Top 11 Beauty Influencers in Korea in 2026
- Arthur S.
- 5 days ago
- 7 min read
South Korea's beauty industry is known for its immense success, attributed not only to their high quality cosmetic and skincare products, but also in how Koreans are making beauty a part of their daily lifestyle. Beauty influencers in Korea play a central role in shaping how consumers perceive brands and products across social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and Youtube. In 2026, the K-beauty influencer content landscape is dominated by transparent, honest videos such as "내돈내산" (Bought-With-My-Own-Money) content, comedic and ASMR micro-skits, along with low-production tutorials such as GRWMs where influencers build a "friend-next-door" personality.
Below, I have compiled the top 11 beauty influencers currently driving the region’s beauty influencer marketing landscape, capturing the factors driving their high engagement and why brands are choosing them to thrive in one of the world’s most competitive markets.
11 Best Beauty Influencers in Korea
김밍 Kim Ming
Followers: 505.1 thousand
Kim Ming is a beauty influencer who often shares makeup tutorials along with "닥밍커플" couple and dating skits. Her connective work and soft rabbit persona has built a single community that enjoys both sides of her content, gathering over 52M likes across her TikTok account.
For her collaboration with MIMZ, with over 127K views, Ming centers her routine around a K-beauty brand that blends skincare and color cosmetics, to show her base makeup routine and how she keeps her combination skin porcelain-like in the summer with the “My Taste Kit” package. She also held a giveaway of the beauty kit for her viewers. From the comments, viewers find the content highly relatable with their skin condition and needs, while many also compliment Kim Ming's beauty and natural skin.
고마난 gomanan
Followers: 520.2 thousand
고마난 is known for the structured framing she implements in her beauty content, sharing makeup as an approachable guide that her audience can follow. Having over 32M likes, 고마난's skincare routines and ASMRs are strongly self-care-related, positioning herself as an influencer who shares honest product reviews that can be used in real-life scenarios.
In the embedded video, Gomanan shares how she uses Illiyoon’s sun lotion for her face and body for her daily sun care routine. The video gained over 300K views, with viewers commenting on her beauty and asking skincare and makeup-related questions, a clear indication that her audience trusts her as a reliable source of personalized beauty advice.
홍주
Followers: 402 thousand
홍주 is a beauty creator with over 18M likes who often shares familiar makeup tutorials and styling tips. Known for her deliberately provocative handle, she shows how Korean beauty influencers can use a catchy hook to grab viewers’ attention, but make them stay with relatable content.
The embedded video shows 홍주’s content for Wakemake, featuring a one-palette makeup tutorial. The video has over 173K views, with comments about how viewers compliment her look and ask beauty-related questions. This demonstrates both her strong engagement and the deep level of trust in her beauty advice.
요조숙녀두팔짱 Two Arm Zzang
Followers: 268.7 thousand
Establishing herself as the “ASMR queen(아마도)”, 요조숙녀두팔짱 is one of the highest engagement profiles with 8.6M likes on TikTok. She is known to do ASMR videos for makeup and other comedic skits such as $0 makeup, which enriches her content with sensory hook with minimal production cost and high relatability.
Her recent execution for Touch in SOL, a K-beauty brand, features the brand’s blusher stick which helps her to achieve a moist, vibrant-looking look. The video gained over 165K views with viewers praising her appearance without glamorous/heavy makeup. Viewers are also seen to be well-engaged with her persona, showing how they are invested beyond beauty content.
키마이에진
Followers: 265K
키마이에진 is a Gen Z beauty creator with 20M likes on her TikTok. Combining GRWM and makeup ASMR with relatable, even comedic moments from everyday life, she has built an approachable, friend-next-door persona on social media. She is known for her unpolished and authentic content rather than a rigid brand shoot.
In the embedded video, 키마이에진 partnered with Mamonde to show how she used their Rose Liquid Mask to achieve dewy, makeup-ready skin. In this video, she showed how she applied the mask and the before-after look. The video gained over 240K views with viewers praising her appearance and how she brings a fun vibe in her content.
이노마 Nomma
Followers: 149K
Known for her signature "과묵한 리뷰" (quiet review) series, 이노마 is a K-beauty influencer who builds her content around honest, authentic reviews and budget finds. With over 9M likes on TikTok, Nomma shows how she can stand out in a feed full of loud videos, as her muted and highly visual style acts as a catchy pattern interrupt.
Gaining over 572K views, the embedded video shows how 이노마 featured the Fwee Cola lip product in her well-known “내돈내산" (bought-with-my-own-money) series. She shows how she applies the product and gives her rating. Viewers are seen commenting compliments on her look while also asking beauty-related questions. 이노마 is notably seen actively responding to these comments with warmth and excitement, answering questions as if she is conversing with a friend.
하요이
Followers: 120 thousand
Known for her highly energetic and endearing personality, 하요이 is a beauty and food creator who often shares trendy and relatable content. She is admired by her fans for her genuine and unpretentious eating habits, while also sharing cute and bubbly moments that effortlessly pull viewers in.
The embedded video shows her content in partnership with ViveLab, a K-beauty and hair care brand. She shared the before-after look of her hair after using ViveLab products to achieve more volume and freshness. The content gained over 573K views with viewers complimenting her looks while also asking hair care-related questions to her.
SEBIN
Followers: 960 thousand
SEBIN is a prominent digital creator and model that began her influencer career during the pandemic, where she gained popularity from sharing relatable high school vlogs. On Instagram, she often combines aesthetic GRWM, traveling, and highly engaging lifestyle skits that fosters a sense of closeness with followers through her organic and playful content style.
The embedded video shows SEBIN’s Get Unready With Me content in partnership with THOME, sharing how she achieved clear skin with their Twenty-Up ampoule-delivering device. The reel gained over 137K views with viewers commenting on her looks.
박희선 Park Hee Sun
Followers: 1.5M
Park Hee Sun rose to fame as the biggest breakout star of Single's Inferno 5 and 1st runner-up of Miss Korea 2024. Adored for her high-end elegance with elite academic credentials, she often shares videos that show her balance of glam life with normal university student routines. Her beauty styling videos combine polished luxury with preppy student looks.
Her recent video in partnership with L’Occitane hit an impressive 1.6M views, where she shares her quiet morning routine using L'Occitane's shower oil in a deeply personal and storytelling style. Park Hee Sun takes her audience through her sensory experience, making her narrative feel less like a sponsored post and more like an invitation to prioritize self-care. Comments praise her content for its aesthetically pleasing and healing quality, while some also share their own positive experiences with L'Occitane products, showing the strong connection she has built with her community.
MAY / 백송민
Subscribers: 291K
Baek Song Min (MAY) is one of South Korea’s leading YouTube influencers who has built a career in the beauty and modeling space. Known for her organic and relatable daily life content, MAY has established a friendly and conversational persona for her fans. Her beauty content includes a mix of practical tips and skincare routines while also sharing authentic footage from her modeling life.
In the embedded video with over 22.7K views, MAY shares her all-time favorite hair and skincare routine, where she gives viewers a detailed breakdown on the products she genuinely reaches for in her daily life. The video features LADOR's Perfume Hair Oil, which she highlights is available in a special Olive Young discounted set. Viewers praise her high-energy delivery, while one viewer expresses that she feels MAY is speaking directly for her skin. This shows how MAY's relatable persona as a trusted and approachable beauty advisor can turn casual viewers into loyal followers.
배지연 Bae Ji-yeon
Followers: 622K
Bae Ji-yeon is a Single's Inferno 4 breakout star who rose to popularity for her "IT GIRL" styling. On Instagram, she often posts highly curated and aesthetic content along with chic lifestyle shots, while highlighting her career as a spatial designer and model. Her frequent updates on her personal life snippets also help build relatability with her followers beyond her polished and high-fashion image.
In the embedded content, Bae Ji-yeon partnered with the beauty brand Angel’s Liquid, highlighting how their product helped keep her skin from looking dull even under the strong sun in Kota Kinabalu. The content gained over 28K views, and the comment section was filled with compliments on her looks, with many followers also showing excitement for her travels in Malaysia.
CONCLUSION
Working with beauty influencers in Korea has proven to be one of the most effective ways for brands to build brand awareness and trust in the saturated market. The top influencers I have listed above show that audiences do not simply seek polished content, but are drawn to personalities who feel like friends, sharing honest reviews and everyday life moments that mirror their own concerns.
If I had to advise on a takeaway, it would be for brands to consider influencers who thrive by treating their followers as active participants in a shared beauty conversation. As authentic storytelling consistently outperforms hard-selling, partnering with influencers who have genuine community trust can help you tap into their audience and stand out in this flourishing market.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What kind of beauty content dominates Korea in 2026?
Transparent, honest formats: 내돈내산 (bought-with-my-own-money) reviews, comedic and ASMR micro-skits, and low-production GRWMs where influencers build a “friend-next-door” personality rather than a polished brand-shoot image.
Why does the friend-next-door persona matter to brands?
Korean audiences aren’t drawn to polish — they’re drawn to personalities who feel like friends sharing honest reviews. A recommendation lands as advice, and authentic storytelling consistently outperforms hard-selling in this market.
Which platform matters most for K-beauty creators right now?
TikTok is the center of gravity for most of this list — creators like Kim Ming (52M likes) and Two Arm Zzang (8.6M likes) built their communities there — with Instagram and YouTube carrying the reality-TV stars and longer-form routines.
Do reality-TV stars work as beauty influencers?
Very well. Single’s Inferno breakouts Park Hee Sun (1.5M followers) and Bae Ji-yeon (622K) pair aspirational polish with personal-life relatability — Park’s L’Occitane morning-routine video hit 1.6 million views.
What should a brand look for beyond follower count?
Comment behavior. The strongest signal across this list is viewers asking creators skincare and makeup questions directly — that’s the trust that turns a sponsored post into a conversation, and a campaign into conversions.