K-Culture Daily Briefing — November 13, 2026 (AM)

K-Culture Daily Briefing — November 13, 2026 (AM)

K-beauty exports hit a record $11.1 billion in the first nine months of 2026, up 31.1% year on year, with the United States overtaking China as the top market for the first time. Korean facial skincare sales on Amazon US reached $818 million in the first half alone, about 80% higher than a year earlier — three times the category’s overall growth. The shift is pulling global players to Seoul: US e-commerce firm Front Row opened a Seoul office last month, and Dutch ingredient distributor IMCD now runs a beauty research lab in the city.

In K-pop, ILLIT scored its first Billboard 200 top-10 debut with the EP “Break Even” at No. 6 (37,000 equivalent units), while rookie group RESCENE moved 602,688 copies of “PULSE” in its first week — roughly six times its previous record. BLACKPINK’s Jennie climbed to No. 3 on the Hot 100 with Tame Impala’s “Dracula,” matching the best-ever rank for a K-pop female soloist, and Stray Kids added 25 dates to their world tour.

On the food front, ramyeon exports reached $1.59 billion from January to October, already passing last year’s full-year total, and the industry expects a further 30% rise in 2027 as new capacity comes online — Nongshim’s first export-only plant in Busan and Samyang’s Jiaxing facility in China.

Korean drama kept its grip on Netflix: the horror-comedy “Dead-End Job” topped the global non-English TV chart with 8.7 million views, ranking No. 1 in 22 countries and entering the top 10 in 76. Kim Ji-won’s medical drama “Doctor X” followed at No. 4 with 3.7 million views.

Finally, fashion platform Musinsa is nearing its 100th offline store and now sells some 800 Korean brands across 13 countries — a further sign that K-culture exports increasingly carry Korean consumer goods with them.