K-Culture Daily Briefing — November 12, 2026 (PM)
K-Beauty & Medical. Korea’s cosmetics exports hit about $11.1 billion in January–September 2026, up 31.1% year on year and equal to 98% of all 2025, with skincare at 78% of the total. The United States overtook China as the top market for the first time ($1.45B vs $1.01B), and Korean facial skincare sales on Amazon rose roughly 80% in the first half — nearly three times the category’s 27% growth. Western firms are opening Seoul offices and labs in response. On the medical side, foreign patients reached 2,011,822 last year, four times pre-pandemic levels, with dermatology at 62.9% of visits — more than five times plastic surgery. Foreign medical spending rose 57.9% to 1.84 trillion won in the first nine months, pharmacy spending nearly tripled, and drugstores in Seoul’s Jung district grew 20.9% as “beauty pharmacies” spread.
K-Pop & Entertainment. BLACKPINK’s Jennie set a new career high as “Dracula,” her remix with Tame Impala, climbed to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in its 58th week, matching bandmate Rosé’s “APT” as the best-ever ranking for a female K-pop soloist. NCT DREAM and small-agency act Rescene topped domestic charts with their comebacks.
K-Food. Exporters are now fighting non-tariff barriers rather than taste: aT mobilized its 20 overseas offices to address Europe’s eco-packaging mandates, China’s tighter customs, and Middle East halal demand, while the first K-Food Fair in Oceania, in Melbourne, produced 11 MOUs worth $15 million.
K-Drama & Cinema. Netflix unveiled “This is K-cinema,” a collection of about 150 Korean films by 38 directors from Im Kwon-taek to Kim Bo-ra, timed to Lee Chang-dong’s Oscar-hopeful “Possible Love.”