United States. Amorepacific brands produce all of their U.S.-bound goods in Korea, while LG H&H manufactures the majority in Korea and a very small amount in China — those will be taxed depending on country of origin.

Amorepacific does not have immediate plans to raise prices but hasn't ruled it out, a company spokesperson said.

LG H&H is closely monitoring the situation, saying in a statement that U.S. tariffs would “inevitably affect sales."

BY KIM JU-YEON [[email protected]]